ABSTRACT
Despite the dramatic increase in numbers of prisoners with substance use disorders (SUDs) over the past 40 years, few receive competent addiction treatment. Frequently, they live with the stigma of dual status as an offender and as an addict, which may also affect their support systems and their ability to obtain housing and employment, further increasing their risks of relapse and recidivism. For offenders with SUDs, the losses associated with their addictive behaviors are intertwined with losses associated with leaving behind criminal behavior and relationships tied to criminal enterprises. Added to these challenges are issues around the losses experienced due to incarceration. In most cases, the loss prisoners experience is complicated by the context within which they live where expressing feelings increases vulnerability because of not being in a psychologically safe space. In fact, the tasks of grieving, which one needs to accomplish in order to resolve the mourning process, are often prevented in a prison setting. This chapter examines the issues counselors encounter when working with the prison population and the types of losses inmates experience.
