'Locked In, Left Out: Mental Health in Prison Worldwide'

 This international series examines the mental health crises unfolding behind bars, from the solitary cells of Canadian detention centers to Spain's overstretched prison clinics, Germany’s under-resourced psychiatric care, and Finland’s efforts to balance punishment with rehabilitation. Many doctors working in prisons speak of the deep rewards of providing care in this setting. But structural change is needed. This series reveals not only how we treat mental illness in prison, but what that says about the values of our health systems — and our societies.

• Portugal’s Prisons: Too Many Patients, Too Few PsychiatristsPortugal fails to report mental health data of its incarcerated population to the World Health Organization, reflecting broader systemic challenges in prison psychiatry.
  News | June 20, 2025
• 44% With Addiction: Germany’s Psychiatric Crisis in PrisonsNearly half of all incarcerated individuals in Germany have a substance use disorder, yet access to treatment remains inconsistent and underfunded.
  News | June 19, 2025
• This French Nursing Home Accepts Inmates Others Won'tSaint Barthélemy nursing home treats residents with a history of incarceration no differently than others - focusing instead on medical and psychological needs.
  News | June 19, 2025
• Inside France's Prisons, Addiction Care Finds a FootholdCraving management workshops and peer-led support are helping French prisons reframe addiction as a healthcare issue.
  News | June 16, 2025
• France's Prisons Are Overcrowded - With Psychiatric PatientsAs psychiatric hospital beds disappear, France's prisons are absorbing the fallout - and doctors are left managing complex cases in overcrowded conditions.
  News | June 13, 2025
• Prison Is the First Mental Health Visit for Many in SpainUp to 5% of Spain's prison population lives with a serious mental disorder, often undiagnosed before incarceration.
  News | June 13, 2025
• Mental Scars: The Toll of Solitary Confinement in CanadaCanada's attempt to address solitary confinement appears to exacerbate preexisting mental health issues among the incarcerated.
  News | June 13, 2025
• French Prisons Strengthen Prevention as Inmate Suicides RiseFrance is rolling out multidisciplinary prevention efforts after reporting a 13% increase in suicides among incarcerated individuals.
  News | June 12, 2025
• Germany's Psychiatric Blind Spot: Behind Prison WallsAround 50% of inmates in Germany live with mental illness, yet prison psychiatric care remains alarmingly inadequate.
  News | June 11, 2025
• 'No One Wants to Go There': Italy’s Prison Psychiatry VoidA study shows that 63% of inmates received anxiolytics and 20% received antipsychotics, highlighting the strained psychiatric care in overcrowded prisons.
  News | June 11, 2025
• Finland's Prison Healthcare: A House of ContradictionsNordic prisons get lots of good press, but the data show a high mental health burden. Medscape Medical News asks why.
  News | June 10, 2025
• https://www.medscape.com/viewcollection/37855