OUR VISION
Our vision is to train others to prepare an individual’s head, heart, and hands to work together and develop the whole person.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to train others on how to create a new approach to a traditional concept of reentry by providing coordinated support that reaches beyond the existing reentry programs that do not equip the whole person for success and to establish a multilayered winning structure for transition and transformation, incorporating behavioral protocols, skills development, counseling, and personal guidance for system-impacted persons and their loved ones.
From head and heart to hands-on practical skills development, our program acknowledges the whole person, all geared toward effective change from the inside out, making anti-recidivism a reality instead of a mere aspiration without a plan.
Wife After PrisonTM is a non-profit organization established in 2018 to directly confront a unique set of psychological changes that system-impacted individuals undergo due to their prison experience. As a result, they face many difficulties and problematic transitions as they return to the free world. Until we accept that this isn’t a “they” problem, this is a “we” problem; we will continue addressing recidivism. Until we are willing to learn and understand the psychological impact of incarceration, we will continue addressing recidivism. Until we are willing to give insight to those behind prison walls and those who return, we will continue addressing recidivism.
Prisons are psychologically powerful places, capable of transforming the thoughts and actions of those who enter them, often negatively. The bottom line is this: We can’t expect a problem to be solved by the same mind that created it.
My personal experience plus working closely with system-impacted individuals, including family members, have taught me a great deal about the various “whys”: Why do individuals continue to go in and out of prison? Why are system-impacted individuals returning from prison in a worse mental state than before they entered? Why do so many of their relationships unravel after their release? And most importantly, why aren’t more programs addressing this issue?
There is a cry from those behind bars for reentry programs that truly prepare them for life on the outside. Wife After Prison TM has heard their cries for help. We know firsthand the chaos and devastation that incarceration leaves in its path: recidivism, broken relationships, and even lost lives.
Many system-impacted individuals want to do better for themselves, their families, and their communities, but they don’t know how. Many of them know why they should change but don’t know how to accomplish it. But, with the right tools, teaching, training, and effort, they can succeed.
Wife After PrisonTM Reentry Program (The Three Pillars of Reentry) is a new approach to the traditional concept of reentry. This holistic program reaches beyond historical programs that only address employment and housing issues. This winning multilayered structured program incorporates mental health education, personal development, and employment readiness. Our goal is to acknowledge the whole person, from head and heart to hands, all geared to ensure that they succeed in life on the outside, thus making anti-recidivism a reality instead of a mere aspiration without a plan.
1. What is Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS)?
Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) is a set of mental disorders present in many currently incarcerated and released prisoners that are caused by prolonged incarceration in environments of punishment with few opportunities for education, job training, or rehabilitation.
2. What psychological impact does incarceration have?
Prison can negatively, and long-lasting affect a person’s mental state. Among the many psychological effects of a stint in prison include:
- Depression
- Panic
- Paranoia
- Insomnia
- Loneliness
- Hostility
- Powerlessness
- Social withdrawal
Because of this, it is a good idea to rehabilitate prisoners and prepare them for the world they will experience when they are released. Otherwise, these symptoms can translate to the post-incarceration syndrome.
3. What are the long term effects of incarceration?
Observations of prisoners who were close to their release times revealed that they often experienced anxiety, restlessness, irritability, and inability to sleep; researchers found that these emotions were caused by the fear of being unprepared for the outside world.
4. What Traits Do People with PICS Suffer From?
There are several symptoms that inmates with this mental disorder will suffer from. These symptoms and side effects may include:
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) – this disorder is common among people who have experienced trauma. This could also be linked to the crime for which the person was imprisoned. This disorder will cause a person to relive a traumatic event via flashbacks and nightmares. There are many symptoms of this disorder, namely insomnia.
ASPT (antisocial personality traits) – when in prison, social opportunities are limited. This will be particularly true if the inmate has spent time in solitary confinement. Often, socializing in prison will be limited to guards, other prisoners, and the occasional visitor. The experience can result in prisoners becoming antisocial.
Institutionalized personality traits – this will result in a prisoner losing a sense of their own nature and personality. A person may instead begin to develop alternate personality traits that have grown during their time in prison. As a consequence, the sufferer may be less recognizable in terms of personality.
Sensory deprivation – this is the weakening or removal of your senses. Living in an isolated space without contact with the outside world can make a person suffer from sensory deprivation.
An inmate may suffer from anxiety, rage, isolation, and depression.
5. Is There a Link Between PICS and Substance Abuse?
There is an unfortunate link between newly released inmates and substance abuse. People looking to overcome their trauma may use illegal substances as a coping mechanism.
Of course, this is not the best way of dealing with post-incarceration syndrome. However, there is nothing in place to stop them from turning to substance abuse?
6. Can Post-Incarceration Syndrome be Stopped?
Unless there is a change in how prisons are run, the post-incarceration syndrome is unlikely to be prevented. When some leaves prison, a structure should be in place to help them adjust and adapt to the outside world.
Otherwise, they are likely to spiral into post-incarceration syndrome.
Sadly, programs do not exist in most places. This is why post-incarceration syndrome is still a very real and serious disorder.
Changes in how prisoners are treated and supported can take years to change. Post-incarceration would also require increased awareness to drive these changes.
“If I would have had this information years ago, perhaps a conversation with my wife wouldn’t have turned from civil to homicide” ~Lifer in San Quentin Prison
I have NEVER read a book that was about ME. It was crazy to see that there is a name to what I am dealing with and that she mentioned all of the emotions that I deal with like it was right there in black and white.
Ma’am, thank you for bringing awareness to Post Incarceration Syndrome. I was incarcerated for 22 years, and mentally, I’m messed up and messed up my wife’s head. Ma’am, will you please help my wife?
My Life. My Story. My Book.
“There’s the aftermath to every battle, and I was caught in his and survived. Seek to understand, not deny, the devastation incarceration leaves in its path.” ~ Shelia Bruno
“What you are doing with your book and messages is going to have an impact for DECADES to come. You discuss critically important issues in a way that the public will understand them and begin to ‘care’. Thank you!!” – Dr. Lisa, Expert on Suicide in Jails, Prisons, and Juvenile Justice
Hardy dose of reality without sugarcoating the ugly stuff. I will keep this book to use as I continue to mentor inmates and their families. This book isn’t just for wives; this is a book every support member needs to read. Thank you, Sheila, for being so raw and real. You have shown me where we need to be working.
Much appreciated for a great eye-opener. This book is so real and helpful. I have worked with people in the prison system for 15 years now. I have seen the effects incarceration tends to have on these men and women and their loved ones but never understood it until this book. The things we take for granted are highlighted in the book.
Thank you for writing this book. I now understand what’s wrong with me. In the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong with me, but I didn’t know there was a name for it. The behaviors are spot on, and I now understand what I put my wife through. I’ve never heard of arrested development, but now it all makes sense.