A UMass Medical School expert on mental health for incarcerated populations has co-edited a soon-to-be-released textbook on correctional psychiatry to help improve the quality of care provided to inmates.

The first comprehensive textbook on correctional psychiatry will be released next month in an effort to improve the quality of care given to inmates with mental illnesses. Kenneth L. Appelbaum, MD, a co-editor of the textbook, sheds light on the need for mental health services in both correctional facilities and the community. Appelbaum is clinical professor of psychiatry at UMass Medical School and director of correctional mental health policy and research at its Center for Health Policy and Research, a unit within Commonwealth Medicine.