[Social care for patients hospitalised in units for difficult patients]

[Regional medical-psychological services]

The history of psychiatric care in prisons is relatively recent, and the regional medical-psychological services - initially called regional medical-psychological centers - were established in the different regions of France from 1977 onwards. Their main missions are the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses and addictions, as well as the organization of post-prison psychiatric care. Composed of multidisciplinary teams, they offer individual or group assessments and follow-up, as well as more specific care for certain penal populations.

[Units for difficult patients]

The ten French units for difficult patients are secure psychiatric services which receive people suffering from mental pathologies who could have committed or have committed dangerous acts. Among the mental health structures presented in this dossier, the units for difficult patients are those which admit prisoners with psychological disorders and problems of dangerousness for the longest period of time. As fully-fledged care facilities, they offer intensive and multi-professional care.