As New York City grapples with a growing number of violent incidents perpetrated by individuals struggling with mental health issues, forensic psychologist Virginia Barber-Rioja is offering a more nuanced take on this problem.
“Mental illness alone is not what, for the most part, causes violent behavior or crime,” Barber-Rioja said in an interview with City Newsroom on March 27th. “It’s all of the things that happen to people with mental illness when they don’t have enough resources.”
Born on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, Barber-Rioja led mental health services for the second-largest jail in the United States, Rikers Island, from 2016 to 2022, as co-chief of the Health and Hospitals’ department overseeing correctional facilities.
It was while pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical forensic psychology at John Jay College that she became interested in the large number of individuals suffering from mental health challenges in U.S. jails. While Mayor Eric Adams blames recidivism and mental illness as the factors behind the current trend of violent incidents – including one of a man fatally pushed at a Harlem subway station last month- Barber-Rioja is seeking a deeper understanding of this complex problem. “How are we failing them?” she asked about those stuck in the criminal justice system.
There are more than 6,000 individuals awaiting trial or serving short sentences inside Rikers, a correctional facility mired in violence and mismanagement. Half of those detained have been diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to a study by the Independent Budget Office.
“Rikers Island has more people with mental illness than any psychiatric hospital in New York State,” Barber-Rioja said.
Built in 1932, the conditions inside Rikers exacerbate symptoms among those incarcerated, she said, adding that the walls are crumbling, and the atmosphere chaotic, loud, and overcrowded. “There is a lack of natural light, the spaces are very small, the cells are very small,” she said, which creates a very dehumanizing environment.
Also, when incarcerated individuals inside Rikers provoke violence or fall victim to it, correction officers can place them in isolated cells. Solitary confinement can produce irreversible psychological harm to detainees, especially among youths. In January, Adams vetoed a City Council bill banning the practice. In principle, Barber-Rioja believes it should be eliminated, but her experience inside the jail system has led her to believe that isolation might be necessary in some instances for some violent individuals.
“I think that there are times when you need to isolate people from the general population,” she said. “They can be violent towards other incarcerated people, towards officers, to mental health professionals, and sometimes you run out of things to do to manage that violence and need to isolate them for a period of time,” says Barber-Rioja
The United States has historically failed to help individuals reintegrate into society after spending time behind bars. Because people are not getting the support they need, they often wind up back in jail for crimes directly linked to their untreated mental illness.
Barber-Rioja said a secure safety net is crucial for these individuals. Trying to combat recidivism, Barber-Rioja would attempt to find housing for her patients upon their release, but she estimates that only 1% of her former detained patients was successful in getting this help.
“I used to have fights with housing providers all the time,” Barber-Rioja said. “People in the legal system coming out of jails are competing for the same beds as people in the community, and there is a lot of discrimination.”
Barber-Rioja, who now works as a consultant and as an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University Teachers College, recommends Mayor Adams to bolster mental health resources in addition to building more supportive housing, where these individuals get on-site services.
She also wants the media to improve coverage of these issues and avoid the false narrative that people with mental illness are dangerous. “Every time you have someone with a mental illness committing a crime, it’s on the cover of all the major newspapers in the city,” she said.
Even though she loved her job, it was taxing. She stepped down from her position two years ago, in part unable to separate work from her personal life.
“Sometimes it’s important to know when you’ve reached your limit and when you need to take a step back,” she said.
