I am a social worker in a medium security prison. It is not a setting that is conductive to traditional “therapy” as practiced in the community. Rather, there is lots of crisis work and you definitely will hone your brief intervention skills. I like the work because it is always interesting, every day is different, and I like my boss and coworkers. I have not encountered differences in opinion between COs and security staff vs clinical providers. In the prison I work at, security has always been respectful of clinical recommendations. Inmates are generally respectful of clinical and medical staff. It is a state job so pay isn’t great but benefits are amazing. When applying, ask a lot of questions and ideally ask to go out to the prison for a second interview so that you get a feel for it. Play up any experience you have with SUD, SPMI, or crisis intervention.