I Worked Inside Rikers Island — It Was Hell | Matt Frey

Feb 3, 2026

Matt Frey, a licensed therapist who spent seven years working inside Rikers Island and now runs a private practice. He gives a raw inside look at daily life behind bars. Topics include extreme violence and suicidality, how mental health services are used for protection, the trauma of staff and inmates, and the long personal toll of that work.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Use Calm Presence To Build Trust

Keep a calm, flat affect when working with severe offenders to avoid escalation and build trust.
Matt Frey used breathing and eye contact to manage fear and develop rapport safely.

INSIGHT

Suicide Watch Is Not One Thing

Suicide watch in jail spans a spectrum from protective one-to presence to abusive naked-suit isolation.
Matt Frey highlights ethical conflicts when clearing people mentally fit for solitary that may worsen them.

ANECDOTE

Violence, Slashings, And Seeking Safety

Therapists and officers regularly suffer brutal assaults, including knockouts and slashings.
Matt says a culture of disfigurement exists and inmates use mental health to seek safer housing.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Matt Frey spent seven years working as a therapist inside Rikers Island from 2011 to 2018, a job he never imagined taking growing up in the suburbs of New York. In this episode, Matt gives a rare inside look at day-to-day life at Rikers from the inmate perspective, breaking down what really happens in both General Population and Mental Observation housing. He shares firsthand experiences with extreme violence, inmate suicides, unprovoked attacks on staff, and the psychological toll of working inside one of America’s most notorious jail systems. Matt also explains how inmates sometimes manipulate mental health services for protection or legal advantage, what it’s like hearing confessions protected by confidentiality, and the surreal reality of assessing people just hours after seeing their alleged crimes on the news. Now running his own psychotherapy practice after leaving Rikers, Matt reflects on boundaries, trauma, and how working inside the jail changed him forever.

_____________________________________________ #RikersIsland #PrisonStories #TrueCrimePodcast #JusticeSystem #PrisonLife #MentalHealthInPrison #LifeBehindBars #lockedin

_____________________________________________ Thank you to AVA for sponsoring this episode: Take control of your credit today. Download the Ava app and when you join using my promo code LOCKEDIN, you’ll get 20% off your first year—monthly or annual, your choice.

_____________________________________________ Connect with Matt Frey: Instagram: @freymentalfitness @outliftathletics @mcfrey27 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585253558683

_____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/

_____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop

_____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Life Inside Rikers Island (What No One Sees) 01:14 Meet Matt: A Therapist Inside Rikers Island 03:00 From Rikers Island to Private Practice 07:12 Matt’s Early Life & Why He Chose Mental Health 13:55 First Jobs in Mental Health & Prison Work 18:43 First Day Working at Rikers Island (Shock & Reality) 20:44 How Therapy Works Inside a Jail 23:10 Violence, Suicides & Mental Health at Rikers 27:29 Solitary Confinement & Its Psychological Damage 32:58 Daily Life at Rikers: Safety, Filth & Neglect 37:06 Confidentiality, Courts & Ethical Dilemmas in Jail 45:01 The Human Side of Rikers: Trauma & Inmate Stories 53:34 Why He Left Rikers Island 01:00:26 Lessons Learned About Justice, Mental Health & Reform

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices