Part One:
Trauma-Informed Corrections
C.J. Van Wright, DSW, LICSW
This article presents in two parts a consideration of trauma-informed corrections. Part, one describes the qualitative case study, that explores the experiences and perceptions of correctional staff who have utilized a trauma-informed approach in a women’s correctional facility for at least ten years. Trauma-informed corrections perspectives and the case study research design are presented. Part two will present the findings of the case study and discuss its implications for correctional staff and trauma-informed correctional facilities, that are gender-responsive.
Pathways into criminal conduct vary for women, and the effort to deliver a gender-responsive approach calls upon correctional staff to cultivate perspectives and practices attuned specifically to the population of women in their care and custody (Praetorius et al., 2017). A staff-centered inquiry, therefore, advances the effort to identify best practices for incarcerated women.
Gender-Responsive Practices with Incarcerated Women
Gender-responsive practices with women must account for histories of interpersonal violence and how that plays out over the lifespan. Stephanie Covington (2015) notes that “becoming trauma-informed is a core element in women’s treatment” and that “risk for abuse is gendered” (p.73). Because of their status and roles in life, women are more likely to experience traumatic events (SAMHSA, 2016).
While there are more men incarcerated than women, the rate of incarceration for women is increasing, whereas men’s rate of imprisonment is decreasing (McCorkel, 2013). Consideration of incarcerated men has tended to dominate in the literature because of their greater numbers, so Decou and S. Van Wright (2002) broke ground by writing about a trauma-informed women’s facility during a time when women’s special circumstances and gender needs were not widely recognized. Later, writing in Women, Girls & Criminal Justice, Van Voorhis (2009) took this work further by articulating components of gender-responsive corrections. These components include an effective assessment of the specific risk factors and needs presented by justice-involved women. Program designs must account for treatment fidelity, support for women’s family roles and vocational pathways, and staff training in gender-responsive care (Van Voorhis, 2009).
The Institute for Health and Recovery notes in “Why trauma matters: A training curriculum for corrections personnel working with female offenders” (2011) that unavoidable triggers exist in all correctional settings, so staff should allow the survivor to predict and self-regulate by acknowledging the distress, explaining the purpose, and affording personal choice where possible. This matters for the sake of the incarcerated women, and it also affects a key priority in corrections: improving public safety by reducing recidivism. Research has indicated that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms correlate with increased recidivism (Sadeh & McNiel, 2015). Stephanie Covington (2015) adds another strong voice to the literature on gender-responsive treatment. Covington takes into consideration that gender makes a difference when offering substance use disorder (SUD) services and has done extensive work in recovery as it relates to gender. The author revamped recovery materials that had patriarchal language and reenacted the powerlessness that women experience in their daily lives (Kubiak et al.). Drawing on extensive practice experience, Covington has written several programs and facilitator guides designed to help women recover. Investigating the efficacy of a manualized approach, King (2017) found that women benefit more from gender-specific treatments, notably for PTSD and SUD, than from more general program designs.
Trauma-Informed Perspectives
When describing what is meant by a trauma-informed organization, the literature suggests that a trauma-informed correctional facility should assume that the majority of women coming into care and custody arrive having a history of interpersonal trauma as well as SUD. The literature supports trauma-informed organizations as a best practice (SAMHSA, 2016). Practices such as closely attending to communication style, support, and education towards resolving psychological trauma, and minimization of triggering potential in daily practice figure prominently in trauma-informed practice in institutions (SAMHSA, 2016).
While the utilization of trauma-informed and gender-responsive services has begun to arise in recent literature on incarcerated women (King, 2017; Petrillo, 2016), very little research has explored the impact that using trauma-informed practices may have on correctional staff.
While there are events that most individuals likely experience as traumatic, trauma remains a highly subjective experience. Psychological trauma is the experience of any activity that results in overwhelming a person’s central nervous system or natural ability to cope, leading to lasting impacts (McCann & Pearlman, 1990). The updated Adverse Childhood Experiences Study has helped conceptualize what constitutes trauma (Webb, 2016). The authors emphasize experiences that occur in the context of interpersonal relations. Examples include childhood incidents of violence, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and exposure to violence against a caregiver, all of which correlate with lifelong impacts on health, well-being, and role functioning (Webb, 2016).
As society evolves in consciousness and understanding, the breadth and prevalence of trauma in Western culture have become increasingly evident. Some speculate that toxic stress and trauma disproportionately affect certain cultural and ethnic groups, contributing to intergenerational trauma and substance misuse (SAMHSA’S center for the application of prevention technologies webinar transcript: A critical look at intergenerational trauma and substance misuse: Implications for prevention, 2018). This prospect should be explored because significant racial disparities exist in the incarcerated population, with African-American women comprising about 34%, even though they represent only 13% of the US census population (Carson & Anderson, 2016; McCorkel, 2013).
Considering the chronological development of trauma-informed perspectives, we see that Judith Herman (1992) was an early pioneer in the study of trauma and recovery, specifically calling attention to its political nature. Herman (1992) writes, “The study of psychological trauma is an inherently political enterprise because it calls attention to oppressed people” (p. 237). Herman’s ideas reached a broad spectrum of people and integrally informed the national conversation about women and trauma. Miller and Najavits (2012) started their work with women’s recovery and substance use disorder. Their writing provides guidance for developing trauma-informed protocols in corrections and for supporting SUD recovery while incarcerated. They stress that establishing safety represents the most important component in recovery from trauma and substance abuse.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) produces a key body of research in the field, widely used as a resource for scholars and practitioners. Researchers examine treatment modalities informed by empirical evidence and shown to be efficacious (SAMHSA, 2014). SAMSHA published fundamental principles of a trauma-informed approach, which included safety, trustworthiness, and peer support, among others. These principles apply universally to any institution seeking to implement a trauma-informed approach.
Another vital contributor to the discourse on trauma is Bessel van der Kolk, who established the Trauma Center in Boston and who has highlighted a holistic approach to trauma recovery, incorporating such elements as neurofeedback and brain imaging. His work, The Body Keeps the Score (van der Kolk, 2014) remains highly regarded in the mental health and recovery field. The author indicates the centrality of trauma resolution in healthy adult functioning and points out the importance of integrating consideration of bodily experience (van der Kolk, 2014). Such consideration takes on particular meaning in a correctional setting, where the physicality of routine procedures such as wellness checks, cell searches, and strip searches, necessary to provide facility safety, unavoidably carries a routine impact on daily life for incarcerated persons (Schaefer, 2017).
Method
This case study occurred in a regional women’s correctional facility located in the northeastern region of the United States. This facility opened in 2007 as part of a large and progressive regional county jail and prides itself on being gender-responsive, trauma-informed, culturally aware, and family-focused. The facility employs a staff of 135, designed to serve an inmate capacity of 300 with a six-month average length of stay, and both pre-trial detainees, as well as individuals serving up to two and a half years for county sentences. All staff at the jail receive annual and ongoing trauma-informed and gender-responsive training. The qualitative case study method used in this research sought to answer the research question: What are staff perceptions regarding the implementation of trauma-informed practices and its impact on inmates as well as staff? The researcher utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews to gather the perceptions of correctional staff regarding the impact of trauma-informed practices on themselves, inmates, and other staff.
Sampling and Recruitment Method
A purposive sample of convenience was used in this case study to include various staff positions, ages, ethnicities, and gender among participating staff. Recruitment procedures were approved by the institutional review board to assure compliance with ethics and confidentiality requirements. The intentionality of recruitment optimized input from persons likely to be knowledgeable about implementing a trauma-informed approach. Staff eligible for recruitment were current facility employees who had worked at the facility or its parent institution for ten years or more. This allowed participants to have witnessed the transition to trauma-informed practices. An announcement of the research project was conducted to each shift over 4 days. Recruitment flyers were left in designated staff areas. From its opening in 2007, its explicit aim included being gender-responsive and trauma-informed.
Data Collection and Analysis
Data collection involved in-person interviews using a semi-structured interview schedule designed for this case study. The interview schedule facilitated qualitative interviews with participants through the use of open-ended questions (Nelson & Uhlenbeck, 2008; Patton, 2015). In-person interviews occurred at a discrete location, per the interview participant’s choice.
On average, interviews lasted from 45 to 60 minutes. The researcher transcribed interview data verbatim with the assistance of automated transcription software and cross-checked and edited it for accuracy. Transcripts were to facilitate subsequent data analysis. The researcher also collected data by using a field journal to capture contextual observation nuances relevant to the process of data collection. The interview schedule consisted of 19 questions. The first five questions asked descriptive demographic information (gender, position, age, ethnicity, and correctional work years). The remaining interview questions fall into three general categories: implementation of trauma-informed practices (four questions), questions related to trauma-informed training received by staff (five questions), and questions exploring the impact of trauma-informed practices on the inmates (four questions).
The data analysis process was iterative and, therefore, time and labor-intensive (Nelson & Uhlenbeck, 2008; Patton, 2015). The first step involved reading all transcripts multiple times without marking or taking notes. The goal of this first step was to thoroughly absorb each individual transcript multiple times without marking or taking notes. This step is analogous to data entry into the researcher who becomes the instrument (Patton, 2015; Saldana, 2016). Transcripts were copied onto different colors of paper to facilitate subsequent data analysis. Next, I began coding each transcript, making notes in margins, and underlining and circling key phrases and words. This led to re-reading, sorting into preliminary categories, re-reading, and re-sorting until themes and related subthemes emerged from the data (Patton, 2015; Saldana, 2016).
One of the strengths of the qualitative case study method is that it permits hearing participants’ voices in a robust way. Semi-structured interviews allow participants the freedom to respond and to respond in more depth (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008; Saldana, 2016). The interview schedule allowed flexibility to explore unexpected areas that surfaced during the interview. As a single case study, these results are not generalizable, but they can provide insights for consideration in other situations (Patton, 2015; Saldana, 2016).
Part two of this article will discuss case study findings. Staff perceptions of participating in trauma-informed practices at a women’s correctional facility will be presented. Correctional staff participant data had several themes to emerge, including increased awareness of mental health issues, and an emphasis on professionalism.
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Dr. C.J. Van Wright is an Assistant Professor at Westfield State University’s Department of Social Work in Westfield, MA, as well as a social worker with decades of conducting trauma groups with incarcerated women and in community mental health clinical care and supervision. For the doctoral social work program and dissertation at the University of St. Thomas/
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