Abstract
Many people convicted of criminal offenses have a complex history of trauma that is overshadowed by the harm caused by their crimes. Although these truths do not excuse their criminal behaviors, it is important to understand and respond to trauma as one of the numerous and complex factors that contribute to criminality. Efforts to reduce crime and prevent future offending can be strengthened through trauma-informed policies and interventions. This chapter provides insight on the importance of trauma-informed care (TIC) in the criminal justice system by (1) discussing risk factors for criminality within the context of childhood adversity and adult trauma; cultural, historical, intergenerational, and systemic racism; and the trauma of poverty; (2) conceptualizing the impact of trauma on development of behavioral problems and mental health disorders; and (3) defining and describing trauma-informed care for practitioners in the criminal justice system. TIC uses principles of safety, trust, empowerment, choice, and collaboration to enhance engagement, build self-regulation and resilience skills, and avoid re-traumatization of criminal justice clients. This chapter concludes with useful questions that professionals and organizations should consider when implementing trauma-informed care in their practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30(1), 47–88. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01093.x
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Author.
Anda, R. F., Butchart, A., Felitti, V. J., & Brown, D. W. (2010). Building a framework for global surveillance of the public health implications of adverse childhood experiences. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 39(1), 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2010.03.015
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2010). Rehabilitating criminal justice policy and practice. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018362
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2017). The psychology of criminal conduct (4th ed.). Anderson Publishing.
APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice. (2006). Evidence-based practice in psychology. The American Psychologist, 61(4), 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.271
Ardino, V. (2012). Offending behaviour: The role of trauma and PTSD. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3(1), 18968. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.18968
Baglivio, M. T., & Epps, N. (2016). The interrelatedness of adverse childhood experiences among high-risk juvenile offenders. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 14(3), 179–198. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204014566286
Baglivio, M. T., Epps, N., Swartz, K., Huq, M. S., Sheer, A., & Hardt, N. S. (2014). The prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in the lives of juvenile offenders. Journal of Juvenile Justice, 3(2), 1–23. Retrieved from https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/246951.pdf
Bainbridge, C. L. (2016). Restoring ordinariness for women offenders: Why every wing matters. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 28(2), 172–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/14789949.2016.1204466
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Berliner, L., & Kolko, D. J. (2016). Trauma informed care. Child Maltreatment, 21(2), 168–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559516643785
Blagden, N. J., Winder, B., & Hames, C. (2016). “They treat us like human beings”—Experiencing a therapeutic sex offenders prison: Impact on prisoners and staff and implications for treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(4), 371–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x14553227
Bloom, S. L. (2010). Trauma-organized systems and parallel process. In N. Tehrani (Ed.), Managing trauma in the workplace—Supporting workers and the organisation (pp. 139–153). Routledge.
Bloom, S. L. (2013). Creating sanctuary: Toward the evolution of sane societies. Routledge.
Bryant-Davis, T. (2019). The cultural context of trauma recovery: Considering the posttraumatic stress disorder practice guideline and intersectionality. Psychotherapy, 56(3), 400–408. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000241
Carlson, E. A., & Sroufe, L. A. (1995). Contribution of attachment theory to developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology, Vol. 1: Theory and methods (pp. 581–617). Wiley.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013a). Adverse Childhood Experience study: Major findings. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013b). Adverse Childhood Experiences Study: Prevalence of individual adverse childhood experiences. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/resources.html
Cheng, J., O’Connell, M. E., & Wormith, J. S. (2019). Bridging neuropsychology and forensic psychology: Executive function overlaps with the Central Eight risk and need factors. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(4), 558–573. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x18803818
Cicchetti, D., & Banny, A. (2014). A developmental psychopathology perspective on child maltreatment. In M. Lewis & K. Rudolph (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology (pp. 723–741). Springer.
Covington, S., & Bloom, B. (2007). Gender responsive treatment and services in correctional settings. Women & Therapy, 29(3–4), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1300/J015v29n03_02
Covington, S. S., Burke, C., Keaton, S., & Norcott, C. (2008). Evaluation of a trauma-informed and gender-responsive intervention for women in drug treatment. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 40(Suppl. 5), 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2008.10400666
Dershowitz, A. M. (1995). The abuse excuse: And other cop-outs, sob stories, and evasions of responsibility. Back Bay Books.
Donisch, K., Bray, C., & Gewirtz, A. (2016). Child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, and education providers’ conceptualizations of trauma-informed practice. Child Maltreatment, 21(2), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559516633304
Elliott, D. E., Bjelajac, P., Fallot, R. D., Markoff, L. S., & Reed, B. G. (2005). Trauma‐informed or trauma‐denied: Principles and implementation of traumainformed services for women. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(4), 461–477.
Fallot, R. D., McHugo, G. J., Harris, M., & Xie, H. (2011). The trauma recovery and empowerment model: A quasi-experimental effectiveness study. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 7(1–2), 74–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15504263.2011.566056
Felitti, V. J. (2002). The relation between adverse childhood experiences and adult health: Turning gold into lead. The Permanente Journal, 6(1), 44–47.
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8
Friedman, M. J. (2013). Finalizing PTSD in DSM-5: Getting here from there and where to go next. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(5), 548–556. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21840
Frueh, B. C., Knapp, R. G., Cusack, K. J., Grubaugh, A. L., Sauvageot, J. A., Cousins, V. C., Yim, E., Robins, C. S., Monnier, J., & Hiers, T. G. (2005). Special section on seclusion and restraint: Patients’ reports of traumatic or harmful experiences within the psychiatric setting. Psychiatric Services, 56(9), 1123–1133. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.56.9.1123
Grady, M. D., Levenson, J. S., & Bolder, T. (2016). Linking Adverse Childhood Effects and attachment: A theory of etiology for sexual offending. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(4), 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838015627147
Grady, M. D., Levenson, J. S., & Prescott, D. (2017). Empirically informed forensic social work practice. In T. Maschi & G. S. Leibowitz (Eds.), Forensic practice: Psychosocial and legal issues across diverse populations and settings. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826120670.0020
Hanson, R. K., Bourgon, G., Helmus, L., & Hodgson, S. (2009). The principles of effective correctional treatment also apply to sexual offenders: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36(9), 865–891. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809338545
Harlow, C. W. (1999). Prior abuse reported by inmates and probationers. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=637
Harris, D. A., & Levenson, J. S. (2020). Life on “the list” is a life lived in fear: Post-conviction traumatic stress in men convicted of sexual offenses. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 65(6–7), 763–789. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x20952397
Harris, M. E., & Fallot, R. D. (2001). Using trauma theory to design service systems. Jossey-Bass.
Henry, B. F. (2020). Typologies of adversity in childhood & adulthood as determinants of mental health & substance use disorders of adults incarcerated in US prisons. Child Abuse & Neglect, 99, 104251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104251
Hindman, J., & Peters, J. M. (2001). Polygraph testing leads to better understanding adult and juvenile sex offenders. Federal Probation, 65(3), 8–15. Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/65_3_2_0.pdf
Holley, S. R., Ewing, S. T., Stiver, J. T., & Bloch, L. (2017). The relationship between emotion regulation, executive functioning, and aggressive behaviors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32(11), 1692–1707. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515592619
Hudson, N. (2016). The trauma of poverty as social identity. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 21(2), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2014.965979
Jäggi, L. J., Mezuk, B., Watkins, D. C., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). The relationship between trauma, arrest, and incarceration history among Black Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life. Society and Mental Health, 6(3), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869316641730
Jennings, J. L., & Sawyer, S. (2003). Principles and techniques for maximizing the effectiveness of group therapy with sex offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research & Treatment, 15(4), 251–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/107906320301500403
Jung, S. (2017). RNR principles in practice in the management and treatment of sexual abusers. Safer Society Press.
Koeske, Z. (2016, April 27). Cook County jail chess program teaches inmates self-empowerment. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-jail-chess-st%2D%2D0427-20160426-story.html
Kubiak, S., Covington, S., & Hillier, C. (2017). Trauma-informed corrections. In D. Springer & A. Roberts (Eds.), Social work in juvenile and criminal justice system (4th ed., pp. 92–104). Charles C. Thomas.
Larkin, H., Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2014). Social work and adverse childhood experiences research: Implications for practice and health policy. Social Work in Public Health, 29(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2011.619433
Lee, R. (2017). The impact of engaging with clients’ trauma stories. Probation Journal, 64(4), 372–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264550517728783
Levenson, J. S., & Grady, M. D. (2016). Childhood adversity, substance abuse, and violence: Implications for trauma-informed social work practice. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 16(1–2), 24–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533256X.2016.1150853
Levenson, J. S., Willis, G., & Prescott, D. (2017). Trauma-informed care: Transforming treatment for people who sexually abuse. Safer Society Press.
Liem, M., & Kunst, M. (2013). Is there a recognizable post-incarceration syndrome among released “lifers”? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 36(3–4), 333–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2013.04.012
Macgowan, M. J. (2003). Increasing engagement in groups: A measurement based approach. Social Work with Groups, 26(1), 5–28. https://doi.org/10.1300/J009v26n01_02
Marshall, W. L. (2005). Therapist style in sexual offender treatment: Influence on indices of change. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research & Treatment, 17(2), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/107906320501700202
Marshall, W. L., Burton, D. L., & Marshall, L. E. (2013). Features of treatment delivery and group processes that maximize the effects of offender programs. In J. L. Wood & T. A. Gannon (Eds.), Crime and crime reduction: The importance of group processes (pp. 159–174). Routledge.
Marshall, W. L., Fernandez, Y. M., Serran, G. A., Mulloy, R., Thornton, D., Mann, R. E., & Anderson, D. (2003). Process variables in the treatment of sexual offenders: A review of the relevant literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 8(2), 205–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(01)00065-9
Marshall, W. L., Marshall, L. E., Serran, G. A., & O’Brien, M. D. (2011). Rehabilitating sexual offenders: A strength-based approach. American Psychological Association.
Martin, M. S., Eljdupovic, G., McKenzie, K., & Colman, I. (2015). Risk of violence by inmates with childhood trauma and mental health needs. Law and Human Behavior, 39(6), 614–623. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000149
Maruna, S., LeBel, T. P., Mitchell, N., & Naples, M. (2004). Pygmalion in the reintegration process: Desistance from crime through the looking glass. Psychology, Crime & Law, 10(3), 271–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683160410001662762
Maschi, T., Gibson, S., Zgoba, K. M., & Morgen, K. (2011). Trauma and life event stressors among young and older adult prisoners. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 17(2), 160–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078345810396682
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades [Editorial]. Development and Psychopathology, 22(3), 491–495. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000222
Messina, N., Grella, C., Burdon, W., & Prendergast, M. (2007). Childhood adverse events and current traumatic distress: A comparison of men and women drug-dependent prisoners. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(11), 1385–1401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807305150
Miller, N. A., & Najavits, L. M. (2012). Creating trauma-informed correctional care: A balance of goals and environment. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3(1), 17246. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.17246
Najavits, L. (2009). Seeking Safety: An implementation guide. In A. Rubin & D. Springer (Eds.), The clinician’s guide to evidence-based practice (pp. 311–347). Wiley.
Najavits, L. M., Schmitz, M., Johnson, K. M., Smith, C., North, T., Hamilton, N., Walser, R., Reeder, K., Norman, S., & Wilkins, K. (2009). Seeking Safety therapy for men: Clinical and research experiences. In Men and addictions (pp. 37–58). Nova Science Publishers.
Olver, M. E., Marshall, L. E., Marshall, W. L., & Nicholaichuk, T. P. (2018). A long-term outcome assessment of the effects on subsequent reoffense rates of a prison-based CBT/RNR sex offender treatment program with strength-based elements. Sexual Abuse, 32(2), 127–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063218807486
Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1990). A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American Psychologist, 44(2), 329–335. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.2.329
Pattyn, E., Verhaeghe, M., Sercu, C., & Bracke, P. (2014). Public stigma and self-stigma: Differential association with attitudes toward formal and informal help seeking. Psychiatric Services, 65(2), 232–238. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201200561
Pettus-Davis, C., & Epperson, M. W. (2015). From mass incarceration to smart decarceration. American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/From-Mass-Incarceration-to-Decarceration-3.24.15.pdf
Pettus-Davis, C., Renn, T., Lacasse, J. R., & Motley, R. (2019). Proposing a population-specific intervention approach to treat trauma among men during and after incarceration. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 20(3), 379–393. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000171
Prescott, D., Maeschalck, C. L., & Miller, S. D. (2017). Feedback-informed treatment in clinical practice: Reaching for excellence. American Psychological Association.
Rogers, C. (1961). A therapist’s view of psychotherapy: On becoming a person. Houghton Mifflin.
Roos, L. E., Afifi, T. O., Martin, C. G., Pietrzak, R. H., Tsai, J., & Sareen, J. (2016). Linking typologies of childhood adversity to adult incarceration: Findings from a nationally representative sample. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(5), 584–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000144
Sachs, N. M., & Miller, J. (2018). Beyond responsivity: Client service engagement in a reentry demonstration program. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(13), 4295–4313. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X18763762
Sadeh, N., & McNiel, D. E. (2015). Posttraumatic stress disorder increases risk of criminal recidivism among justice-involved persons with mental disorders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(6), 573–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854814556880
SAMHSA. (2014a). SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. Retrieved from https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/userfiles/files/SAMHSA_Trauma.pdf
SAMHSA. (2014b). TIP 57: Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services. Retrieved from https://store.samhsa.gov/product/TIP-57-Trauma-Informed-Care-in-Behavioral-Health-Services/SMA14-4816
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Guilford Press.
Shonkoff, J. P., Richter, L., van der Gaag, J., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2012). An integrated scientific framework for child survival and early childhood development. Pediatrics, 129(2), 460–472. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0366
Sotero, M. (2006). A conceptual model of historical trauma: Implications for public health practice and research. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 1(1), 93–108.
St. Vil, N. M., St. Vil, C., & Fairfax, C. N. (2019). Posttraumatic slave syndrome, the patriarchal nuclear family structure, and African American male–female relationships. Social Work, 64(2), 139–146. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swz002
Stinson, J. D., & Clark, M. D. (2017). Motivational interviewing with offenders: Engagement, rehabilitation, and reentry. Guilford Publications.
Sturgess, D., Woodhams, J., & Tonkin, M. (2016). Treatment engagement from the perspective of the offender: Reasons for noncompletion and completion of treatment—A systematic review. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(16), 1873–1896. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X15586038
Topitzes, J., Mersky, J. P., & Reynolds, A. J. (2011). Child maltreatment and offending behavior: Gender-specific effects and pathways. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(5), 492–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854811398578
Van der Kolk, B. (2006). Clinical implications of neuroscience research in PTSD. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1071(1), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1364.022
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2017). Developmental trauma disorder: Toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric Annals, 35(5), 401–408.
Wallace, B., Conner, L., & Dass-Brailsford, P. (2011). Integrated trauma treatment in correctional health care and community-based treatment upon reentry. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 17(4), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078345811413091
Wampold, B. E. (2015). How important are the common factors in psychotherapy? An update. World Psychiatry, 14(3), 270–277. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20238
Willis, G. M. (2017). Why call someone by what we don’t want them to be? The ethics of labeling in forensic/correctional psychology. Psychology, Crime & Law, 24(7), 727–743. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2017.1421640
Willis, G. M., Yates, P. M., Gannon, T. A., & Ward, T. (2013). How to integrate the Good Lives Model into treatment programs for sexual offending: An introduction and overview. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 25(2), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063212452618
Wojciechowski, T. W. (2020). PTSD as a risk factor for the development of violence among juvenile offenders: A group-based trajectory modeling approach. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(13–14), 2511–2535. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517704231
Yates, P. M., Prescott, D., & Ward, T. (2010). Applying the good lives and self-regulation models to sex offender treatment: A practical guide for clinicians. Safer Society Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Levenson, J.S., Prescott, D.S., Willis, G.M. (2022). Trauma-Informed Treatment Practices in Criminal Justice Settings. In: Jeglic, E., Calkins, C. (eds) Handbook of Issues in Criminal Justice Reform in the United States. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77565-0_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77565-0_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-77564-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-77565-0
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)