Hello,
Are there programs for training law enforcement personnel on the adverse affects of trauma? I have found a DVD based curriculum on the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and apparently SAMSHA has a program as well. Are there any speakers or trainers in the Pacific Northwest that provide workshops on understanding ACES/trauma and resiliency for rural police and sheriff departments?
Thank you,
Johanna Roe
Skamania Klickitat Community Network
Southwest Washington State
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I reposted your query on my Linked-In network, and will keep you advised if I hear anything from Law Enforcement colleagues, or folks in the Washington state area.
Hello Johanna, as a psychiatrist I have been involved in ACEs- and trauma-informed care for over 15 years. I have presented overviews of ACEs research data and its implications for understanding human behavior to diverse audiences, from professional to community. I am very interested in bringing this information to law-enforcement, many of who are exposed to traumatic experiences as a result of their job. We don't have good data on prevalence of ACEs in law-enforcement samples but if armed forces samples are any indication the prevalence of ACEs might be higher among police officers than the general population. I think this topic is hugely important to build resilience among the law-enforcement workforce, and to increase their effectiveness at work. For example, by providing them with strategies to deescalate aggressive interactions and minimize the use of excessive force.
I will be happy to discuss my interest in more detail and send you my CV at your convenience.
Best,
Andres
Hi Johanna, I am working with local law enforcement to help pilot a training on this exact topic. I have a Masters in Community and Trauma Counseling and work collaboratively with several PhD's and therapists in the community to increase awareness of traumatic exposure and its far reaching implications. This is newer work for me, but we HAVE to start somewhere. I would love to speak w you further if you like. Best to you!
Winden Rowe, MS
winden@hessandrowe.com
Russell Strand's FETI (Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview) technique has revolutionized law enforcement's approach to victims of violence, and suspects as well. As an employee of the Army Military Police School, Strand is an excellent trainer for the law enforcement audience. He is engaging, energetic, and uses real-world examples to demonstrate his points. He travels all over the country (we have worked with him many times in MN) and trains for free because it is part of his position with the Army to do so. The Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault posted a description here: http://www.mncasa.org/assets/P...Russell%20Strand.pdf
Joahanna,
There is a community group here in San Diego that wraps trauma informedwith community relatiosn..you may want to talk with Tasha Williamson at tashawilliamson1@gmail.com --she is pretty special and the crew which includes Dana Brown of ACES is great!!!
Lynn Underwood
Hi Johanna! Here at Echo we are preparing to train the LAUSD school police working with an LAPD instructor to come up with a trauma-informed, nonviolent curriculum. It won't be rolled out until Sept 2016, but we would be happy to share what we have learned with you if you can wait that long!
Lou
lgodbold@echoparenting.org
While we are not in the Northwest, I thought I would share that in Kansas City we started our trauma informed work with our Police Department on surviving secondary trauma. The course is 1/2 day, includes information on the allostatic load, brain science and provides a number of paths for self care. We have found the officers responsive and comments about wanting more information and why did it take so long to offer such helpful training are common. The presentation was developed in partnership with the community mental health center staff and police officers. Now that the officers know how to take care of themselves, they are interested in learning more about the impact of trauma on our citizens. If you are interested in our course, I am happy to share-all of it has been gathered from information in the public domain or from trauma experts.
Hi Joanna,
My approach is to train LEOs and other emergency responders how to release their own stress and trauma, so that they are emotionally more capable of doing their own jobs (trauma information will fly out the window once the brain stem takes over), and then be able to recognize it in others. Along with that is we present ACEs studies to reveal the prevalence, and the psycho educational part that explains what is trauma, how it might differ from stress, and and physiological capacity differences.
The meat of my experience has been 15 years as a firefighter/EMT, working alongside LEOs in many situations that had an impact on us we still don't fully acknowledge.
If you'd like to discuss this, I can be reached at leckey@raiseyourresilience.com. I happen to be in Washington, up on Whidbey Island.
Hello,
There is a lot going on around the country in this regard. One of the outcomes of the US Attorney General's Defending Childhood Task Force was recognition of the important role police officers play in the lives of children exposed to violence. On the East Coast we are working with the Yale Child Study Center and International Association of Chiefs of Police providing training in various sites, which includes information about the ACES. Dr. Steven Berkowitz at U Penn (formerly at Yale) primarily developed that part of the curriculum. In Mecklenburg, we also provide trauma training within our 40-hour CIT training week. SAMHSA has a trauma training curriculum for criminal justice professionals. I've provided some links below. Contact me if I can help further.
Respectfully,
Sarah Greene, LCSW
Mecklenburg County Trauma & Justice Partnerships, Charlotte NC
sarah.greene@mecklenburgcountync.gov
http://www.iacp.org/Children-Exposed-to-Violence
http://www.samhsa.gov/gains-ce...ustice-professionals
http://charmeck.org/mecklenbur...CJS/Pages/CD-CP.aspx
HI Joanna,
Contact Kody Russell at Kitsap Strong. He may have some contacts for you. Mara
The former Washington State Police psychologist [last I knew] worked for the On-Site Academy in Gardner, Massachusetts-which serves First Responders (Police, Fire, etc.) AND Human Services Personnel throughout the world, and runs a (First Responder/Human Services Personnel Crisis/Respite program at a proximate rural farm, and also has a relationship with the Boston, and Cambridge (Massachusetts) [trauma-informed] Police Peer Support programs. I don't recall their website address, or whether they might consult on such matters, but you could inquire with them.
Hello Joanna,
I am pleased that you are still active and asking great questions! As you know, I retired when the Family Council Office shut down three years ago, but I have continued working as a consultant with Laura Porter at Healthy Gen. Foundation and doing research with Teri Barila in Walla Walla, that is very close to you. We recently did a focus group with juvenile justice folks in Walla Walla, examining what their trauma informed practices were and what the challenges had been in implementing them and what challenges remained. I also did the ACEs/resilience/school performance evaluation of students in the alternative High School, Lincoln High, portrayed in the Paper Tigers documentary - Jim, the school principle, worked together with the Walla Walla officer. I would suggest that you send Teri and Jim an e-mail and chat with them. Beyond ACE and resilience trainings, I have found that talking with other like-professionals, sharing experiences, is most useful for folks that want to implement/adapt/invent their own trauma informed practices, suitable for their unique community context. See e-mails below. Best wishes!
teriyb@gmail.com
Marsha Morgan posted:While we are not in the Northwest, I thought I would share that in Kansas City we started our trauma informed work with our Police Department on surviving secondary trauma. The course is 1/2 day, includes information on the allostatic load, brain science and provides a number of paths for self care. We have found the officers responsive and comments about wanting more information and why did it take so long to offer such helpful training are common. The presentation was developed in partnership with the community mental health center staff and police officers. Now that the officers know how to take care of themselves, they are interested in learning more about the impact of trauma on our citizens. If you are interested in our course, I am happy to share-all of it has been gathered from information in the public domain or from trauma experts.
Marsha, I am interested in information re: your work. Hoping to implement similar curricula in the Phila area.
winden@hessandrowe.com
Johanna Roe posted:Hello,
Are there programs for training law enforcement personnel on the adverse affects of trauma? I have found a DVD based curriculum on the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and apparently SAMSHA has a program as well. Are there any speakers or trainers in the Pacific Northwest that provide workshops on understanding ACES/trauma and resiliency for rural police and sheriff departments?
Thank you,
Johanna Roe
Skamania Klickitat Community Network
Southwest Washington State
Hi Johanna,
Sound Discipline in Seattle, works with schools and other organizations to teach trauma informed practices. http://sounddiscipline.org/contact/
In particular Dr. Jody McVittie, has presented at the King County Juvenile Court, to prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation counselors, and other court staff. She has a way of explaining things in a down to earth matter of fact way that many people, not just social workers, are receptive to.
They are in demand, so hopefully are not yet at capacity. They have classes that are open to the public and also have been known to design training programs for a target audience. Here is their contact information:
Email: info@SoundDiscipline.org
Jody McVittie, MD
Director of Program
Parents: Contact us for information about scheduling parent classes or parent talks.
Educators: Contact us for customized training and support to districts, schools, and educational teams.
Classes: Registration information for classes open to the public can be found on the events calendar.
As soon as I became aware that there is such as thing as trauma informed policing, I was excited about the possible positive changes that can happen in communities across our nation. Hope this information helps!
Stephanie
Hi all,
Reading with interest here because we've just completed Phase I (of a 3 yr. contract) of trauma training with Sanctuary Institute to a range of criminal justice stakeholders, including probation, police, sheriff, DA, Public Defender. We are thinking through implementation strategies for each of these departments/agencies and I too am curious about how others have gone about getting more resistant groups to engage with TI principals.
Thanks!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
I would say, as a responder, that part of the resistance is the possibility that they might have to face their own trauma. Granted, that might not be the subject matter. If you start discussing issues like suicide, divorce, alcoholism, PTSD, and so on, responders will get triggered. If they know its already on the table, they might not show. That was the very reason we got into what we do: we wanted to give responders a tool to deal with their own stuff first. It hasn't changed the culture of the services though.
Looking at your list then, I see another possibility: it challenges the basis of justice in their minds. It seems any more these days "guilty until proven innocent and your life is destroyed," or you just get shot dead. What might be required then is making sure that 1) What you're dealing with is being able to have the justice system respond properly to trauma. That means justice, and healing for the trauma. Let's make sure we don't have a repeat offender. This isn't about abrogating responsibility. 2) Being aware yourselves of how people are responding to your material. I imagine you're dealing with abstracts and theories, but the word "trauma" itself can be triggering. Some of my colleagues don't use it. 3) Make what you're doing inclusive, and say why. Essentially, this is about serving the people. Better service, better reputation. Helping them where they're at means we can reduce recidivism. In the short and long run, that might reduce stress levels in the serving organizations. That's somewhat my approach, except that I then teach them how to release their own stress and trauma (without having to be diagnosed, or talk about it), which as individuals gives them that awareness of dealing with trauma in the executions of their duties.
My two cents...
Leckey
I am new to this wonderful community and am delighted to find this thread. I am working in collaboration with others to build an ACE understanding into police training for interactions with juveniles. The underlying reality of trauma is a big elephant in the middle of the room in understanding crime. I'm not even sure where to start on trying to build ACE research into the world of police training for dealing with juveniles, but am convinced it would transform enforcement over time by re-characterizing how kids are seen and dealt with. For example, a study done a few years back by Casey Families in Seattle did a follow-up on a number of young adults at age 24 who had aged out of foster care in Oregon and Washington. They found higher levels of PTSD in foster care "grads" than front line Gulf War veterans. Really getting this, not just for police, but for a whole range of systems that deal one way or another with troubled youth could transform what we do, which far too often now (often with the best of intentions) further traumatizes or re-traumatizes them.
Lots of great resources above that I will be checking out, so thanks everyone.
I would approach it from two aspects: as police deal with juveniles, they are doing so from their own ACE score. The client that I treated with the highest ACE score was a police officer. They need trauma informed training, and, a toolbox to deal with their own stress, secondary trauma, and PTSD. I would encourage you to look into considering the addition of The Circle Way (Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea) if you work with juveniles.
