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| Trauma techniques for today's women |
| By Sarah Etter, News Reporter |
| Published: 06/18/2007 |
Many innovative treatment programs are usually reserved for those offenders serving long-term sentences. But in Florida’s Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office female offenders are getting the help they need, even if they are serving short sentences.“We saw that women were coming into the jail dealing with substance abuse problems, as well as post traumatic stress disorder,” says Joel Pietsch, HCSO inmate treatment supervisor. “The theory used to be that it was better to get the women off drugs for at least a year before working on their trauma issues. But we realized they were coming in for short sentences and relapsing. We saw women would have symptoms related to post traumatic stress disorder and we noticed they would disassociate and act out during the program based on their behavior. So we started the Women’s Substance Abuse program.” The program is based on cognitive behavioral components found in the book Seeking Safety by Dr. Lisa M. Najavits. Pietsch says that after employees realized how useful the book was, they contacted Najavits to come in and train the rest of the staff, as well as create the program “Both the book and program are really focused on creating an environment of safety around yourself,” he explains. “Keeping yourself safe is really the issue, which includes not using drugs and alcohol, not maintaining relationships built on drugs and alcohol, and not putting yourself at risk for more traumatic events to happen to you.” Women entering HCSO are screened for addiction and post traumatic stress disorder. If they are found to have symptoms of either issue, they are enrolled in the program. Then, for ten weeks, the women learn a number of different techniques to deal with trauma. But they don’t have to take long, harrowing trips through their past ordeals to make progress. “We used to be pretty reluctant to deal with trauma therapy,” Pietsch admits. “A few years ago, there were some very intense, invasive forms of treatment. Now, we teach these women how to work through trauma on a daily basis and focus on the present rather than the past.” The trauma techniques are taught during classes that look more like workshops, with HCSO counselors facilitating conversations between everyone, rather than standing at the front of the room and teaching. “We used to go in and teach and the women would be talking about all of the different issues so you try to corral that and deal with the curriculum. In this intervention, you are talking, but you are talking in a focused manner. There is a lot more interaction,” Pietsch adds. Additionally, the women form bonds among themselves and find friendships during their personal journeys. In addition to learning these techniques, the women also attend GED and vocational classes as part of the program curriculum. Once women graduate from the program, they connected with community mental health experts that they can turn to if they need help. “Let’s be realistic here,” Pietsch says. “Sometimes, a relapse is going to happen. But when it does, these women now have someone they can call, in the community, who will help to get them back on track and support them. That makes a world of difference. Innovative techniques like this have garnered a number of excellence awards for the program and have been proven successful for HCSO ex-offenders too. Now, when the women do return to the HCSO, it’s often to give motivational speeches to current program participants. “Most of us are familiar with women who are incarcerated with histories of trauma that have lived through stuff none of the rest of us would make it through,” Pietsch says. “But with this program, they are creating healthy relationships, giving back to the community and managing their issues. They do want to have a wonderful life. We’ve always tried to help them do that.” |
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