2023 ACA Orlando Program Book_Winter Conference

WORKSHOPS Sunday, Jan. 29 ▼ 12–1:30 p.m.

B-3G Practical Skills for Identifying and Managing Trauma (CE, Y CE) Grand Ballroom 13 Track: Mental Health Historically, jails and prisons have not fostered an environment that lends itself to the identification, or treatment of, individuals with trauma histories. Yet, for youth and adults, the prevalence of trauma amongst incarcerated individuals is staggering. In fact, trauma in the incarcerated population is so pervasive that experts advise staff to assume every individual in a justice-involved setting has a trauma history. Likewise, research has long shown the association between trauma and future violence. Yet, not everyone who experiences trauma has a history of incarceration; however, a high rate of incarcerated individuals began experiencing trauma at a very young age, long before they became the “violent” and “scary” individuals society perceives them to be. As healthcare providers, it is our duty to treat individuals with a history of trauma in a trauma-informed manner, in such a way that we identify their unique set of experiences that have shaped their criminogenic behaviors, and develop an understanding of how these experiences continue to affect their

current behavior and influence their daily life. On a global scale, we need to increase our understanding of how experiencing trauma at a young age perpetuates a series of life experiences that may pave the path for violence and subsequent incarceration for at risk individuals. Understanding this trajectory will not only increase empathic therapeutic responses, but also aid in the provision of trauma-informed care as when we understand our patient’s past, we can better understand and treat their current behavior/symptomology. As such, this presentation will focus on A) reviewing seminal research examining decades long data demonstrating a clear relational pattern between exposure to traumatic situations during youth, subsequent “rehabilitative” measures (i.e., youth/juvenile programs, adolescent residential programs, etc.) and ongoing criminogenic behaviors in adulthood that lead to incarceration; and B) explore societal perceptions of incarcerated individuals while discussing the importance of treating the individual instead of focusing on solely on their diagnosis or their crime(s), C) The presenters will provide resources to aid in the identification of when an incarcerated individual is exhibiting

104 — ACA 2023 Winter Conference | Orlando