Corrections_Today_May_June_2020_Vol.82_No.3

Each year, Amethyst provides services to over 350 women and 80 children. It is critical to create a thera- peutic and trauma informed environment so women and women with their children feel safe to openly engage with clinicians and other supportive staff. This is accomplished through the following programmatic elements: 1. Trauma training 2. Gender and family specific curricula and programs 3. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) 4. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) 5. Community and peer support Ensuring all staff are adequately trained in trauma informed approaches is key to success. All Amethyst staff who interact with clients in any capacity are trained as new employees and also receive annual trauma informed “booster” training sessions. This facilitates the cultural foundation for staff to ask, “what happened to you?” and not “what’s wrong with you?” Equally important is addressing the training and wellness needs of staff expe- riencing secondary trauma. Secondary trauma in mental health providers is defined as the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person. It can result in the staff person feeling the client’s pain, helplessness and loss of hope. 13 In treatment, we are able to capitalize on women’s strengths, which include their capacity for connectedness with key relationships in their lives.

Treating Addiction.” 14 In treatment, we are able to capital- ize on women’s strengths, which include their capacity for connectedness with key relationships in their lives. Programming is specifically designed for mothers who have children. Amethyst takes a three-pronged approach both when working with women who are preparing to reunify with their children and when working with moth- ers and children who are already living together while in treatment. It consists of: –– Parenting education and skills practice for mothers; –– Clinical assessment and treatment services for moth- ers and children; and –– Prevention services for children, such as substance abuse education, educational supports, after school supervision and activities, and a specialized summer camp program for at risk children. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a modality used in the Amethyst program. It is one of the treatment approaches that has demonstrated positive results for people suffering with trauma symptoms and PTSD more specifically. Although originally developed as a treat- ment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), many of the coping skills made available through DBT have also proven beneficial for people with PTSD. Similar to those suffering from BPD, individuals with PTSD are challenged with managing their difficult emotions. They are also likely to experience challenges with personal relationships, and they may engage in impulsive, risky behaviors. 15 At the Amethyst program, DBT has shown to lessen some anxiety and depression symptoms as early as ninety days in treatment. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment developed to al- leviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. During EMDR therapy sessions, the client relives trau- matic or triggering experiences in brief doses while the Amethyst trained clinician directs her eye movements. This allows her attention to be diverted so the negative psychological responses to the memories are lessened. Over time, this technique reduces the impact that the trau- matic memories and thoughts have on the client. A 2012 study found that EMDR helped 77% of the test subjects with psychotic disorders and PTSD. It found that hal- lucinations, delusions, anxiety and depression symptoms were significantly improved after treatment. 16 →

All programming at Amethyst is supported by care- fully selected, evidence-supported material, including curricula based upon the following books by Stephanie Covington: “Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women”; “Beyond Anger and Violence: A Program for Women”; and “Helping Women Recover: A Program for

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