The aim of Think Trauma: A Training for Working with Justice Involved Youth is to make creating trauma-informed juvenile justice systems easier to implement. Many youth in the juvenile justice system have survived horrific traumatic experiences including chronic exposure to violence that has profoundly shaped how they think, behave, and respond. Direct care professionals working with youth in juvenile justice-related facilities have very challenging and emotionally draining roles; they are responsible for preserving their safety and the safety of others and serve as parent, counselor, mentor, role model, disciplinarian, and advocate.
Goals of the training:
- To educate juvenile justice professionals about the impact of trauma on the development and behavior of youth in the juvenile justice system.
- To provide juvenile justice professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to:
- Respond appropriately to the behavioral and emotional challenges of traumatized youth
- Help traumatized youth develop the ability to recognize trauma or loss reminders
- Help traumatized youth recognize and develop their strengths
- Help traumatized youth recognize survival coping strategies and develop positive coping strategies needed to grow into healthy, productive, and functional adults
- Take care of themselves and seek support from others
- To learn strategies for supporting youth reintegration into the community
- Understand the role of intergenerational, historical, and system-induced trauma on youth behavior
- Develop strategies for adjusting agency practices and procedures to more effectively address the impact of trauma on youth, their families, and staff
- Review the role of youth cultural experiences for building resilience among traumatized youth
Day one's theme was "Trauma and Justice Involvement."
View a recording of this 4/11/23 session here.
