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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2017)
Page 4 October 11, 2017 Trauma and Justice c onTinued from f ronT checking impulses and controlling reactions. “Over time, stress that is un- treated and unmanaged becomes trauma,” Moreland-Capuia said. “That trauma, when not dealt with, becomes toxic not only to the body physically, but also im- pacts mental health.” Trauma-informed practices, she said, help individuals access the more critical portions of their brains. “What trauma informed prac- tices do is help individuals get out of the bottom part of their brain, and use that top, more critical part of the brain,” Moreland-Capuia said. “That’s where the healing takes place.” For victims of racism, there can be a long-term fear of discrimina- tion. “They are under a situation where they’re in toxic stress,” Moreland-Capuia said. “They’re always looking out for their own safety, but they also have to be constantly concerned about what might happen as a consequence of someone else’s racism.” The basis of trauma-informed care is creating a safe environment in which clinicians and casework- ers can understand the root causes of an individual’s trauma. In clinical contexts, trauma-in- formed practices have helped psy- chiatric specialists address a wide range of mental health concerns. Moreland-Capuia said that the county is porting long-standing clinical practices to the criminal justice world. “This idea of creating safety allows us to more effectively treat folks,” she said, “and more effec- tively move them down this path to healing.” Multnomah County’s imple- mentation of trauma-informed practices stems from a grant the county received from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that was designed to help the county reduce its reliance on the jail system. The county reached out to Moreland-Capuia to give Mas- ter’s-level training in trauma and the implementation of trauma-in- formed practices for parole and probation specialists. She has also been working with the coun- ty’s judges, to inform them about the place of trauma-informed practices during sentencing pro- ceedings. Kate Desmond, community justice manager for Multnomah County, says that in every-day practice, trauma-informed care is allowing her caseworkers to empathize more with their cli- ents. “What I’ve noticed is that we are being much more patient,” Desmond told the Portland Ob- server. Keith Murphy, a caseworker for the county and a member of the pilot program, says that for many justice-involved individuals, ap- proaching their caseworkers can be a challenging experience. He added that the use of trauma-in- formed practices is making it less intimidating, however. “It’s just a stressful experience coming into our offices at times,” Murphy said. “With trauma-in- formed practices, there’s a better rapport.” Having more in-depth conver- sations with their clients is allow- ing parole and probation officers to achieve a deeper understanding of their behaviors. Desmond and Murphy say that they will try to gain an understanding of every- thing that their client has experi- enced, starting from the moment of their birth. “Your brain develops a certain way, and that starts in-utero,” Murphy said. “We’re going under the hood, so to speak.” Desmond added that this en- hanced understanding is helping the county reduce its use of the jail system, and use a more thoughtful approach to punishment for those who run afoul of the law. “If you think about who’s in jail, it’s mostly anti-social peo- ple,” Desmond said. “You’re exposing them for 72 hours to a week to all anti-social people.” Desmond said that house-ar- rest, GPS monitoring and commu- nity service are all viable alterna- tives to a stint in jail. “You just can’t arrest away your social problems,” Murphy added. Moreland-Capuia expects that addressing trauma will help to re- duce recidivism rates, and focus the county’s efforts on transition- ing offenders permanently out of the criminal justice system. “Helping to manage trauma is going to be key in helping people move along their path to healing,” she said. “Getting better, and stay- ing better.”