We plan to implement efforts to better identify and respond to trauma issues for women in jail. Can you recommend a good trauma screening instrument and a short-term initial trauma intervention that would be appropriate in the jail setting? We are particularly interested in interventions and instruments that are evidence-based.

The trauma recovery model we use is evidence-based and is considered a best practice. The full curriculum (11 sessions) of Beyond Trauma: a Healing Journey for Women, was researched and endorsed by NIDA, the National Institute of Corrections, and the Center for Gender and Justice. Research is currently being done in the Michigan Department of Corrections by Dr. Sheryl Kubiak, renowned in the field of women, trauma, and corrections.

For the full set of groups, Dr. Covington uses the Briere TSC 40, a 40 question pre and post test and the Beck’s Depression Inventory, pre and post. Both are well researched and evidence-based. The Briere questionnaire is available online. We designed a trauma matrix, similar to the Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix, a validated tool for homelessness. It provides a snapshot of where a woman is at and what her needs are.

For pre and post tests in the four week groups, we are using the Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD) from the VA. It is well-researched and validated and contains four symptom questions. We like the PC-PTSD screen because it is brief and identifies what we want to know about symptoms. It’s also been a quick, accurate tool to identify women with significant trauma issues.

The short groups are difficult to assess. Because the intervention is brief, identifying gains are a challenge. We could not find any tools that measure brief trauma interventions. As far as I know, we are the first agency to design and use brief trauma groups so the assessment process is also new. At this point, the PC-PTSD is our pre and post test and we’ve been working diligently to design a more substantial assessment tool. We have a PhD researcher at U of M helping us and hope to have something soon. We consulted with Dr. Kubiak, who informed us that she knows of no brief trauma intervention assessment tools.

The four session curriculum is based on Beyond Trauma. We consulted with Dr. Covington while designing our program. We used this material because it is evidence-based and a best practice model. In addition, we’ve had great success with the full curriculum. The brief intervention material encompasses; 1) the definition and prevalence of trauma, symptoms and their normalization, types of abuse, grounding, visualization/meditation; 2) power and abuse, gender roles, domestic violence, triggers for symptoms, and grounding techniques; 3) trauma and the brain, the impact of trauma on women’s lives, substance abuse and trauma, additional grounding techniques, meditation/visualization; 4) Feelings, with an emphasis on grief, anger, and reactivity, techniques to manage overwhelming feelings, practice of those techniques, additional grounding, closing ceremony with certificates (and cookies). We emphasize the practice of grounding techniques at each session.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your program in the jail. It is definitely needed by the women and the jail is a great place to have trauma groups. If I can be of any assistance to you in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me.