Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
May 30, 2007, Vol. 07-85

New Resources Address Trauma Recovery and Resilience and Self-Inflicted Violence in Criminal Justice Systems

CMHS's National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC) is pleased to call your attention to important and timely knowledge resources to draw upon in responding to issues regarding trauma recovery and resilience, and self-inflicted violence (SIV) in the criminal justice system.

NCTIC brings you useful information to stimulate and foster change toward trauma-informed approaches for the health and well being of survivors and consumers in publicly funded systems. Following is a summary of these resources.

It's My Time to Live: Journeys to Healing and Recovery (Heckman, J., Markoff, L., Mazelis, R., Russell, L., Veysey, B., 2006, SAMHSA, CMHS) provides an empirically derived conceptual framework for transformation and for sustaining recovery from trauma. This monograph is a moving testimonial to the internal process of recovery-captured in the words of trauma survivors who participated in SAMHSA's Women, Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study.

It's My Time to Live illustrates key components of personal change, such as a shift in the way survivors think about themselves or their lives; an external event or personal influence that motivated them; and actual concrete changes in attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. We have known for many years about the persistent and often disabling consequences of violence and trauma, and now we are beginning to understand the process of recovery and growth.

Understanding and Responding to People in the Criminal Justice System Who Live with Self-Inflicted Violence (SIV) (Mazelis, R, April 2007, SAMHSA, CMHS) provides insights into the cutting, bruising, and blistering of SIV so that we can better understand those incarcerated individuals. SIV is often considered to be the behavior of the highly disturbed or pathologically manipulative, yet they may be the most effective coping mechanisms many people have to manage their lives in the moment. SIV is not an uncommon behavior for survivors of trauma, especially those who experienced early childhood violence and abuse. A better understanding of SIV can stimulate healing and change not just for those individuals, but for our criminal justice system as well.

Please note also the availability of a pertinent Spanish language resource, Creation of Trauma Services for Women with Co-Occurring Disorders: Experiences from the Women, Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (Creación de Servicios de Trauma para Mujeres con Trastornos Concurrentes).

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.