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Abstract: 

In 2017, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation implemented Healing Trauma (HT) in the segregated housing unit (SHU) at the California Institution for Women. As part of the HT evaluation, women were asked to take part in a focus group. The findings from the focus group provide support for implementing a brief gender-responsive and trauma-based intervention in an SHU. The women who participated in the focus group noted beneficial changes in how they communicate and interact with others and handle stressful situations. The participants also noted that the program facilitators created a safe space for the women to be authentic and discuss their adverse childhood events. Overall, the women’s reactions to the program were highly positive. They felt their participation in HT assisted in their growth and gave them tools to work through the trauma they had experienced as well as to cope with the stressful nature of their current environment.

Keywords: Healing trauma; women in prison; segregated housing unit (SHU); prison focus group; childhood trauma

Affiliations:  1: Envisioning Justice Solutions, Inc.; 2: Envisioning Justice Solutions, Inc.; 3: Envisioning Justice Solutions, Inc..