Implementing Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents and Think Trauma for Traumatized Youth in Secure Juvenile Justice Settings

Authors E Olafson et al

Published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 33 (2018)

Ford (2012) demonstrated that young people in the juvenile justice system have high rates of trauma. Estimates suggest that trauma exposure for incarcerated adolescents is at least three-times higher than that for other children and adolescents (Finkelhor et al, 2009).

Despite evidence of these links, trauma-specific interventions are not routinely available for young people involved in the juvenile justice system. Instead the focus is on reducing criminogenic attitudes and behaviours, aggression, and subsequent recidivism in young people.

Trauma-focused interventions

Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents is a four-module intervention that was adapted for use with young people in the youth justice system. It uses group dynamics to promote emotional, cognitive, and behavioural self-regulation. The aim is to reduce "trauma-triggered reactions", aggression, high-risk behaviours, and maladaptive coping strategies, for example substance misuse.