Creating Services for Women and Girls

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Creating Services for Women and Girls

• Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D., LCSW
• Institute for Relational Development
• Center for Gender and Justice
• La Jolla, CA 92037
• National Conference on Women, Addiction, and
  Recovery 2004
• July 12 - 13, 2004
• Baltimore, MD

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Gender-Responsive and Trauma-informed Program
Materials

• Helping Women Recover A Program for Treating
  Addiction (Sp. Ed. For Criminal Justice System)
• Voices A Program of Self-Discovery and
  Empowerment for Girls
• Beyond Trauma A Healing Journey for Women

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Gender-Responsive Services

• Gender-Responsiveness
• Creating an environment through site selection,
  staff selection, program development, content,
  and material that reflects an understanding of
  the realities of the lives of women and girls and
  that addresses and responds to their strengths
  and challenges.
• (Covington Bloom)

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Theoretical Framework

• The theories related to gender and substance
  abuse (and any other relevant treatment services)
  that create the framework of thought for program
  development. This is the knowledge base that
  creates the foundation upon which the program is
  developed.

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Treatment Strategies

• The approaches used in the program that create
  the therapeutic process. These are the ways in
  which theory is operationalized (how theory is
  applied).

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Comprehensive Treatment for Women

• Within the treatment program, counselors should
  address the following issues
• The etiology of addiction, especially
  gender-specific issues related to addiction
  (including social, physiological, and
  psychological consequences of addiction and
  factors related to onset of addiction)
• Low self-esteem
• Race, ethnicity and cultural issues
• Gender discrimination and harassment
• Disability-related issues, where relevant
• Relationships with family and significant others
• Attachments to unhealthy interpersonal
  relationships
• Interpersonal violence, including incest, rape,
  battering, and other abuse

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Comprehensive Treatment for Women contd.

• Eating disorders
• Sexuality, including sexual functioning and
  sexual orientation
• Parenting
• Grief related to the loss of alcohol or other
  drugs, children, family members, or partners
• Work
• Appearance and overall health and hygiene
• Isolation related to a lack of support systems
  (which may or may not include family members
  and/or partners) and other resources
• Life plan development
• Child care and child custody

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Helping Women Recover A Program for Treating
Addiction

• Theory of Addiction
• Holistic health model
• Theory of Womens Psychological Development
• Stone Center
• Theory of Trauma
• 3 Stage model (Herman)
• Transformational Spiral (SSC)

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Helping women recover

• 4 Modules
• Self
• Relationships
• Sexuality
• Spirituality
• 17 Sessions

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Voices A program of self-discovery and
empowerment for girls
Theory of Girls Psychological
Development Relational Model (Stone Center,
Gilligan, Brown) Theory of Attachment Ainsworth
Bowlby Harlow Stern Theory of Trauma Three
Stage Model (Judith Herman, M.D.) Transformationa
l Spiral (SSC) Theory of Resilience Biscoe Wolin
Wolin Theory of Addiction Holistic Health
Model

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Voices A program of self-discovery and
empowerment for girls

• 4 Modules
• Self
• Connecting with Others
• Healthy Living
• The Journey Ahead
• 18 Sessions

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Beyond Trauma Trauma Theory

• Trauma Theory
• S. Bloom
• M. Harvey
• J. Herman
• P. Levine
• Et al.
• Relationship Theory
• Stone Center
• Addiction Theory
• Holistic Health Model

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Beyond Trauma A Healing Journey for Women

• Three Modules
• Violence, Abuse and Trauma
• Impact of Trauma on Womens Lives
• Healing from Trauma
• 11 Sessions

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Beyond TraumaThemes

• Safety
• Empowerment
• Connection (Aloneness)
• Normal reactions (Shame)
• Mind-body connection
• Substance abuse
• Woman-centered

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What Makes a Good Facilitator?

• The following qualities in a facilitator will
  help to ensure a positive group experience
• Trustworthy
• Credible
• Available
• Reliable, consistent
• Hopeful
• Warm, compassionate
• Emotionally mature

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What Makes a Good Facilitator? (cont.)

• Healthy boundaries, respects confidentiality
• Committed to and interested in womens issues
• Multi-cultural sensitivity and responsiveness
• Appropriate gender - a female should facilitate
  the all-female groups

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What Makes a Good Facilitator? (cont.)

• If trauma survivor, she needs to feel confident
  that she is at a place in her own recovery that
  will allow for healthy and positive outcomes for
  herself and the women in the group.
• Content expertise, if possible
• Skills as a facilitator

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Special Considerations in the Criminal Justice
System

• Facilitating a group in a criminal justice
  setting has its own unique challenges. The
  facilitator needs to think through the following
  issues before the sessions begin. Some challenges
  include
• Space, setting (Can chairs be moved in a circle?
  Is music allowed? Is privacy allowed or must
  correctional staff be present? Are there other
  security issues that affect the setting and
  environment you are trying to create?)
• Confidentiality (Is confidentiality more
  difficult to ensure in a setting where security
  is prioritized and trust is not the norm?)
• Interruptions (Such as doing the offender
  count observations by correctional officers
  inflexible times women are called out for court,
  medication special security issues.)

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Special Considerations in the Criminal Justice
System contd.

• Attitudes of group members (Are some mandated to
  be there? Are women resistant to being there? Are
  women going to group only because they do not
  want to be somewhere else?)
• Material/Workbooks (Are women allowed to have
  materials in their cells? Do women have the time
  and permission to do the activities in their
  setting?)
• Standard operating practices may traumatize
  and/or re-traumatize women (searches, restraints,
  isolation). (Bloom, Owen, Covington, 2003)
• Support for facilitator (The correctional
  environment can be harsh for the facilitator as
  well as for the women. Getting support from
  someone within the institution or correctional
  setting can help the facilitator navigate the
  system more easily as well as provide an
  emotional sounding board for her concerns.)

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Inner Self Outer Self

• Impacts Inner Self It can impact our inner
  life our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values.
  For example, some women/girls believe that you
  cant trust anyone, and the world is a very
  unsafe place.

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Inner Self Outer Self (cont.)

• Impacts Outer Self It can impact our outer
  life our outer life consists of our
  relationships and our behavior. Many women/girls
  who have experienced trauma struggle with their
  relationships families, friends, sexual
  relationships.

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Upward Spiral
Transformation
Healing (expansion)
Trauma (constriction)
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For More Information

• Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D., LCSW
• Institute for Relational Development
• Center for Gender and Justice
• La Jolla, CA 92037
• [phone] Fax [phone]
• www.stephaniecovington.com
• www.centerforgenderandjustice.org