What is trauma-informed practice? Towards operationalisation of the concept in two prisons for women
| Published date | 01 November 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221094980 |
| Author | Katherine M Auty,Alison Liebling,Anna Schliehe,Ben Crewe |
| Date | 01 November 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221094980
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2023, Vol. 23(5) 716 –738
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/17488958221094980
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What is trauma-informed
practice? Towards
operationalisation of the
concept in two prisons for
women
Katherine M Auty , Alison Liebling ,
Anna Schliehe and Ben Crewe
University of Cambridge, UK
Abstract
A cultural initiative, ‘Becoming Trauma-Informed’, was introduced into prisons in England and
Wales from 2015 based on the work of American clinical psychologist, Dr Stephanie Covington,
and as part of a more general trend towards the recognition and treatment of trauma-related
conditions in the community and in mental health settings. Becoming trauma-informed training
for Prison Officers in England and Wales was carried out in all 12 women’s prisons during
2015–2017 and began in the long-term high-secure male estate from May 2018. The becoming
trauma-informed work is based on considerable expertise, and a deep commitment by experts
and practitioners to the development of trauma-informed practice. The authors welcome this
‘trauma-turn’ in thinking and practice and describe an extended pilot attempt to operationalise
and measure its impact on the prison experience. The results were disappointing. By highlighting
challenges, and exploring meaning-in-practice, we hope to contribute to the improvement of
these initiatives.
Keywords
Care, prison, recovery, trauma
*Anna Schliehe’s is now affiliated to University of Oldenburg (Germany).
Corresponding author:
Katherine M Auty, Prisons Research Centre, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick
Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DT, UK.
Email: ka404@cam.ac.uk
1094980CRJ0010.1177/17488958221094980Criminology & Criminal JusticeAuty et al.
research-article2022
Article
Auty et al. 717
A cultural initiative, ‘Becoming Trauma-Informed’ (BTI), was introduced into prisons in
England and Wales (and elsewhere) from 2015 based on the work of American clinical
psychologist, Dr Stephanie Covington (2016) and as part of a more general trend towards
the recognition and treatment of trauma-related conditions in the community and in mental
health settings. Research on the impact of trauma has not only increased significantly in the
fields of psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience but also in the practice-based fields of
social care, education and criminal justice (Becker- Blease, 2017). King (2017) describes
trauma as an individual’s experience of an event that considerably negatively affects their
ability to cope with or recover from it, evoking emotions such as fear, hopelessness and a
sense of violation. Randall and Haskell (2013) differentiate between acute (time-limited),
chronic (multiple or ongoing) or complex (a mixture) trauma, all of which can have long-
lasting effects, particularly when experienced during developmental years. Trauma can
affect people from all backgrounds, but there is a strong correlation between levels of
marginalisation and risk of exposure. Prison populations are especially likely to include
disproportionate numbers of individuals exposed to trauma from a young age (Crisanti and
Frueh, 2011).
Covington (2003) defines trauma-informed services as ‘services that have been cre-
ated to provide assistance for problems other than trauma, but in which all practitioners
have a shared knowledge base and/or core understanding about trauma resulting from
violence’ (p. 95). Trauma-informed training interventions promote awareness of the sig-
nificance of trauma in an individual’s everyday life in order to support recovery (King,
2017; Miller and Najavits, 2012). This is important in criminal justice settings where
inadvertent re-traumatisation through seemingly unthinking staff or poor cultural prac-
tices may be more likely than support for recovery (Covington, 2003), particularly
among female prisoners (e.g. Eastel, 2001).
BTI training for Prison Officers in England and Wales was carried out in all 12
women’s prisons during 2015–2017 and began in the long-term high-secure male
estate from May 2018. The BTI work is based on considerable expertise (see Covington,
2008) and is supported financially by a charitable organisation, One Small Thing, led
and funded by prison philanthropist, Lady Edwina Grosvenor.1 The aim of this organi-
sation is,
cultural change in the criminal justice system: to shift the question away from ‘what’s wrong
with them?’, towards ‘what happened to them?’ . . . We aim to humanise the process for
individuals caught up in a cycle of crime by training front line staff and those who are caught
up in the Justice Saystem to understand trauma and its impact on both a systemic and an
individual level. We support staff to ensure the systems within which they work run concurrently
and complement the process of self–discovery. Our ultimate aim is . . . to transform cultures
and systems and – crucially – to change people’s lives for the better, one small thing at a time.
(Website)
The training modules delivered in prisons in England and Wales are based on
Covington’s model and include courses on, ‘Becoming Trauma Informed: A Training for
Correctional Professionals’ (an initiative that aims to bring about organisational change
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