GENDER-RESPONSIVE AND TRAUMA-INFORMED WORK WITH INCARCERATED WOMEN: AN IACFP INTERVIEW WITH DR. STEPHANIE COVINGTON:PART V

GENDER-RESPONSIVE AND TRAUMA-INFORMED WORK WITH INCARCERATED WOMEN: AN IACFP INTERVIEW WITH DR. STEPHANIE COVINGTON:PART V


IACFP: What kinds of outcomes has your research revealed?

SC: What we’ve found is a decrease in drug use, a decrease in the symptoms of depression and anxiety, and a decrease in the symptoms of trauma.

IACFP: Do you have information our members can follow up with?

SC: Yes. For more information, members may go to the Center for Gender and Justice

( www.centerforgenderandjustice.org ) and my link, www.stephaniecovington.com

IACFP: Last year you were on the Oprah Winfrey show “Breaking down the bars.”

What was your experience like, and what happened as a result of your being on her show starting February 16, 2011?

SC: It was an interesting experience. There were seven episodes on the OWN network, based on work in the women’s prison in Rockville, Indiana. They selected about 8-9 women for me to work with for this show. I wanted people to see who the women are in prison and the impact of drugs on their lives. I was really surprised when women (and men) e-mailed (or called ) me after seeing one of the shows because they were in crisis. There is such desperation in some people’s lives and they do not know where to go for help. The other surprise was the women who talked about watching the show with their teen-aged daughters, whose daughters were saying “Wow, you can make one mistake and it can impact your life. We want young people to see this can happen inadvertently and in a split second.

At this point, we concluded our interview and promised to stay in touch.

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For members who would like to follow up on any of the points in our interview, feel free to go to Dr. Covington’s website for additional information. It is www.stephaniecovington.com. I urge members to visit both her website and learn more about trauma-informed services. For publication information regarding publications by Dr. Covington, members can also visit the Hazelden website at www.hazelden.org