Resources for Trauma-Informed Law
This website was created by Helgi Maki, and her work can be found at www.helgimaki.com. To help you with your research and work in this area, we have included an informal knowledge base with the following list of thought leaders and tools. More detailed resources are offered in the “Read” section. And in the book we have contributions from legal professionals in different practice areas and jurisdictions that can help you. (See “Book” section.) https://www.traumainformedlaw.org/resources
Leading Lawyers for Trauma-Informed Legal Practice
Myrna McCallum, lawyer, Miyo Pimatisiwin Legal Services (Canada)
Peter Harte, lawyer (Canada)
Iain Smith, Keegan Smith, lawyer (Scotland)
Louise Phipps Senft, lawyer (US)
Ginger Lerner-Wren, judge & adjunct professor (US)
Flavia Valgiusti, former judge & professor (Argentina)
Julia Whaipooti, lawyer & policy advisor, Office of the Children’s Commissioner (NZ)
Bryan Stevenson, lawyer, Equal Justice Initiative (US) [*Note: pay special attention to Stevenson’s use of the term lawyer-client “proximity” which is a trauma-informed concept]
Key Trauma-Informed Legal Practice Thought Leaders
Tess Sheldon, professor, University of Windsor Faculty of Law (Canada)
Snjezana Prcdsuginic, wellness practitioner, community justice worker & activist
Margot Van Sluytman, justice activist, Theodore’s Place Healing Home for Crime Survivors (Canada)
Fiona Scott, research & evaluation consultant (Canada, with prior work in the UK/Scotland
Karen McCluskey, violence reduction specialist (Scotland)
Jane Mulcahy, researcher & justice advocate (Ireland)
Angi Yoder-Maina, Green Streen Network (Kenya)
Zero to Three Safe Babies Court Team (US)
Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora - the Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group (NZ)
William Ury, negotiation and mediation expert, Harvard Negotiation Project (US)
Flavia Valgiusti, former judge & professor (Argentina)
Practical Tools for Trauma-Informed Legal Practice (alphabetical order)
"Bench Card for the Trauma-Informed Judge" (by The National Child Traumatic Stress Network) (US)
"Essential Components of Trauma-Informed Judicial Practice" (by www.traumainformedcareproject.org) (US) PDF file
"Essential Components (White Paper) of Trauma-Informed Judicial Practice, with commentary" (by The National Centre for Trauma-Informed Care) (US)
"Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice System" (by The National Child Traumatic Stress Network) (US)
"Keep Your Cup Full: Self-Care is Essential to Trauma Informed Advocacy" (video) (by the National Resource Centre on Domestic Violence) (US)
"SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach (by SAMHSA's Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative, SAMHSA being the "Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) (US)
"Trauma-informed advocacy: Practical advice for working with vulnerable populations" (video), Illinois Legal Aid Online
"Trauma-Informed Legal Advocacy: Practice Scenarios" (by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health) (US)
"Trauma-Informed Policing" video (by the Vera Institute for Justice with Captain Altovise Love-Craighead) (US)
"Trauma Training for Criminal Justice Professionals" (SAMHSA) (US)
"Using a Trauma-Informed Approach" (for victims of crime, by the Office for Victims of Crime) (US)
"Zero to Three: The Safe Babies Court Teams Project," by the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families (US)
Other Resources by Jursidiction (alphabetical order)
Australia
Blue Knot Foundation - training about trauma-informed practice for legal and justice personnel
Trauma and the Law: Applying Trauma-Informed Practice to Legal and Judicial Contexts, The Victorian Law Institute Journal, 2016.
Canada
Amy Bombay, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University
Melanie Randall & Lori Haskell, “Trauma-informed Approaches to Law: Why Restorative Justice Must Understand Trauma and Psychological Coping” (2013) 36 Dal Law J, 500-533.
Lori Haskell & Melanie Randall, “Disrupted Attachments: A Social Context Complex Trauma Framework and the Lives of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada,” Journal of Aboriginal Health, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 48-99, November 2009.
"The Truth About Trauma," TVO Interview, October 2016.
"On the Front Lines of Unfounded," by Robyn Doolittle, The Globe & Mail, December 2017.
"Trauma prompts brain to focus on survival, not 'peripheral details'," by Lucas Powers, CBC News, February 2016.
The Right to Say No: Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, co-edited with Jennifer Koshan and Patricia Mande Nyaundi. Hart Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2017.
"Sexual Assault Law, Credibility, and ‘Ideal Victims’: Consent, Resistance and Victim Blaming," (2010) 22 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 397.
“Judges need more education about sexual assault,” Op-Ed, Ottawa Citizen, March 22, 2017.
British Columbia Justice Summit: Trauma-informed justice system responses - Coordination and information-sharing where family justice, criminal justice and child protection intersect
Canadian Bar Association: Janice Mucalov, "Compassion Fatigue in the Legal Profession?"
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: Trauma-informed justice in Aboriginal populations, video (February 2017)
Connecting Ottawa: Sounds Traumatic - Rethinking What Trauma Means for Legal and Social Work (May 2016)
Department of Justice - Victims of Crime Research Digest, Trauma- (and Violence-) Informed Approaches to Supporting Victims of Violence: Policy and Practice Considerations
Manitoba Trauma Information and Education Centre, The Trauma Toolkit - A resource for services organizations and providers to deliver services that are trauma-informed
United Kingdom
Centre for the Study of Emotion & Law
King's College London, Trauma Studies
Psychology, Trauma and the Law (workshop at the Word Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies and workshop at the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies), "From Report to Court: Psychology, Trauma and the Law" by Dr. Georgina Smith, Specialist Clinical Psychologist, The Haven Paddington and Dr. Sarah Heke, Director of the Institute of Psychotrauma
United States
Dr. Rebecca Campbell, The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault: Implications for Law Enforcement, Prosecution, and Victim Advocacy
Dr. Jim Hopper, Independent Consultant, Therapist & Research, Video
Sarah Katz & Deeya Haldar, "The Pedagogy of Trauma-Informed Lawyering," Clinical Law Review (2016)
American Bar Association - Trauma-Informed Legal Representation
American Bar Association - Polyvictimization and Trauma-Informed Advocacy, Resources for lawyers engaged with child and adolescent legal issues.
ACEs Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences Study)
The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and later-life health and well-being. The original ACE Study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997 with two waves of data collection. Over 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization members from Southern California receiving physical exams completed confidential surveys regarding their childhood experiences and current health status and behaviors.
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention - Division of Violence Prevention - Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
News site reporting on research about trauma, including developments in epidemiology, neurobiology and the biomedical and epigenetic consequences of toxic stress.
A non-profit organization stopping the spread of violence in communities by using the methods and strategies associated with disease control - detecting and interrupting conflicts, identifying and treating the highest risk individuals and changing social norms, resulting in reductions of violence.
United States Department of Justice - The Importance of Understanding Trauma-Informed Care and Self-Care for Victim Service Providers
A nonprofit organization providing legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners denied fair and just treatment in the legal system. Founded by Bryan Stevenson, author of the book "Just Mercy".
Centre with excellent resources and practical tips for using trauma-informed techniques to deal with cases involving domestic violence or mental health issues.
Some thought leaders and thought leading organizations on trauma (in alphabetical order)