How To Think When Interacting With Justice Impacted Youth

Youth justice is an essential area of concern for the criminal justice system that is often not given enough attention (Rousseau, 2024). Trauma and crisis related issues involving youth are far more common than society perceives, and the current systems in place, are not equipped to effectively aid justice-impacted youth (Rousseau, 2024). It is important to remember that there are fundamental differences between how youth and adults react to trauma, and as a result, there are two significant considerations that practitioners should keep in mind when interacting with justice impacted youth. Incorporating these suggestions into daily practice will ensure that proper and effective treatment is administered.  

The first consideration to keep in mind is that youth often don’t openly disclose trauma that’s affecting them. Youth do not openly discuss the traumatic experiences of their lives, which can act as a barrier for both diagnosis and treatment (van der Kolk, 2014) – it is impossible to effectively administer treatment if we are unaware of what we are treating. This lack of forthcomingness should not be viewed as youth being intentionally “difficult”, but a consequence of them experiencing trauma at such a young age. Studies have shown that early trauma can affect the development of the prefrontal cortex, which causes increased sensitivity to physical and psychological environments (Rousseau, 2024). Keep in mind that the resulting changes to the prefrontal cortex can lead some youth to become hypersensitive to stressful stimuli, unable to self-regulate emotions, or have elevated levels of fear or anxiety (Rousseau, 2024). Those who interact with which justice impacted youth need to recognize that their demeanor and lack of transparency is a natural part of their reaction to trauma, and therefore interactions should be adapted accordingly. 

Secondly, practitioners should recognize that due to a lack of openness on the part of youth, misdiagnosis is common (van der Kolk, 2014). When working with justice-impacted youth, it is important to look past any previous diagnostic labels since they can be unrepresentative of that individual. False diagnosis can lead to improper treatment, and therefore the underlying issues of that patient, will never be addressed. Diagnoses can stick, meaning that a patient might be destined to an ineffective treatment plan if practitioners don’t look past previous labels. While it’s not suggested to throw out any previous diagnoses, what is important to remember is that based on the nature of how youth respond to trauma as discussed above, practitioners should reasonably question previous diagnosis in order to determine effective treatment plans. 

To better integrate trauma informed practices into juvenile justice there are a number of recommendations that can be implemented such as the following;

• Utilize trauma screening and assessment;
• Incorporate evidence-based trauma treatments designed for all justice settings;
• Partner with families and communities to reduce the potential traumatic experience of justice involvement; 
• Collaborate across all juvenile justice systems to enhance continuity of care; 
• Create and enhance a trauma-responsive environment of care; 
• Reduce disproportionate minority contact while addressing the disparate treatment of minority youth (Rousseau, 2024).

In addition to these recommendations, it would be beneficial to recognize that triggers and stressors are different for every youth, and that every aspect of a youth’s life can act as a stressor or trigger to their trauma. Since trauma impacted youth can have their entire lives affected by trauma, it is important for professionals working with youth to understand that everyday interactions can pose significant challenges and should therefore adapt their behavior accordingly (Van Der Kolk, 2014). 

Additionally, practitioners should remember that reactions to trauma can, and often are different for everyone. Labeling a reaction as “not normal” or “unreasonable” would be an improper trauma-informed practice. While tolerance might not always be easy, it is an essential practice when interacting with trauma impacted youth. 

Bibliography

Rousseau, D. (2024). Module 2: Childhood Trauma. Boston University Metropolitan College.

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of  trauma. 

View all posts