A gripping and deeply-felt examination of incarcerated women’s lives
With unflinching clarity, Hidden Healers cuts through the myths about incarcerated women to expose the all-too-real brutalities they face within a criminal legal system never designed for them. Backed by three decades’ experience providing therapeutic programs inside prisons across the United States, trauma specialist Dr. Stephanie Covington has used her unique access to amplify the voices of the women themselves. Their stories illuminate realities most never see: that most women who get caught up in the criminal justice system have themselves been victims of harm, that the degradations of today’s prisons and jails only magnify their trauma- and that incarcerated women regularly risk punishment to tend to one another’s well-being in unexpected acts of kindness. Grounded in research and rich with personal narrative, Hidden Healers is a poignant and riveting look inside women’s prisons and jails- and what we can do to help.
With unflinching clarity, Hidden Healers cuts through the myths about incarcerated women to expose the all-too-real brutalities they face within a criminal legal system never designed for them. Backed by three decades’ experience providing therapeutic programs inside prisons across the United States, trauma specialist Dr. Stephanie Covington has used her unique access to amplify the voices of the women themselves. Their stories illuminate realities most never see: that most women who get caught up in the criminal justice system have themselves been victims of harm, that the degradations of today’s prisons and jails only magnify their trauma- and that incarcerated women regularly risk punishment to tend to one another’s well-being in unexpected acts of kindness. Grounded in research and rich with personal narrative, Hidden Healers is a poignant and riveting look inside women’s prisons and jails- and what we can do to help.
Table of Content
AcknowledgementsA Note from a Hidden Healer: It’s Time for Change 1
Introduction 5
Just the Facts 16
Part One: Entering the System 29
Introduction to the Criminal Legal System for Women in the US 31
Pathways to Prison: Understanding Trauma and Addiction 49
First Days 57
Part Two: Living Inside 69
Culture and Environment 71
Working Inside the Culture of Corrections 89
Finding Your Program 91
Food 105
Mothering from Inside 117
Grief and Loss 133
Developing Relationships 141
Medical and Mental Health Care 153
Aging in Custody 167
Celebrating Special Days 173
Remembering Those Who Don’t Survive 181
Part Three: The Journey Home 185
Gate Fever 187
The Work of Reentry 195
Healing after Incarceration 205
Part Four: What We Can Do 213
Envisioning Alternatives 215
Do One Small Thing 225
Further Learning 233
About the author
Stephanie S. Covington, Ph D, LCSW is an internationally recognized pioneer in the fields of addiction, trauma, and gender-responsive care. For three decades she has created and facilitated trauma-informed programs and curricula for use in criminal-legal settings across the United States and globally. Educated at Columbia University and the Union Institute, Dr. Covington is co-director of the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice in Del Mar, California.Buy this ebook and get 1 more FREE!
Language English ● Format EPUB ● Pages 272 ● ISBN 9781394254408 ● File size 6.3 MB ● Publisher John Wiley & Sons ● Published 2024 ● Edition 1 ● Downloadable 24 months ● Currency EUR ● ID 9394796 ● Copy protection Adobe DRM
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