What is it about?
Adolescents and young adults who were incarcerated in a juvenile justice center participated in a 10-session psychotherapy group program called Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCTA), in order to help them deal with grief related to the deaths of family or friends. Participants n the group therapy reported feeling much better able to deal with grief and that grief was causing much less interference with their ability to attend school and achieve academically. Compared to other incarcerated youths who had not participated in the therapy group, the grief group participants also had fewer behavioral problems reported by the center staff.
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Why is it important?
Youth and young adults who become involved in the juvenile justice system often experience severe and maladaptive grief due to significant losses in their lives such as the deaths of family and friends, often under violent circumstances. These maladaptive grief reactions usually are not recognized by adults, but maladaptive grief can cause serious emotional, behavioral, and learning problems that can lead to youths being incarcerated and mislabeled as antisocial or incorrigible. Helping youths who are involved in the juvenile justice system to understand and recover from maladaptive grief is an essential part of their rehabilitation, and the TGCTA group therapy program provides an efficient and practical approach that can be used in any juvenile justice setting.
Perspectives
I have worked clinically and done research with traumatized youth for several decades, including with many youth who have become involved in the juvenile justice system. While they often are described as having bad behavior, no feelings, and antisocial values, I have found almost all of them to be extremely resilient survivors who have strong emotions and positive values but feel misunderstood and that they have to protect themselves because no one is looking out for them or sees them as having worth. Most of these youths experience a deep sense of grief due to major losses in their lives, but this is rarely recognized by not only juvenile justice personnel but also by mental health professionals. Learning about the game-changing difference that participating in TGCTA groups made for these youths gives me hope that we adults who are responsible for their welfare can understand and help them recover from grief instead of overlooking this profound difficulty and leaving them to cope with grief on their own.
Julian Ford
University of Connecticut
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Addressing grief reactions among incarcerated adolescents and young adults using trauma and grief component therapy., Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy, September 2022, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/tra0001364.
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