Trauma and Resiliency in Forensically Involved Youth: Applications, Evaluations, and Recommendations

Abstract

This chapter focuses on supporting the work that mental health professionals do with youth who come into contact with the legal system. More specifically, this chapter highlights the importance of understanding childhood trauma as a risk factor for youth involvement in the legal system, as well as focuses on the need to also assess and build upon resilience factors in working with these youth. This chapter first introduces to the reader the concept of childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences while expanding upon what we know in the research and how it relates to working with youths. Then it addresses the concept of resilience and the importance of highlighting protective factors in youth, and outlines clinical applications for applying this research as well as provides practical techniques and assessments that can be used in the evaluation of trauma and resilience. While there is currently no definitive consensus as to the definition of resilience and no “gold standard” instrument to use to assess resilience in youth, there is a great deal of research outlined in this chapter examining the various protective factors within the individual, family, and community that practitioners can use to strengthen intervention strategies with the youth within the legal system. Finally, this chapter covers case examples of how this information can be used in the forensic context.