Trauma-Informed Practice
Overview
These are class assignment and instructor resources that can be used to teach trauma-informed practice.
Trauma-Informed Practice- Assignment
ASSIGNMENT
- Juliet Cohen, Questions of Credibility: Omissions, Discrepancies and Errors of Recall in the Testimony of Asylum-Seekers, 13 International Journal of Refugee Law 293 (2002).
- Annie Lemoine, LMDW, Good Storytelling: A Trauma-Informed Approach to the Preparation of Domestic Violence-Related Asylum Claims, 19 Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law 27 (2017).
- Optional reading: excerpt from Care Work, by Leah Lakshmi Piepnzna-Samarasihna. I included this brief excerpt because I felt it was important to include a different perspective on trauma. Leah Lakshmi Piepnzna-Samarasihna is a disability justice activist, writer, and performance artist. She makes reference to her experiences of childhood abuse, but does not go into detail. If you are concerned about being triggered (or if you are offended by colorful language), skip this reading.
- Watch the video on Trauma-Informed Practice and consider the following questions:
- What are some ways you can create a welcoming environment with your client even when you can't meet face-to-face?
- What concerns do you have about interviewing a client about a traumatic experience?
Trauma-Informed Practice-- Instructor Resources
Sarah Katz and Deeya Haldar, Pedagogy of Trauma-Informed Lawyering, 22 Clin. L. Rev. 359 (2016)
Introduce grounding techniques
- Resource: Seeking Safety by Lisa M. Najavits (2002)
- Example: Tula Biedermand and Rocio Molina, Grounding Tool, developed for National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project (NIWAP) at American University, Washington College of Law (2014):