Wounded healers: How formerly incarcerated women help themselves by helping others

Heidemann, Gretchen; Cederbaum, Julie A.; Martinez, Sidney; LeBel, Thomas P.

doi:10.1177/1462474515623101

Cited by 36 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(79 reference statements)

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“…An emerging body of literature specifically examines the phenomenon of formerly incarcerated serving as wounded healers [34,[37][38][39]. Having benefited from mentorship and/or reentry support, formerly incarcerated may wish to give back by helping others [37], which can enhance the helpers" own self-esteem [40,41], and fosters purpose [41].…”

Section: Helper and Wounded Healer Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reentry agencies such as faith-based and community organizations not only offer vital services for formerly incarcerated [45] but also serve as a place for employment and/or volunteer opportunities to serve as wounded healers [37,38]. Within these environments, a transformation occurs by conveying hope, acceptance and welcome [32,46], offering religious guidance on living a pro-social and law-abiding life [32,[46][47] and endorsing atonement for crime by offering recompense and restoring oneself as a productive community member [48].…”

Section: Helper and Wounded Healer Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reframing Trauma: The Transformative Power of Meaning in Life, Work, and Community

Flood¹

2018

J Psychiatry Psychiatric Disord

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Each year more than 700,000 people leave prison having undergone a traumatic experience. While research about the prevalence of post-traumatic stress is emerging, many returning citizens will exit the institution undiagnosed and untreated. Many inmates learn to mask their emotions and internalize their symptoms to navigate prison. Once released, they will return to society and struggle to find work, a sense of worth, pro-social identity, and place in their community. Work plays a crucial role in our sense of self, identity, and the role we play in society. In this constant comparative study, 20 formerly incarcerated staff and volunteers at faith-based or community re-entry agencies shared their lived experience of how they were able to reframe their traumatic experience by transforming into helpers and wounded-healers assisting other returning citizens. Through their agency community and work, participants found meaningful work and meaning in life. Participants felt the culture of these agencies offered a humanizing experience, empathy, and sense of belonging enabling them to create a new narrative as good and different people, and shedding labels. As staff and volunteers undergo self-change, the ex-offender label is shed, and a wounded-healer emerges. Understanding the perceptions of returning citizens who work in helping roles provides insight into addressing the psychological challenges for this population and implications for reentry.

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Section: Helper and Wounded Healer Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Helper and Wounded Healer Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reframing Trauma: The Transformative Power of Meaning in Life, Work, and Community

Flood¹

2018

J Psychiatry Psychiatric Disord

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“…Therapeutic connections can also take the form of informal or formal mental health counselling. In a systematic review meant to help nurses address the mental health needs of women as they exit prison, Stanton [38] noted that the quality of the professional relationship with exiting women was a significant factor in how they managed to successfully address mental health concerns. Additionally, in an action research project conducted with the same group of women that participated in this study, one of the key findings in terms of mental health services were messages to counsellors that "I don't need a fix" and "there is a big difference between our definition of trauma and service providers' definition of trauma; to us trauma is 'shit happens'" [35, p.279].…”

Section: Making Our Way Homementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stanton et al [38] suggested that community-based research "may be especially beneficial by empowering released women and promoting the translation of research findings into practice" (p. 329). It is our hope that by sharing our findings and our experiences that others will be motivated to work together in similar ways with those who are facing immense challenges in their lives.…”

Section: Implications For Nursingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They should use their assessment skills to review the mental health history of the women, including anxiety, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and addictions, and connect them with appropriate resources [3,38]. Nurses have the ability to provide case management support based on the goals established in partnership with each of the women [42].…”

Section: Implications For Nursingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Peers Engaging in Empowering Research (PEER): Finding Women's Voices after Prison

Pickering¹,

Sputek²,

Rutherford³

2016

Int J Nurs Clin Pract

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Background: Over a period of 18 months a group of previously incarcerated women, academics, and students gathered once a week as co-researchers to not only explore the challenges of reentering the general community post incarceration, but to be a catalyst for change in how women are supported during this vulnerable time.Method: For this inquiry we adopted Community Based Research (CBR) as the appropriate methodology in which to gain some understanding of the needs of women as they reenter the community. The co-researchers participated in all aspects of the research project including obtaining ethics approval, recruiting participants, conducting interviews, contributing to data analysis designed the research study, and disseminating the findings. Two of the co-researchers with a history of incarceration were hired as peer researchers to engage with other women with similar histories to gather their stories and expand our knowledge of the resources required upon re-entry into the community. Results:The central theme arising from the study was the importance of genuine human connection for the women. They needed to connect to resources, connect to peers, connect to their culture and spirituality, and connect over time. The study also demonstrated the importance of involving the women themselves in finding solutions and the benefits of using peer researchers as key members of the research team. Conclusion:Nurses are in a unique position to connect with the women at a time when they are vulnerable and possibly in search of solutions to the issues they face. It is our hope that by sharing our findings and our experiences that others will be motivated to work together in similar ways with those who are facing immense challenges in their lives.

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Discrimination, social support, and health‐related quality of life among individuals with criminal records

McWilliams

Stidham

Hunter

2022

Journal Community Psychology

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Several studies have found an association between social identity-based discrimination and reduced physical health.Research also indicates that social support may sometimes protectively moderate this relationship. This study addresses the lack of sufficient research regarding these connections among individuals facing criminal record discrimination. The authors analyzed the responses of 168 people with felony records who completed a nationwide, online survey. While controlling for several other potentially impactful variables, the authors used regression analyses to explore the relationship between criminal record discrimination and reported healthy days per month and whether social support protectively moderated this relationship. There was a significant negative association between criminal record discrimination and healthy days among those with notably low social support. Meanwhile, moderate levels of social support appeared to protectively extinguish this relationship. This study suggests that social support may influence whether criminal record discrimination negatively impacts health.

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Wounded healers: How formerly incarcerated women help themselves by helping others

Cited by 36 publications

References 50 publications

Reframing Trauma: The Transformative Power of Meaning in Life, Work, and Community

Reframing Trauma: The Transformative Power of Meaning in Life, Work, and Community

Peers Engaging in Empowering Research (PEER): Finding Women's Voices after Prison

Discrimination, social support, and health‐related quality of life among individuals with criminal records

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