Trauma Informed Law Collective

Working in the legal sector? Heard about trauma-informed practice? TILCO - the Trauma Informed Law Collective - is a brand-new online community of professionals working within the legal sector who are committed to learning about trauma-informed practice. Trauma-informed legal practice is an approach seeking to understand and respond to the impact of trauma on people's lives and behaviours (including our own). It is about approaching our work with curiosity and respect, rather than judgement. It is about asking "what happened to you?" rather than "what's wrong with you?". It is also about how we can keep ourselves safe and create safe professional relationships with clients and colleagues. We are an Australian based collective of professionals who are interested in applying trauma-informed principles to their work. We welcome members from other jurisdictions too. It is a group for lawyers, judges, barristers, support staff, case managers, psychologists, social workers, mediators, practice managers and any other law adjacent professionals who want to learn about trauma-informed practice and its application in a legal setting. It is also a space to 🌱 workshop anonymised real-life experiences 🌱 share articles, training opportunities and resources, and 🌱 support each other in this challenging and meaningful work. To keep up to date, follow this page and join the facebook community (link in comments). #trauma #traumainformed #traumainformedlaw #law #holisticlaw #familylaw #criminallaw #migrationlaw #personalinjury #refugeelaw #migrationlaw #employmentlaw #sexualharassment #lawyers #newlaw #legal #legalservices

Back to basics Trauma Informed Law Collective: here is a slide I prepared for a recent presentation for the ACT Law Society about different trauma responses and how they present in legal practice. First cab off the rank: FREEZE I see this a lot in family law, particularly for Respondents where they feel a process has been thrust open them and they are not ready to engage (particularly if they are very early on in grief cycle at the end of a relationship). Includes not being able to give instructions, make decisions, not opening emails, missing court deadlines (and dates), and unable to answer questions in a witness box where clients report 'their mind went blank' (happens to practitioners too). There are different schools which say fight is our first immediate trauma response and THEN we move into fight or flight. Others say fight is our first, and then we freeze when we realise we can't outrun the threat. Either way, the freeze response is one of the first responses where our nervous system and brain is still processing the perceived threat (scanned from our environment). There are also different types of freeze according to Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD (and citing NICABM https://lnkd.in/gx6ARCsy): Orienting Freeze – This is the state a person might go into when they’re first faced with a threat and simply trying to detect it. You might think of this orienting freeze as your initial response when you hear brakes squeal or a siren blaring, when you’re thinking, “Where’s this sound coming from, and am I in its path?” Tonic immobility – This refers to the rigidity of specific muscles, particularly ones that help us maintain our posture and help us breathe. From an evolutionary standpoint, this response can aid in survival by helping an animal blend in with its surroundings and hide from a predator. It’s one of several signs that a person is in freeze. HOW TO OVERCOME FREEZE? In the immediate (particularly if you are at the bar table or in a stressful meeting): grounding practices (feeling the ground beneath your feet, digging your toes into your shoes), deep breathing/ boxed breathing, slowing down your nervous system, mindful With clients when you are playing the email/phone tag: it is very difficult to get instructions when someone is frozen as 'the brain structure which integrates verbal information is offline' (NICABM 2024). Try asking very basic 'yes or no' questions, see if they can talk a walk before an event to regulate and moveout of freeze mode, see if we can slow down a process, optimise choice and ask for permission, engage supports who can assist, breaking down the steps, use of graphics and paring back advice. #traumainformedlaw #holisticlaw #modernlawyer #familylaw

The need for trauma-centered practices was born out of a struggle for life-sustaining care and communal solidarity to resist institutional violence and systemic oppression. Shira Hassan, a harm reductionist and abolitionist organizer, explains how institutions of public health and the medical-industrial complex have co-opted harm reduction as a liberatory practice. Liberatory harm reduction is about self-determination and body autonomy, while building strategies to transform the root causes of harm and violence. This has always been about folks trying to survive in a system that is designed to control, criminalize, and ostracize them. It is important to support and learn from the abundant lineages of community-based organizing that our work derives from and is rooted in.

For those committed to trauma informed practice, critical reflection is what makes the whole cog turn to make us better practitioners. Excited for this new resource....

Reducing trauma to individual pathology alone ignores the collective impact of systemic oppression and colonial violence. As a response to colonial trauma presently and across generations, we are often forced into ways of assimilation and erasure in order to comply with and survive the colonial order. Over time, this becomes encoded into our minds and bodies as a lasting impression that permeates our ancestral ways of being and knowing. Without holding systems of oppression accountable, trauma-informed approaches fail to address the root causes of historical and ongoing harm. As Resmaa Menakem puts it best: "Trauma decontextualized in a person looks like personality. Trauma decontextualized in a family looks like family traits. Trauma decontextualized in people looks like culture." - - - - - Sabrina Meherally and I are facilitating a new learning experience on Decolonizing Trauma-Informed Practice in June that may be of interest. Please feel free to check it out below in the comments along with other resources.

When I worked solely with women in the family violence field, one of the sad realities working with policymakers and funders was how to get people to care about women and their futures. Unfortunately, in my experience, that wasn't a motivator. But what people generally do care about is children. When we support parents, evidence shows that whole communities benefit. This latest study clarifies what most people in the sector already know - that many mental health issues and their flow on effects stem from childhood trauma and adverse life experiences. The study found: "If child abuse and neglect did not exist, more than 1.8m cases of depression, anxiety and substance use disorders in Australia – almost a quarter of the total number – could be prevented. The finding comes from the first Australian study to estimate the proportion of mental health conditions which are directly caused by childhood maltreatment and independent from other influences such as genetics and social environments. Published on Thursday in the American Medical Association’s specialty journal of psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, the research led by the University of Sydney found 41% of suicide attempts, 35% of self-harm and 21% of cases of depression in Australia are caused by child maltreatment. The researchers called for childhood abuse and neglect to be treated as a national public health priority, with investment in preventive policies such as paid parental leave, affordable childcare, or income support – all things which evidence shows reduce instances of maltreatment" Paid Parental leave. Affordable childcare. Income support. Initiatives which gender equity advocates have been calling for, for decades. As a family lawyer, in working with families about crafting care arrangements post separation, the children's best interests are paramount. However, we need to take a wider lense of what is considered when determining best interests to protect children from child abuse and neglect. This includes ensuring parents are supported to be parents, to work and be financially independent and that they are safe. Will reframing the discussion to focus on children rather than gender equity gain more traction? Will policymakers finally recognise the impact of childhood trauma and the widespread impact it has on the health of our communities? Time will tell. #traumainformed #familylawyer #genderequity #familylaw #canberrafamilylawyer

For the Canberrans....

Sneak Peek Podcast Alert🎙: Tomorrow's episode is a riveting conversation with Dimple Dhabalia, a human-centered leadership expert. She unpacks how emotions such as empathy, curiosity, and connection can breathe life into the ways we lead our teams. Dimple also touches upon the concept of 'moral injury' and the impact unaddressed occupational trauma can have in our workplaces. As she discusses her journey from law school to helping organizations heal, you're bound to gain insights on the importance of mental health in leadership roles and in the humanitarian field. Don't just be a leader, be a change agent. You can listen to this episode (tonight) and others here: https://lnkd.in/gnUgVEXu #thetraumainformedlawyer #podcast #LeadershipMatters #humanitarianism

🌱 Vicarious post-traumatic growth We focus a lot on vicarious trauma and risk mitigation- but what is vicarious post traumatic growth? This is something we talk quite a bit about in training - how can we GAIN energy from our work, rather than always talking about our work in deficit. An interesting academic article from the International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health: For those in professions helping victim survivors of trauma "......negative consequences of such exposure may also be accompanied by positive changes constituting vicarious/secondary posttraumatic growth (VPTG). this can be regarded as a phenomenon similar to posttraumatic growth (PTG), .... regarding people who directly experience trauma. Vicarious/secondary posttraumatic growth itself is defined as the positive changes occurring as a result of vicarious traumatic exposure...These positive changes, as in the case of PTG, include changes in self-perception, relationships with others, and philosophy of life. Hence, engaging in meaningful interaction with people who have experienced trauma may result in more satisfying personal relationships, greater appreciation of personal security and a reconsideration of values and beliefs, which can foster personal growth, greater satisfaction with life, and a sense of meaningful connection with the world...." #traumainformed #traumarecovery #vicarioustrauma #newlaw LINK TO ARTICLE IN THE COMMENTS