Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Incarcerated Offenders, Treatment of

Many prisoners are in double jeopardy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On average, their preincarceration backgrounds include more trauma than the average person experiences, and when they go to prison, new traumas await them, including overcrowded conditions, possible physical and sexual assault, and time spent in segregation. Harsh prison conditions and new traumas that occur behind bars are more difficult to cope with because of the past history of multiple traumas. Although the prison reality presents the very real danger of retraumatization, it also presents [Page 1063]staff an opportunity to identify traumatized prisoners and intervene to help them avoid or process potentially traumatic current events in a better way than earlier traumas were processed, resulting in a previously unattainable level of healing.