Prisoners have already suffered from one of the byproducts of having a high ACE load, imprisonment for a period of time. Many programs have been developed to reduce the negative behaviors present in this population and to reduce the rate of recidivism among prisoners. One successful method appears to be the teaching of a form of meditation referred to as Vipassanā. I believe this has relevance to healing for ACE victims and wrote the following for proposing a pilot project in Alaska prisons. If the method works on prisoners, it has potential for working on all ACE victims.
Because footnotes don't transfer to blog posts, I have inserted them at the end of this post.
Vipassanā Meditation involves a 10 consecutive day training schedule in this Buddhist style of meditation. The teachings revolve around “three marks of existence;” “impermanence,” “dissatisfaction or suffering,” and “non-self.” The goal of Vipassanā is an understanding that psychological conditions are temporary and changeable, and true happiness comes from within. Courses are taught without charge by Dhamma Workers. It is, however, a secular program.
The King County North Rehabilitation Facility (NRF) was the first correctional facility in the U.S. to allow the teaching of Vipassanā. It has been closed for over a decade, but its efforts were studied by University of Washington researchers. The researchers stated:
“The rehabilitation programs offered at NRF had an overall positive impact in general on all inmates participating in the study. Data analyses revealed significant reductions at 3-month follow-up on tobacco use, peak drinking episodes, alcohol-related problems, and weekly heroin use for both groups in the study. On the psychosocial measures, psychoticism was significantly lower in both groups.”
Public reporting about the spread of Vipassanā is sparse, but in Georgia, its highest security prison has taught a number of Vipassanā classes with good results. Inmates completing the program have a 20% reduction in serious violence. Even the prison chaplain acknowledged the results. A film titled “The Dhamma Brothers” chronicled the story of several inmates. Few other prisons have attempted the practice. A short clip of a video explores the film.
Research also demonstrates benefits from Vipassana over treatment as usual across five different measures including alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. The study by the University of Washington documented a 20% reduction in recidivism after learning Vipassanā.
Meditation has been studied across many programs. One of the most notable features 30 years of introduction and research covering over 600 peer reviewed papers at Massachusetts General Hospital where Dr. Jon Kabatt-Zinn developed his Full Catastrophe Living program.
The Restoration to Health Program I have been developing features meditation and mindfulness as central practices. The five steps to healing include:
- Knowledge (about the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on your behaviors and health);
- Nutritional interventions;
- Trauma Release Exercise;
- Therapeutic interventions (EMDR, EFT, Mindfulness, Meditation, Ericksonian Hypnosis);
- Professional interventions when warranted.
The results to date support an approach with both prison populations and high ACE individuals for the adoption of meditation and mindfulness for acceptance of life circumstances and healing.
http://www.prison.dhamma.org/AJart99.pdf
http://www.prison.dhamma.org/amjarticle.pdf
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/08/...n-an-unlikely-escape
http://www.npr.org/templates/s...hp?storyId=126363974
http://www.prison.dhamma.org/e...e%20Study%202006.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHNj8LEkgbA
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