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Tag: trauma

  • Numbers, Trauma, and Healing

    Happy 2023!

    As we head into a brand new year, I was curious to look back on the level of reintegration support provided by the Better Life Team and our amazing community over the past year.

    One part of Better Life’s responsibility as the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) Pacific Region Faith Community Reintegration Partner (FCRP) is month-end reporting, so I get a regular look at our stats. However, I was still surprised by the number of men and women Better Life has had the privilege of supporting over the course of a whole year.

    As you may know, Better Life is often invited into the process of providing reintegration support at one of the nine Correctional Institutions in the Pacific Region (BC and the Yukon), usually within twelve months prior to an individual’s parole hearing. This is followed by another twelve-month period during which the Better Life Team helps with the transition period by reintegrating men and women into their community of faith.

    How many men and women? Including both Institutional and Community support:

    • 178 in the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley/Central BC, plus
    • 30 in Victoria/on Vancouver Island

    Providing reintegration support for these 208 individuals equalled 3,532 “reportable” hours of support.

    Staggering, isn’t it?

    Staggering both that the Better Life Team provided that many hours of support and frankly, that so many hours of support were required for just the portion of individuals who accept Better Life’s support—because all that is just a drop in the bucket when compared to the many men and women that enter parole without any support at all.

    What we have found to be true is that healthy reintegration requires support and structure in the context of relationships of trust and accountability.

    However, behind the numbers, what strikes me most deeply is that behind a number is a life.

    Curiosity begs us ask the question, why commit crimes?

    What are the series of events, the life, the experiences that led someone to offend, to break the law?


    The answer to that question is very complex and is answered by each individual’s unique story. However, one common denominator is trauma.

    What life trauma, and as we are learning, what generational trauma even, has led this individual to commit a crime, or even lead a life of crime?

    And most importantly, is there a way to help address and heal the trauma that often underlies an individual’s criminal behaviour?

    Again, there is complexity to any answer. However, what we have been discovering is the development of very effective treatments for trauma that, once undergone, can provide an opportunity for healing, growth and consequently, experiencing a new and better life.

    One of Better Life’s Board of Directors is a psychotherapist who first exposed the Better Life team to an effective therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy.

    In so many respects, EMDR is a therapy that affirms the beliefs of people of faith, specifically the Christian faith, and the understanding that human beings are created in the image of God, fearfully and wonderfully made, in such a way that trauma can have a far-reaching impact in preventing us from experiencing the life that God created us for.

    I’m going to allow the experts to finish the story. In this podcast, two women of faith, Dr. Anita Philips, with therapist Kobe Campbell, provide an excellent and encouraging introduction to EMDR therapy.

    My hope is that this can be a resource as you support men and women through their experiences of trauma, and potentially, a treatment that can be valuable to you personally.

    The podcast can be accessed here.* (*If you’re not on an Apple device, the podcast is by Dr. Anita Phillips (In The Light: The Podcast) titled ‘The Dwelling Place,’ October 21, 2022.)

    The Dwelling Place – In The Light with Dr. Anita Phillips

    Your body is a sacred dwelling. Generations of memories are stored within you. Some are beautiful and some really hurt. In this follow up to our Story Time episode we're diving deeper into how generational trauma manifests in our bodies. Guest therapist, Kobe Campbell is our guide on this leg of the healing journey. She's introducing us to the power of EMDR therapy and Dr. Anita is switching things up by putting herself in the client chair to make sure you have the tools you need to dwell in peace and wholeness. Get 20% off your first purchase of any Munk Pack product by visiting Munkpack.com and entering our code ANITA at checkout.

    Wishing you and yours God’s best for 2023!

    Adam Wiggins

    Executive Director

  • Resources for Addiction Support

    Happy Fall, everyone!

    Other than the recent forest fire smoke, it’s been beautiful in the Fraser Valley.

    As mentioned in a previous update, one of the ongoing challenges that offenders and paroles face is the battle against addiction.

    I am no expert in addiction, although I’ve had the privilege to support numerous friends and family through facing the challenges of addiction, but one of the experts who has helped me understand the challenges and treatments of addiction more clearly is Dr. Gabor Maté.

    Dr. Maté was very active in caring for patients with significant addiction challenges in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. I find his book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, invaluable. His most recent book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture, is also very relevant for the support we provide in reintegration.

    Another resource you might find helpful as you support men and women who may face significant addiction challenges, or perhaps face addiction challenges yourself, is this valuable podcast/YouTube episode with Dr. Maté and Tim Ferriss, Episode 620: “The Myth of Normal, Metabolizing Anger, Processing Trauma, and Finding the Still Voice Within.”

    While it doesn’t communicate from a ‘faith’ perspective, I believe it can be invaluable in helping all of us understand the vulnerabilities in each of our lives where we are especially susceptible to temptation and weakness.

    (Edit for clarity: I just want to take a moment and emphasize that this interview in no way represents Better Life’s endorsement of spiritual or cultural practices discussed in the course of the podcast. My hope is that we could learn from Dr. Maté’s expertise regarding addiction, specifically the discussion of issues of attachment and vulnerability, and the role they play in addiction and recovery.)

    Enjoy!

    Adam Wiggins

    Executive Director

  • Commencement

    I recently attended a commencement ceremony at Kinghaven Treatment Center. One of the men graduating from the program had asked for Better Life support and to be reintegrated into a church community. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I was blown away!

    Four men stood up to share their stories and spoke about the people, the program, and the relationships.

    As I listened to men tell about their experiences and friends and family share their words of support, I couldn’t help but think this was a picture of healthy reintegration! This was what every offender desperately needed for healthy reintegration. It was powerful!

    And it was a picture of why Better Life and the entire reintegration network is so committed to placing parolees into supportive faith communities where the experience and modelling of healthy relationships, needed resources, and faith practices can have a game-changing/life-changing impact on an offender.

    The stories at the ceremony also highlighted that a very high percentage of offenders wrestle with issues of mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction. What may come as a surprise is, far too often, addiction treatment and mental health are left unaddressed as an offender moves from a Correctional Institution to parole.

    It’s heartbreaking that, when the challenges of addiction and mental illness are left unaddressed, the probability of reoffending is extremely high, even when we place the affected individual into a faith community.

    As these challenges become more obvious to Better Life, we have renewed our commitment to advocating for the men and women we support so that both addiction and mental health needs are taken seriously and addressed. We will continue to advocate for those who are challenged by addiction to go into treatment before they are reintegrated back into the community so that they have the best opportunity to experience a healthy reintegration and become a contributing member of their community.

    As we think about the issues of addiction treatment and therapy for mental health issues, we were recently able to send DG to a very specific type of therapy for PTSD. DG’s experience shows how valuable therapy can be for reintegration.

    DG writes:

    Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) has gained in popularity over the past 20 years and is quickly becoming an accepted method of treatment for people experiencing symptoms related to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), or those who have experienced some form of trauma in their past. Rest assured, there is no shame in attempting to resolve something so impactful upon your quality of life.

    The treatment is primarily accomplished via ‘talk therapy,’ with the added component of guided eye movement. This serves to ‘reprogram’ how the brain interprets and responds to some of life’s many challenges. This therapy can be quite intense for a person and one would be well-advised to allow time to decompress, post-session. The number of sessions required depends upon the depth of the issue being targeted and one’s receptiveness to the designed therapy.

    For my part, while working with a Social Worker some time ago, I raised an issue I was having for discussion. For the longest time, I’d been getting irritated quite frequently—while in my bedroom, awake or asleep—and eventually realized that the sound of my door—any door, being opened or closed—was responsible for eliciting such a strong emotional response. At times, I would feel my entire body tense, becoming hyper-alert. Still others, I would instantaneously become disproportionately angry.


    I’ve never doubted that one of the many consequences of serving a lengthy prison sentence is PTSD. Frankly, I am of the opinion that anyone, man or woman, is likely to experience symptoms of PTSD after serving only a year or two behind bars; in some cases, even less! Inexplicably, this issue with doors did not manifest itself fully until I was in the community. Moreover, I have since spoken with a number of CSC staff, who admit to similar psychological and physiological responses.

    Though one may think that witnessing violence with some frequency, would be the impetus to symptoms of PTSD, there are numerous less obvious causes which can be equally devastating to the human psyche. Therefore, I would encourage anyone reading this to be open to the possibility of deeper, residual, and unchecked effects of incarceration. At the very least, talk to someone about this. They are likely to bring a more objective view to the situation. Doing nothing about these responses only negatively impacts a person’s quality of life, as well as increases the risk of future problems, which may very well lead back to life in prison. That choice rests with you!

    In conclusion, let me add that this is the longest DG has gone without reoffending.

    What’s made the difference? As he concludes, That (the) choice rests with you! That’s always, and ultimately, true for each of us. BUT, alongside that choice, when we can provide the people and the resources to welcome and support parolees in the context of a faith community, it truly changes the outcome of a person’s life.

    With that in mind, please accept my heartfelt thanks. Thanks for investing in the “least of these,” as Jesus referred to the marginalized in our society. Your investment impacts a life, a community, and ultimately an entire nation!

    Thank you for the difference that you make!

    Gratefully,

    Adam Wiggins

    Executive Director