Women in Drug Treatment Courts: Sexual Assault as the Underlying Trauma

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The treatment of female Drug Court participants is rarely addressed as a stand-alone issue in judicial education programs and trainings for Drug Court professionals. Judicial education programs must take a comprehensive look at women and trauma to successfully treat substance abusing women who have been victimized by sexual and physical violence.

This Web course provides an in-depth look at dealing specifically with women, trauma, and substance abuse.

This course will instruct participants in:  

  • The high rate of substance abuse among women who were sexually abused as children and/or adults
  • The nexus between sexual abuse, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse
  • The essential components of a drug treatment program that is effective for traumatized women
  • The failure rate of women in non-specialized programs
  • How to evaluate the efficacy for women of the drug treatment programs utilized by their court and require these programs to provide the necessary services

Aspects of the model curricula:

  • NJEP’s curriculum is available at no charge for a variety of uses: it can be utilized as the basis for in-person trainings and webinars or reviewed by individuals online.
  • The curriculum consists of:
    • A faculty manual for teachers
    • A Power Point presentation with suggested commentary
    • Exercises for participants
    • Handouts for participants
    • The curriculum can be adapted to local laws and practices