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Dr. Elizabeth Allen

Women and Mass Incarceration: Unique Needs and Challenges

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[T]he pathways to prison for most women includes a history of trauma, either sexual trauma; physical violence; . . . substance use; and mental health. . . Some of. . .the policies and procedures that are in place will often re-traumatize many of these women. . . [W]e take their symptoms, that they are already struggling with, and we compound them.

Dr. Elizabeth Allen

In this episode, our guest Dr. Elizabeth Allen discusses her experiences as a practitioner and researcher, exploring the unique needs of women involved in the correctional system and how to promote their successful reintegration into their families and communities. Dr. Allen describes the importance of not only focusing on women’s individual resources but also accounting for the socio-political structural factors that must be addressed if women are to reconnect with their families and their communities of support.

Elizabeth K. Allen, PhD, LCSW, received her PhD and MSW from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. While she spent the last twenty years as an LCSW for correctional managed health care at Janet S. York Correctional Institution in Niantic, CT, she is now a therapist for The Connection, Inc., one of Connecticut’s leading private, non-profit, human service and community development agencies. She is also an adjunct professor at University of Connecticut and the University of St. Joseph. Dr. Allen is actively involved in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Policy Grand Challenge for Smart Decarceration, working in the practice group as co-chair of post incarceration.

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