CRJS 3009 Final Exam Prep

110 MC & True/False, 24 short-answer questions. All with 127 points.

Trauma-Informed Care

An approach in healthcare and social services that recognizes and responds to the impact of trauma on individuals. It emphasizes understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma.

Trauma is not transformed, it is transmitted. Not what is wrong with you, but what has happened to you.

Trauma

Psychological, emotional, & physiological responses to an event(s) that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope temporarily or long-term. It can result from experiences such as abuse, neglect, violence, or loss, leading to various mental health challenges.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

Stressful or traumatic events in childhood that can have lasting effects on health and well-being.

Versions include abuse (physical, emotional, sexual abuse), neglect (physical, emotional), and household dysfunction (mental illness, incarcerated relative, abused mother, substance abuse, divorce).

4 Cs of Trauma-Informed Care

Calm: Cultivate understanding of trauma and its effects to promote a tranquil, patient attitude towards patients and clients.

Contain: Limit trauma details to maintain emotional and physical safety. Provide education, resources, and referrals to trauma-specific care without requiring disclosure of trauma.

Care: Adopt behaviours, practices, and policies that minimize and mitigate power differentials to reduce trauma and structural violence.

Cope: Emphasize coping skills, positive relationships, and interventions that build resilience.

Trauma Affecting the Brain

When the brain encounters trauma, it triggers the immediate “fight, flight, or freeze” survival response via the amygdala (threat detector) and stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline), causing sensory overload and shutting down rational thought (prefrontal cortex) to focus solely on immediate survival.

The temporal lobes, which regulates emotions and receive input from the senses, are nearly inactive.

Cultural Humility

The continuous self-evaluation, critique, and acknowledging power imbalances that physicians have over their clients, so that non-paternalistic and beneficial relationships for all parties can be achieved.

While cultural competence focuses on the care worker’s ability to understand and respect the general values and beliefs of their patient’s culture, allowing them to provide efficient care, this term refers to the care worker’s consistent ability to be self-aware and open to their own biases and power dynamics in relationships.

Transference

When a client unconsciously directs their thoughts, feelings, and attitude from prior experiences towards the professional treating them, which can be expressed in a positive, negative, or erotic way.

Counter-transference

How a professional projects their feelings or bias towards their client, oftentimes in response to transference, and can also be in a positive, negative, or erotic way.

EDIA

Equity: Everyone does not start from the same place with the same resources.

Diversity: Justice professionals & clients have different identities & experiences.

Inclusion: Not enough to just include others but they must feel valued & heard.

Accessibility: Available to everyone including those with physical, cognitive, or language barriers.

Unconscious Bias

When we make judgments or decisions on the basis of our prior experience, our own personal deep-seated thought patterns, assumptions or interpretations, we aren’t aware that it’s expressed.

Anchoring Bias

Cognitive bias that causes us to rely heavily on the first piece of info we are given about a topic.

Bandwagon Effect

When an idea of belief is being followed because everyone seems to be doing so.

Blind Spot

When someone is unaware of their own biases while readily seeing and recognizing biases in others.

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

Information Bias

Distortion in the measure of association caused by a lack of accurate measurements of key study variables.

Authority Bias

Tendency to be more influenced by the opinions and judgments of authority figures.

Confidentialty

When a researcher or justice worker is aware of a client’s identity and personal info but keeps it protected from others.

Anonymity

When no one, including the researcher or justice worker, knows the client’s identity, preventing any data or info from being linked back to the client.

Dual Relationship

When a professional maintains a second, non-professional relationship with a client in addition to the primary role.

Can lead to ethical issues such as conflicts of interests, reduced clinical objectivity, and the potential for exploitation, though some situations may require managing a dual role.

Example: Aubrey Levin who assaulted three of his clients as a former court psychiatrist.

The ABC Tool

A tool for assessing clients on where they are at, learning their personal, social and cultural context including their strengths and required treatments.

Affect (outward display of emotional expression).

Behaviours (resulting action of such expressions).

Cognitions (inward thoughts).

Development (adverse childhood experiences, recent past).

Environment (how one’s surroundings affect them).

Rumination

A continuation of stressful events through mental re-imagining that is distressing rather than problem-solving. This mental re-imagining traps people in negative emotions, perpetuating stress and loweing moods, which can then disrupt daily routines.

Differs from problem-solving and thoughtful reflection in the way that an individual passively re-watches an event they went through, worsening their mood, rather than thinking about an action they need to take to solve a problem.

Triage Assessment

Process of sorting patients by urgency in emergency settings, with a broader needs and strengths assessment, evaluating a person’s challenges and capabilities to support decision-making and service planning for their overall well-being.

Major Life Areas (MLA)

Food insecurity. 

ACEs. 

BIPOC. 

Newcomer. 

LGBTQ2S+. 

Substance misuse. 

Spirituality. 

Geography. 

Mental health. 

Physical ability. 

Legal issues. 

Social & leisure. 

Family & friends. 

Employment. 

Finances.

Assessment Challenges

Failure to take a fulsome history.

Our basis & privileges.

CRJS barriers & frustration.

Inconsistencies of meeting the client where they’re at.

Forgetting the 4Cs.

ACES Model

Model that helps combat rumination in one’s duties, especially in a CRJS setting. A potential limitation to implementing the ACES model in high-pressure work environments with tight timelines and heavy emotional load would be the extreme stress imposed on someone working those jobs. This would impact how an individual is able to think in a concrete and specific manner, causing the person to ruminate about all the emotionally heavy things they experience in a day.

Action: Take action to start creating a plan to convert distressing thinking into problem-solving thinking of stressful events. Ex: A detective who has experienced a violent crime can take action by talking to a colleague about their experiences and what other action they need to take, rather than revisiting the crime in their mind.

Concrete: The plan has to contain actionalble steps to achieve problem-solving thinking, moving beyond vague ideas to create a grounded and achievable plan. Ex: The detective may write down what has been resolved and identify any further steps in the investigation, making a concrete plan to avoid focusing on the crime later during their day.

Experiential: The plan has to be a development strategy that focuses on “learning by doing”. Ex: The detective can practice breathing when recognizing they are ruminating, shifting their focus to the present and calming themself when negative feelings emerge.

Specificity: The plan has to contain specific time frames, goals, methods and other requirements. Ex: The detective can create a detailed plan with time frames, objectives, coping methods and other specifics to decompress after investigating a violent crime, giving them a clear structure to follow and further improve self-control.

Alberta’s Mental Health Act

Provincial legislation allowing professionals and police to intervene in individuals suffering from a mental health crisis who pose a danger to themselves or others around them.

Unlike the Criminal Code of Canada, there is very high consideration of mental health when arresting and charging individuals committing illegal offences.

The Act gives officers the power to bring an individual for assessment and treatment at designated facilities, with or without consent, if they are believed to be enough of a threat to themselves or others.

The 5-Step Model

An intervention plan on interacting and helping clients overcome their trauma.

Establish Rapport: Where the intervener builds connections and trust with the client to improve communication with each other.

Safety: Where the intervener creates a space where the client’s physical and psychological health is secured from further harm, aiding their well-being further.

Dimensions of Triage: Where the professional triages their clients’ issues, expanding on how they affected them, as well as their origins.

Resources & Referrals: Provides ways for the client to find and use resources for them to remedy their issues.

Follow-up: Re-evaluate clients after implementing the intervention plan, revisiting whether it works and spotting problems that may relapse them so professionals can prepare for clients should they occur.

Addiction and Connection (Rat Park)

Video with the main message: “The opposite of addiction is connection.” Illustrating that isolation and a lack of connections can lead to or intensify an individual’s addictions. Lack of connections limit opportunities for individuals with addictions to help themselves, as it pushes them to the outskirts of society.

Meaningful connections with people around you can deter addictive behaviour and aid in the recovery porcess. It is important to help individuals with substance use disorders to build healthy relationships with other people, giving them reasons and helpful resources to stop their addictions.

Burnout

The physical and emotional exhaustion that workers can experience when they have low job satisfaction and feel powerless and overwhelmed at work.

Ex: “I spend my days at the Remand Centre meeting with clients to prepare their defence for court. I think they’re all doomed. I think the justice system is broken. What’s the point? Can I even make a difference?”

Compassion Fatigue

Deep emotional exhaustion experienced after repeat exposure to traumatic situations or stories. Diminishies ability to feel empathy for clients, loved ones & coworkers.

Ex: “I work as a nurse in pallative care, helping patients who are dying of cancer, I feel incredibly drained after shift and am unable to give any love or compassion to my partner and kids when I get home.”

Vicarious Trauma

Worker transformation from empathetic engagement with clients’ trauma experiences.

Ex: “My job as an administrative assistant to a parole officer is to read the files of violent sex offenders. This affects my love life, my feelings of safety, for my children, and my ability to watch shows like Law & Order.”

Breaking Points (What causes people to explode)

Temperature changes.

Intense exercise (15 mins).

Progressive muscle relaxation.

Paced breathing (4-4-4).

Shock your system (sour candy).

Assessment for Occupational Injuries

Trust is impacted by stories of cruelty and deception, creating cynicism or suspicion to others. 

Safety is impacted by the fragility of life & increased thoughts of own vulnerability. 

Power & Control feeling helpless & control their personal relationships. 

Independence feels lost because of feeling personally vulnerable & out of control. 

Self-esteem & self-worth & loss of faith, shattering of belief systems. 

Intimacy may become absent to self and others for being too emotionally invested in clients. 

Anger with the justice system’s response or lack thereof.

Mental Illness Myths

Mental illnesses are not real illnesses.

Bad parenting causes mental illnesses.

People with mental illnesses are violent.

Kids cannot have mental illness.

Schizophrenia

Mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, making it difficult to distinguish reality from imagination.

Symptoms can be active (positive/add), passive (negative/reduce), or cognitive.

Misconceptions of this mental illness are that it showcases a split personality, an alternative to describe psychopathy, it usually causes violence, less likely to cause self-injure or be victimized.

Schizophrenia Symptoms

Active (Positive/Gain):

Delusions.

Paranoia.

Grandiose thinking (they think they’re THEM).

Movement problems.

Thought broadcasting.

Hallcuinations of five senses.

Passive (Negative/Lose):

Blunted effect.

Inappropriate effect.

Depression.

Apathy.

Social withdrawal.

Anhedonia (lack of joy on life experiences).

Poor hygiene.

Cognitive:

Poor executive functioning.

Attention problems.

Memory problems.

Miss social cues.

Problems using info from the environment to make decisions.

Anosognosia (unaware of own illness).

Psychotic Episode

When a person temporarily experiences a significant loss of contact with reality, marked by symptoms like hallucinations and delusions.

May have difficulty thinking clearly, expressing themselves, and distinguishing between reality and illusion, which makes daily functioning challenging.

Schizophrenia and psychosis may affect how you think and feel, but it’s treatable.

Schizophrenia is a movie, this is just an episode.

ALERT

Acronym for interventions on schizophrenia or psychosis.

Acknowledge risks or the psychosis.

Listen non-judgmentally.

Engage with empathy.

Refer for professional support.

Talk with others.

Disruptive Mood

Emotional dysregulation to the point of interrupting daily functioning.

Symptoms of duration, timing, or etiology:

• Substance or medication-induced.

• Post-patrum.

• Major depressive disorder.

• Bipolar disorder I or II.

Personality Disorder

Deeply ingrained pattern of behaviour of a specified kind that deviates markedly from the norms of accepted behaviour. Mostly prevalent in male offenders and concurrent with substance use disorders. Differs from Paraphilic Disorders.

Common ones in CRJS include:

• Paranoid PD.

• Antisocial PD.

• Borderline PD.

• Narcissistic PD.

• Obsessive-Compulsive PD.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occuring since age 15, as indicated by three or more of the following:

• Failure to conform to social norms (laws).

• Deceitfulness, impulsivity.

• Irritability, aggressiveness.

• Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.

• Consistent irresponsibility (work, financial).

• Lack of remorse, empathy.

IS PATH WARM

Acronym for things that can lead to mental illnesses.

Ideation.

Substance Abuse.

Purposeless.

Anger.

Trapped.

Hopelessness.

Withdrawing.

Anxiety.

Recklessness.

Mood change.

Inside the Interview Room

In this podcast, Detective Shute suggests that not only are truthful confessions difficult to get, but they should not be the investigator’s only goal during the interview.

Shute encourages investigators to uncover the truth of the matter through the interview, as well as meeting certain goals the interviewer sets, such as corroborating evidence, rather than only focusing on getting a confession.

By having tunnel vision solely on obtaining confesions, blind spots can be created and evidence can be overlooked, hence why Shute highlights it is better to focus on meeting other objectives during an interview.

Neutral body language encourages relaxation and calmness during the interview, allowing the interviewee to lower their stress levels to promote a calmer discussion, thereby helping police obtain mroe important information.

Doing file review on both the crime and the interviewee guides an interviewer in setting up objectives and creating a trauma-informed profile of the interviewee to understand how to approach them during an interview. Picking which interviewer is also important since an interviewee may not connect with an investigator of a certain race, sex, or religion, making a positive connection between the interviewer and the interviewee less likely.

High Crisis Mode

In the podcast “Inside the Interview Room”, this mode is when a suspect becomes overwhelmed with intense emotions, have lower rational thoughts and self-control, making it hard for police to extract info when interviewing them.

Detective Shute lowers this mode with a maintained composure during the interview through his tone, body language, and active listening. This calmness projects onto the suspect and lowers their stress levels to generate a stable one-on-one communication, guaranteeing a more productive interview.

4 Cs of Substance Use Disorders

Four Cs that measure substance use disorders.

• Compulsion (I have to take this drug because…)

• Cravings (I could use some more…)

• Consequences (I don’t think anything will happen to me after I…)

• Control (I can’t stop.)

Defence Mechanisms for Addictions

Rationalizing: “I only drink because I’m under so much pressure.”

Intellectualizing: “Health experts recommend drinking two ounces of alcohol per day.”

Blaming: “I wouldn’t smoke so much weed if my parents would stop nagging me.”

Switching: “I have problems to deal with. The whole world is a big mess. The problem is all the phony people out there.”

Minimizing: “I only smoked half a joint.”

Joking: “I can stop drinking any time I want. In fact, I stop once a week.”

Agreeing: “You’re right. I really should stop using crack.”

Projecting: “John really has a drinking problem. I’m not as bad as he is.”

Threatening: “Just try and stop me from going out with my friends.”

Generalizing: “Yeah, I smoke. We all have a bad habit or two.”

PChAD (Protection of Children Abusing Drug Act)

Law in Alberta that allows parents or legal guardians to apply for a court order to place a minor who is seriously abusing drugs or alcohol into a protective safe house for a short period for detoxification and assessment.

Intended to help children whose substance use is likely to cause significant psychological or physical harm to themselves or others, particularly when voluntary treatment options have not been successsful.

Intervention of Addiction Stages

• Precontemplation: Client is unaware of the problem or is not considering on changing, actively misusing substances.

• Contemplation: Client is aware of the problem and is considering making a change.

• Preparation: Client is ready to make the change and has set a time to stop or cut back on their issue.

• Action: Client has made the decision to change and is actively trying to quit or cut back.

• Maintenance: Client may have made a change previously but is finding it hard to remain abstinent or reduce their issue.
  

A relapse in the model is recognized as a potential state that can happen during recovery. It offers an opportunity for the person to learn more about their triggers, coping strategies, and support needs.

Consent Violations (What vitiates consent?)

Stealthing.

Fraud.

Non-disclosure.

Intoxication.

Incapacitation.

Age.

Key Parts of Consent

Affirnative: Clear and enthusiastic yes.

Freely given: They’re saying yes because they want to, not because they feel pressured, coerced, manipulated, or afraid to say no.

Conscious: Everyone involved is awake, alert, and able to make a safe decision.

Specific: Agreement to a specific activity, time, place and person under specific circumstances.

Ongoing: Consent is received every single time, and can be taken away anytime during the activity. If someone changes their mind, consent is no longer active.

Claire’s Law (The Disclosure to Protect Against Domestic Violence)

Gives people who feel at risk of domestic violence a way to get info about their partners so they can make informed choices about their safety and relationships.

PSECA (Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act)

Legislation designed to rescue and help children involved in prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, recognizing them as abuse victims, not criminals, allowing for temporary protective confinement and providing vital services like safe housing, treatment, and support to exit exploitation.

Empowers police and caseworkers to apprehend at-risk youth for immediate safety and offers pathways to rehabilitation and community resources, focusing on the child’s well-being and right to safety.

CSART (Calgary Sexual Assault Response Team)

Legislation that provides immediate, specialized medical care, emotional support, and options for reporting to anyone sexually assaulted within the last 7 days (168 hours) at certain agencies, offering care with or without police involvement.

Positive Transference

When a patient unconsciously redirects feelings of love, trust, admiration, or attachment from significant past figures onto their therapist, viewing them as caring, wise, or supportive, which can actually benefit therapy by fostering a strong, positive therapeutic bond.

Negative Transference

When a patient unconsciously redirects negative, hostile, or unresolved feelings from past relationships onto their therapist, seeing them as threatening or unfair, which, while challenging, becomes a crucial tool for therapy when explored openly to understand the original emotional patterns.

Erotic Transference

When a patient develops intense romantic or sexual feelings, fantasies, and attractions towards their therapist, redirecting unresolved emotions from past significant relationships onto the therapist, often as a way to seek nurturing or fulfillment that was missing in childhood.

Aubrey Levin

Former court psychiatrist who had dual relationships with three patients, sexually assaulting them behind the scenes between 2008 and 2010. Wasn’t until April 2014 when he began serving his sentence after the Alberta Court of Appeal denied his bid for a new trial.

Negligence from Kativik regional police

A young woman from an Inuit village in northern Quebec is suing for $400,000 after she was left handcuffed in a police vehicle with a repeat sexual offender and sexually assaulted. She said she suffered post-traumatic stress since the September 2011 attack in Tasiujaq.

The lawsuit, which names the officer involved as well as the local police service and the regional government, alleges “a serious lack of professionalism and gross negligence,” on behalf of the Kativik regional police.

Kati Mather

Lady in Vancouver who was overdosed by Fentanyl 11 times. One of the many people turning to the super-potent synthetic opioid after first taking it by accident. She dabs at the blood of her face, revealing raw patches of flesh underneath. She has been clawing at her own skin.

1. Affect: stressed, hopeless, hurried, unworried.

2. Behaviours: fidgeting, no eye contact, picks herself, 

3. Cognitions: doesn’t think it’s a big problem, knows it's wrong, chasing high, clarity, pros and cons, knows how addiction works, “one thing at a time”. 

4. Development: Long term addiction, traumatic past, overdosed multiple times “the doctor gave it to me, so it should be safe”. 

5. Environment: Homeless, streets, garbage bags, unsafe, female, alone.

Andrew Loku

This person, who had PTSD, was holding a hammer when he was shot and killed by police on July 5th, 2015. Thus, the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team, a joint effort between the Toronto Police Service and mental health nurses from 6 Toronto hospitals, respond to calls involving emotionally disturbed people.

Working on the Edge

Video showcasing the violent reality of Canadian Correctional Officers, led to numerous occupational stress injuries and workers’ trauma.

Daniel Roy

Become one of Prince George’s most prolific offenders while hooked on meth and heroin. But after 235 encounters with RCMP in 1 year, compassion helped end his life of crime.

Sarah

Five years after being caught in a horrifying earthquake, her 40oz of vodka a day drinking habit is destroying her life and her family is terrified that she won’t make it long enough to get help.

1. Affect: unworried about her alcohol addiction, delusional, selfish, thinks she knows what she needs, anxious especially without alcohol, careless, guilt. 

2. Behaviours: headaches, feels normal after drinking alcohol, pouts, do whatever it takes to get a bottle, hide her alcohol from family. 

3. Cognitions: doesn’t think it’s a big problem, assumes her problems are just “a female thing”, never thinks she was the main factor of family problems. 

4. Development: Long term addiction, traumatic past with eating disorder, stuck in a tsunami and earthquake in Japan, felt her anxiety relaxed from drinking her first alcohol. 

5. Environment: Out of the family, unsafe, female, boyfriend, own apartment.