M I C R O S O F T

Newsletter Title

N E W S L E T T E R D A T E V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1 V O L U M E 1 1 , I S S U E 9

January 2015

The Depression Danger Scale™ Individual Version Now Offered by DWCO Online at No Charge

By Mike Denhof, Ph.D.

Elevated suicide risk for corrections staff, and especially Corrections Officers, is an issue of critical concern, as indicated in the research literature.1,2

Suicide risk and depressed mood tend to be intertwined and inseparable, and often accom-panied by symptoms of depression and thoughts associated with hopelessness. In addition, relationships between depression symptom severity and PTSD in corrections staff have been identified3, such that individuals demonstrating one or the other, and especially both togeth-er, also tend to experience additional debilitating health conditions, including a variety of work and life functioning impairments—which, in total, contribute to the extent of suffering experienced and likely to suicide risk as well. The nature of depression, especially in its deeper levels, is that it involves altered perception and processing of information. When depression is affecting a person, their perception and interpretation of events tend to be negatively skewed and “darker” than normal. Thoughts of hopelessness can come into play, such that a person may not only feel down and depressed, but also come to expect that his/her future will not improve and that his/her emotional suffering will continue unabated. This type of thinking pattern and impaired judgment are particularly dangerous because they can feed intention and action, such as by prompting thoughts or plans of escaping the suffer-ing by ending one’s life. Another aspect of depression is that people can slip into it gradually over time. As a result, they may have little insight that it is even happening, or how deep it has become, or how much it is distorting their thinking and outlook.

In light of processes such as described above, the importance of monitoring for potentially significant depressed mood becomes important as part of routine efforts to monitor and maintain one’s health and well-being. This is especially true for individuals working in high-stress occupations and those involving repeated experiences that can have a cumulative traumatic toll, such as experiences involving violence, injury, and death. Corrections staff are obviously no exception. The Depression Danger Scale™ (DDS) is a scientifically developed and psychometrically sound assessment tool administered as a group-based assessment service offered by Desert Waters

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Depression Danger Scale™ 1

How A Pet Helped Me 2

Boundary Violations 4

CF2F Instructor Training 6

One Year Free! 7

CIFA 8

Reader Input 9

Crisis Hotline Numbers 9

Quote of the Month 9

In Memoriam 10

Many Thanks 10

I N S I D E T H I S I S SU E

DWCO Services

V O L U M E 1 2 , I S S U E 1

The Depression Danger Scale™ Individual Version (Continued from page 1)

Correctional Outreach alongside other workforce health and well-being assessment offerings, including the Corrections Staff Resilience Inventory™ (CSRI), the Corrections Fatigue Status Assessment™ (CFSA-v5), and the Violence, Injury, and Death Exposure Scale™ (VIDES). The DDS service is designed to assess a facility’s or agency’s workforce as a whole. It gauges risk on the group-level, based upon the percentage of staff falling into different risk level categories. Depending upon results, it might be recommended that some type of program or resource be implemented to help reduce risk levels and support and ensure the health and wellbeing of staff. DWCO does offer a workshop that addresses the subject of corrections staff suicide, including the topics of recognizing the problem, its signs, its basis, as well as prevention, intervention and postvention strategies. While the DDS has been available as a group-based assessment service for some time, it is now also offered through an individual version DDS web application that corrections staff can anonymously access and complete on their own. The individual DDS is a research-supported screening tool that focuses on factors associated with the presence of signifi-cant levels of depression and suicide risk. The intent of the individual version DDS is to provide a convenient and efficient way for corrections staff to assess the extent to which they might be depressed or at risk. The assessment requires that the user simply respond to a brief set of questions (multiple-choice style), which are scored and inter-preted automatically online. Depending upon the score, follow-up actions are suggested to the user as well as relevant resources. Thus, the DDS individual version, now available from the DWCO site, offers corrections staff, and especially those concerned that they might be depressed a way to quickly and objectively assess their current state, monitor it over time, and prompt/encourage action as needed depending upon their score—to help ensure health and safety. It should be noted that DWCO does not provide crisis intervention services for individuals. However, DWCO does pro-vide contact information for partner organizations that do provide crisis intervention resources specifically for correc-tions staff.

REFERENCES 1New Jersey Task Force Report Police Suicide. (2009). http://www.state.nj.us/lps/library/NJPoliceSuicideTaskForceReport-January-

30-2009-Final(r2.3.09).pdf. 2Stack, S.J., & Tsoudis, O. (1997). Suicide risk among corrections officers: A logistical regression analysis. Archives of Suicide Re-

search, 3, 183-186. 3Denhof, M.D., & Spinaris, C.G. (2013). Depression, PTSD, and Comorbidity in United States Corrections Professionals: Impact on

Health and Functioning. http://desertwaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Comorbidity_Study_09-03-131.pdf .

How A Pet Helped Me To Survive PTSD

By Anonymous Corrections Officer (Retired)

Heading towards 20 years as a Correctional Officer in Australia the last thing I dreamed would ever happen to me was to come to the realisation that I had “lost the plot.” I was a former British Army veteran who had had a very demanding job (Recon Section Commander), and who, while serving on Active Service, had been under fire, and had seen horrific scenes of human destruction and unforgiving and relentless persecution of others in the name of religion. I had survived some fairly horrendous accidents while amateur motor racing and gone through a broken marriage at an early age post military. I had been unemployed for some time, lonely, no future on the horizon and no purpose in life. I had been “through the mill” so to speak in facing many of life’s challenges.

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How A Pet Helped Me To Survive PTSD (Continued from page 2)

But these were nothing compared to having a breakdown while serving as a Correctional Officer and doggedly refusing to accept I had a problem. But! . . .to the rescue comes one 2-year old Border Collie called Tako. He is my son’s dog who lived at my home while my son was establishing where he wanted to live. (By the way I still have him!! Called it a hijacked pooch.) I was not a very religious person and did not go to church or speak to God except when wanting help. (Please, God, get me out of this ****!!) But, without realising, it I had found a guardian angel. When I felt that my life was worthless, and found myself trying to make sense of what was happening to me, this faithful hairy hound, just by his presence, seemed to give me the strength to rationally think out the problems surrounding my condition, and to give me something to smile about.

If not cuddling up to me on the outdoor swing chair, at odd hours of the day or night, he would appear with a ball in his mouth wanting to play. How could I not leave my woes behind and tumble on the ground with him, or throw the ball for him to retrieve? He was my best friend, and in my mind at the time, my only friend. I had distanced my work-mates, my friends, even my wife and kids, but I grew closer to my furry friend. He would look into my eyes with a sense of knowing that I was struggling, and that gave me a sense of hope. He would roll on his back and demand a tummy rub or push his head between my legs to have his ears rubbed. But more than anything, he seemed to calm me and give me a sense of happiness. If I cried, he actually pushed harder, which made me gain control a little better. I would talk to him about how sad I was and how the world was against me, why my employer seemed to be uncaring, how I felt I had let my family down, how worthless I felt and how angry I was at those around me. He would rest his head on my lap and unconsciously I would stroke him, tickle him and have his unconditional love transfer from his furry body to my own spirit. Sometimes, without notice or reason, I would have tears in my eyes and feel a huge emptiness in my stomach. But as soon as I sat down anywhere, Tako would be there at my side, looking into my eyes, licking my hand, snuggling closer and pushing his way into my locked world. The world I had shut tightly from every-one. No one could enter my world. I seemed to work hard on being miserable, to be alone, to be suspicious, to find fault in everything and everyone around me. . . . that is, except my furry friend. He cracked open that titanium lock like butter. I had heard of therapy dogs used in various areas from palliative care to mental support , but never thought much about it until my own experience. From being a casual sceptic about anything outside mainstream care, I am now a firm believer of pet power. So my advice is to those who are experiencing troubles and feel alone, lost, failed, hurt, sad or whatever—if you can’t talk to your friends and family, talk to the dog. You might be pleasantly surprised. I certainly was!!

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Boundary Violations: Culled Or Cut From The Herd? © Copyright 2014 Susan Jones, Ph.D.

Most correctional employees can recall hearing about incidents where employees are “walked out” of the facility after a relationship with an inmate is uncovered. Sometimes these episodes catch us by surprise, and sometimes we remark that we knew that was going to happen eventually. Many of us have even been close enough to the incidents or investigation to see the fallout upon not only the employee involved in the incident, but upon many others. The fallout can include the end of a marriage, financial ruin, and even criminal prosecution. This story is not unique to one agency or to one type of facility. I have yet to talk to a correctional professional, from any agency, that can’t relate similar events. So why does this happen? As I pondered this issue, I was reminded of a term I knew from my childhood on the farm. I compared this process of boundary violations to that of being cut from the herd. Yet I couldn’t understand how in this instance, an outside predator (an inmate) could move in, identify a weakness, and remove this staff member from our team. How could this happen over and over again on our watch? I wondered about this for years, as I watched these events happen time and time again. As correctional professional I was determined to learn more about this process, so that the numbers of boundary vio-lations could be reduced. As I promoted through the ranks to the level of warden, I was involved in many discussions that revolved around this issue. I listened to many colleagues at different levels of the system who were dumbfound-ed with the numbers of incidents. The same questions surfaced over and over--“How can this keep happening?” I started looking for answers in the research and I quickly realized that very little research has been done in this area. What we do know usually comes from statistical reports from agencies or from inmates involved in relationships with staff. The piece that was missing was the description of the process from the involved staff member’s point of view. From an administrator’s point of view, this absence of information from the involved employee was easily under-stood: we never ask them. However, even if we did ask, the employee probably wouldn’t tell us because they would run the risk of increased administrative or criminal sanctions. So, in the absence of information, we have done what all good bureaucracies have done: we fill in the gaps of knowledge ourselves. In other words, we make it up. I am not speaking in the abstract here, but from specific experiences where the tale of how an inmate “cut” an employee from our herd (team) was expanded from one day to the next. For instance, someone would see the former employee in the community or they would talk to the inmate who had been involved, and tidbits of infor-mation from those exchanges would add to the story. These stories then took their place in the agency’s history and were passed on as facts. When I began to seriously look for answers regarding boundary violations, I realized that without the information from the staff involved, we were destined to make no progress towards a true understanding. As a result, I chose to examine this issue from the point of view of the women involved. My Ph.D. dissertation, entitled A Portrait of Bound-ary Violations, is a record of that research, but it is a starting point of this research, not an ending. Even though I have completed the dissertation, I have continued to seek out opportunities to hear the “facts” from the point of view of women who have left corrections after becoming involved in relationships with inmates. The women who have trusted me with their stories have been involved in relationships that cross a minor boundary all the way to those who have crossed a criminal or sexual boundary. I am continually amazed with the courage of these women to share with me very private and complicated stories. For some, I see an appreciation that someone is

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Boundary Violations: Culled Or Cut From The Herd? (Continued from page 4)

finally asking them. For others, it is a hope that by sharing this information they can help someone else; perhaps prevent someone else from making the same choices they have made. Not all the stories that I have had the privilege of receiving point to a singular cause or process, but there is one theme that I find in many of these stories. Most of these employees were not cut from the herd, but instead, they were culled from the herd. To be culled from a herd means that the herd removes or rejects a member. If you are talking about animals, this may mean that the member of the herd is abandoned and left to survive on their own in an environment where re-sources are scarce and where support is absent. I believe that the same explanation applies to people, to correctional employees, who have been rejected by the team. These employees have often found themselves wandering around, in a dangerous environment, without the support or the resources afforded as part of a team. It should really not come as a surprise when they find support from inmates. This explanation is difficult to accept because it goes against a corrections culture that says we are a team, we are there for each other—WE ARE FAMILY. But it is this same culture that often harshly judges and rejects those who don’t fit in. Sometimes these are people that have a different background, or those who traveled an unusual career path that led them to corrections work. Sometimes these rejected team members violated a fundamental cultural expectation, such as “ratting” on a fellow staff member. Sometimes these rejected staff members did something far less heinous, like they approached a problem with an inmate in a nontraditional manner and eliminated the need for force. At any rate, the possibility exists that we must consider the fact that some of our co-workers who have moved away from our team to become involved with inmates do so after we “culled” them from our herd. Looking at this issue in this way is uncomfortable, and even as a corrections retiree I am haunted by the actions that I may have taken or failed to take that allowed some members of our team to feel rejected. I write this as a point for contemplation for us all. Could there be some merit to this idea that, in some cases at least, employees sought relationships with inmates AFTER they were excluded from relationships as part of the correctional team? Editor’s note: I still remember, back in the early 2000’s, my first encounter with what might be an example of what

Susan Jones is so courageously discussing in this article. During a community event, a female correctional officer told

me that inmates at her facility treated her better than her coworkers and her supervisor did. She then described an

incident when her supervisor yelled at her, tearing her down in front of all the inmates at the chow hall. I can still see

the pain of humiliation on her face. And I still remember my sense of alarm about her comment, and my sense of

impending danger on her behalf. I responded by saying that regardless of how staff treated her, she surely must know

that she could not look to inmates for support. She just stared at me and said nothing more. Yes, I know that we are

responsible for our choices, and that we cannot blame others for our behavior. Yet, none of us operate in a social

vacuum. Our actions can make others’ lives easier or harder. For most people, rejection and exclusion make life

harder and create an emotional vacuum that someone else may rush to fill—and not always out of sincere caring. CS

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Coming Up! The CF2F Instructor Training

This 4-day Instructor training prepares Instructors to offer the 1-day course “From Corrections Fatigue to Fulfillment™” (CF2F) to fellow employees. Instructors who successfully complete the 4-day training and subsequent telephonic coaching receive a 3-year license to train staff at their agency or facility as often as needed. The CF2F course:

Addresses the cumulative and combined effects over time of exposure to three types of occupational stressors inherent in corrections work—operational, organizational and traumatic. The umbrella term Corrections Fatigue is used to describe the combined effects of these stressors.

Describes negative changes over time in: (a) staff’s identity, worldview, spirituality, emotions and behaviors; (b) staff’s health and functioning; and (c) the workplace culture—and self-reinforcing interactions among these three types of changes.

Describes phases of negative change over time, and ways to counter them.

Includes several brief self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires that allow the participant to: (a) identify personal issues that need care, (b) identify personal areas of positive growth as a result of working in corrections, and (c) identify areas of future professional development and direction.

Includes sections where participants individually and/or in small groups generate solutions to occupational challenges—solutions which they themselves can implement in their respective spheres of influence to help improve safety, security and functioning in their work areas.

Describes individual strategies for self-care, and for the promotion of a healthy sense of identity, worldview and spirituality.

Describes group and organizational strategies that promote a positive workplace climate and a positive organizational culture.

The CF2 F course is now offered in five customized versions: (a) for locked facility staff (prisons and jails), (b) for probation and parole staff (community-based field agents), (c) for community-based juvenile/youth workers, (d) for juvenile/youth workers in locked facilities, and (e) for new hires.

What Instructors Have Said about the CF2F Course Powerful, eye opening training that every correctional employee should be exposed to. Changed my perspective on my personal and professional life. ~ J. C. D., Sergeant This is a must for staff who work in corrections. Someone cares! So often we lose co-workers to suicide, alcoholism, divorce, and many other issues that come with a high stress job. It’s time to give dignity to the hard working people in this career field. ~ B. T., Sergeant The Master Instructor is extremely knowledgeable about corrections, and this program should be implemented in every institution in the country. ~J. D., Correctional Officer Unbelievable. Necessary to success. Loved training. ~ D. W., Lieutenant

DWCO 2015 CF2F Instructor Trainings The 4-day Instructor Training “From Corrections Fatigue to Fulfillment™” is scheduled to be offered twice in 2015 at DWCO’s offices in Florence, CO:

March 17-20, 2015

October 6-9, 2015

Maximum number of Instructor candidates: 12. The training is also offered at agency sites upon request.

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One Year Free! By an Anonymous Corrections Professional

One year ago today I smoked my last cigarette. I have not inhaled so much as one puff in that time. I decided way ahead of time to quit, picked a date and used Chantix for a few weeks to help me along at first. I chose my birthday as my first cigarette-free day as a gift to myself. As with any addiction, one must choose to leave it because they are tired of it, see negative effects and are willing to change. I couldn’t do it for my husband and children, my financial gain, my social status or to ease my guilt. If those things were enough to cause an addict to quit – there would be no such thing as an addict. You see, this decision was made because I was tired of making myself sick. I was tired of being driven by a drug and letting it dictate my every thought and action. I knew if I didn’t quit I would one day die from it, and I want to live. I decided to take control of my life and quit because I knew that I was better for it in so many ways. In exchange for me taking care of myself all of the other benefits of not smoking fell into place as well. I saw a quote the other day that said something like, “I thought when I fixed my life it would fix my drinking. Little did I know the opposite was true.” Perfectly stated. Addiction is a very powerful and evil beast. I am not smoke-free because I’m strong. I am smoke-free because I made a decision to surrender and then reach out for help from God, my family/friends, an online support network and my doctor. I didn’t do any of this alone nor could I have. It has been a very difficult and long road. I decide each day I wake up not to smoke and hope that tomorrow I’m able to do the same. Smoking is like all other addictions. I don’t care if it’s cigarettes, gambling, eating, heroin, alcohol, etc. Addiction is addiction is addiction. The only way to ever overcome it for me was: be ready and do it for you, no one else. Surrender, and then reach out for help. Take one day at a time and one step at a time to continue growing, strength-ening and becoming the healthiest version of yourself you can be using the tools you learn along the way. This year has been a journey to find myself and an understanding of so much more than me all at once. My dad, who was also a correctional officer, was an addict. He took his own life because he felt unable to find inner peace and happiness. I’m not sure why he used or why he was constantly at battle with himself. I’m not sure he knew. He tried unsuccessfully to quit many times for all the wrong reasons. He always quit for what he stood to lose, never for what he stood to gain. I have chosen to learn to do what he felt he could not. In watching him endure his own addiction, pain and ultimate death – I have learned to be free. I started this journey this year for me. I continue it knowing he would be proud. I’m no stronger or wiser than he was. I’ve actively chosen to learn and grow from the final lesson he left for me. He paid the ultimate price for that lesson and I refuse to let it be for nothing. I choose to use it to help me be all that I can be for myself and those around me. I still have a long way to go and each day I will continue to try. Today I am free and have an inner peace and happiness that I feel so blessed to have received. God is good and has guided me on this journey. He gives me all that I need to be successful and I don’t doubt for one minute that he will continue to do just that. Now, onto my cake addiction…………

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Critical Incident First Aid™ (CIFA)

The Critical Incident First Aid™ (CIFA) e-learning module is a resource for corrections staff that can be accessed following exposure to a work-related incident involving violence, injury, or death. The CIFA can be utilized as a stand-alone resource or offered in conjunction with an existing debriefing protocol used by an agency’s Critical Incident Response Team.

Benefits of the CIFA include: a consistent and standardized delivery of supportive information and resources for individuals exposed to critical incidents; confidential/anonymous availability and access to the application from any computer with internet access and a provided password; research-driven content designed to promote cognitive and emotional support and coping strategies; a scientific self-assessment of the magnitude of individuals’ cumulative violence, injury, and death exposure, as well as scientific feedback on the implications of one’s assessment score; a printable set of tip sheets and resources designed to help ensure the most expedient path to optimal and uninterrupted health and functioning. Please contact us for additional information.

CIFA Endorsements “The CIFA E-learning Module is a comprehensive yet simple, multi-dimensional didactic tool that serves to assist, support and guide persons impacted by recent and/or cumulative stress associated with Critical Incident experiences. Through the application of this program, one can come to experience optimum health recovery and resiliency results that are the expected baseline of Desert Waters Correctional Outreach and their myriad of services. The empirical data and research methods used to develop this program serve to establish the highest quality of performance based train-ing one can utilize in the method of Critical Incident First Aid (CIFA).” ~ Ron Sands, LMHC, CEAP (Retired)

“Corrections staff excel at responding to critical incidents. Much time and energy is devoted to continuous improve-ment in training, policy, and equipment in order to increase success and decrease injury to all involved. However, improving the response to support the employees involved in a critical incident is still a major concern. Finding the correct response is difficult, due in part to the fact that individual employees react differently based on the type of incident, their trauma history, and their support systems. I believe that the management staff of our corrections insti-tutions want to do the right thing, but these differences make it difficult to ensure that all staff receive the support that they need after an incident. As a result, many types of approaches need to be available and implemented to ensure that support and follow up care is provided for each staff member. Desert Waters Correctional Outreach has added a valuable tool that can be provided to staff following a variety of critical incidents: the CIFA E-module (Critical Incident First Aid). This product allows for identified staff to participate in a computerized, individualized session that is done in private. The module includes an assessment to evaluate the cumulative impact of critical incidents over the course of the staff’s corrections career, provides information that is specific to the corrections environment, periodically asks questions to ensure comprehension of the material present-ed, and provides follow-up educational materials and resources. This module can be implemented as one approach to follow-up care for critical incidents, and it can be used in conjunction with other interventions, including employee assistance programs and debriefings. I am particularly impressed with the usefulness of this approach for employees who may be resistant to participating in other types of supportive activities. I urge all correctional leaders to consider adding this product to their available options for staff wellness and critical incident after-care.” ~ Susan Jones, Ph.D., Warden (Retired)

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Reader Input Email received on 12/15/2014. Printed with permission. This is another wonderful issue! The first article really spoke to me personally, as I teach Psychological First Aid to our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers. I will pass on this article, especially, to the group. It will help them work with each other in our post-response debriefings. It will also help when they encounter the anger that is so often present during disasters. I responded to Katrina for two rotations to Mississippi, one immediately after the disaster and one about 6 weeks after. During the first rotation the victims’ emotions were still raw and in shock, and they were glad to have us there. By the time I went back the victims were angry with the slow progress and what they perceived as the government’s interference. There was even a suicide in one of the shelters. That and other episodes really made me passionate about the psychological aspect of disasters for both responders and the victims. When I teach I always begin by asking if anyone has experienced a life-changing disaster, then ask if they would mind sharing with the group. It seems to elicit more interest and awareness when someone shares real-life examples in person. An added benefit is that the folks who have shared have commented that it “felt good” to discuss it in the group who are training to respond to disasters. I’ve learned from each response, and bring that knowledge back to our facility to help the EPC improve our prepared-ness. One thing I have discovered is that no matter how much you prepare you are never truly prepared for disasters, but, if you don’t prepare, you may not survive. The same is true in corrections. Keep up the great work! Jill Carmody, KDOC

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Crisis Hotline Numbers & Website Information for First Responders

Safe Call Now: 206-459-3020

Serve & Protect: 615-373-8000

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

Quote Of The Month

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Caterina Spinaris, Ph.D. Executive Director

431 E. Main Street, P.O. Box 355 Florence, CO 81226

(719) 784-4727

desertwaters@desertwaters.com

http://desertwaters.com Contributions are tax-deductible.

http://desertwaters.com/?page_id=2237

In Memoriam

CO R. Velarde Centinela State Prison CDCR EOW 12/15/2014 CS Darren “Big D” Shiflett Shawnee County Juvenile Detention Center Topeka, KS EOW 01/23/06 Corporal Jessica Wilson Wyoming State Penitentiary WDOC EOW 1/11/2015

Thank you for supporting Desert Waters through your tax-deductible contributions.

No amount is too small.

Individual donors: Anonymous donors, TC & Joellen Brown, Colorado Combined Campaign donors, Jeff & Con-nie Mueller, Kevin & Robin Rivard. Business donors: Janice Graham, CPA; Elizabeth Gamache, Landshark Design. Special thanks also go to: Mark Bolton, Maureen Buell,

Connie Clem, Gloria Fuqua, Dave Garcia, Phil Haskett,

Daniel Kauleinamoku, Trish Signor.

To increase the occupational,

personal and family well-being of staff of all

disciplines within the corrections profession.

DWCO Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in the Correctional Oasis are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by DWCO staff, Board members and/or volunteers. DWCO is not responsible for accuracy of statements made by authors. If you have a complaint about something you have read in the Correctional Oasis, please contact us.