The Trauma-Informed Lawyer Myrna McCallum

Dimple Dhabalia began her career as a lawyer but after a stint at the Attorney General's office in Denver, she found her calling as an asylum officer. Working for almost two decades at the crossroads of the government and humanitarian sectors, Dimple found her job fulfilling, but it also led to vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and burnout. This episode explores mental health issues resulting from workplace demands and the exposure to the trauma of others - and the inspirational work of Dimple Dhabalia.

In 2019, Marlee Liss's sexual assault case became the first in North America to get resolved in a restorative justice process instead of ending up in a criminal trial. Today, Marlee Liss is a restorative justice advocate, award-winning speaker, and embodiment coach. Her story is a testament that restorative justice provides a rare opportunity for survivors to heal in a way that respects their need for boundaries, care, and consent...while also initiating a transformative process for those who cause harm.
Marlee’s social media handle is @marleeliss. Find her work at www.marleeliss.com The second edition of her (poetry) book Re-Humanize is just out.
This episode discusses sexual violence,suicide and sexual harm. If you need support please call 8-1-1 in Canada or visit https://endingviolencecanada.org/sexual-assault-centres-crisis-lines-and-support-services/ for a list of crisis lines, support services and sexual assault centres in your area.

Today's episode is a special one. I am sharing an episode of Ben Perrin's podcast, Indictment: the Criminal Justice System on Trial which can be found here: https://indictment.simplecast.com/ In the most recent episode of Indictment, Ben shares Harold Johnson's final public talk - and what a gift it is to listen to Harold one more time.

For more info on the Justice as Trauma Conference, please check out: www.justiceastrauma.ca

Below is a copy of Ben's show notes from the original Indictment episode:

Powerful. Unflinching. Visionary. Hear Indigenous lawyer and author Harold Johnson (1957-2022) deliver his final public lecture powerfully indicting the Canadian criminal justice system and making an impassioned case for Indigenous justice. A member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Harold was a Harvard-trained Crown prosecutor and criminal defence lawyer who quit practising law because of the harm it was causing Indigenous people. Instead, he devoted the rest of his life to advocating for Indigenous justice and developing and implementing initiatives to bring healing and restoration in Indigenous communities. This special episode was recorded live on November 8, 2021 at the UBC Peter A. Allard School of Law in Vancouver as Harold spoke to the entire first year class. Harold Johnson passed away three months later on February 9, 2022. His legacy and words live on.

Content Note: discussion of trauma, intimate partner violence, violence, suicide, death by impaired driving, substance use, colonial violence against Indigenous people including residential schools and incarceration. There is also mention of sexual violence. Click here for mental health support resources if you need support.

Harold's book include:

Harold Johnson, Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada

Harold Johnson, Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours)

Order your copy of Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial (Aevo UTP, 2023). Visit www.benjaminperrin.ca for the latest news and upcoming events. Thank you to Joan Johnson for permission to share this lecture.

Louise Marra is a systems healer and founder of Spirited Leadership and Unity House. By coaching companies and NGOs across sectors in New Zealand, Louise aims to create a space for what she terms "walking restorers." These individuals can foster new relationships and promote practices that help heal historical wounds that creep into today’s workplaces. Louise believes that leaders have the responsibility to bring restoration of past and present trauma into their organizations.

Louise’s book is called “ReRoot: The Nature of Change Through the System of Trees”. Watch out for a trauma-informed leadership course with Louise Marra on the pocketproject.org

Natalie Gutierrez, author of The Pain We Carry, Healing from Complex PTSD for People of Color, is a critical POC voice in a wellness space dominated by white trauma experts. Through her personal lens and professional lens as a Puerto Rican complex trauma therapist, Natalie explains how historical and cultural trauma is experienced by Black people, Indigenous people and People of Colour - and how cultural burdens and legacies inform our relationships and internal family systems. Natalie is remarkable and you can catch her among a line-up of powerful presenters at the upcoming Justice As Trauma conference, in Vancouver from April 3-5, 2024. Please visit https://www.myrnamccallum.co/justiceastrauma for details - and don’t forget to order her book, The Pain We Carry: Healing from Complex PTSD for People of Color.

On today’s episode, Myrna speaks with Benjamin Perrin, who drops some truth about the criminal justice system in his groundbreaking book, Indictment: Criminal Justice System on Trial. Get ready for a podcast interview that'll leave you questioning everything you thought you knew and change your practice forever.

Check out Ben's companion podcast at https://indictment.simplecast.com/ and his website for more info: https://benjaminperrin.ca/ and if you want to attend the Justice as Trauma Conference, you can find more details here: https://www.myrnamccallum.co/justiceastrauma