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About Shannon
Dr. Lynch's research focuses on exposure to interpersonal violence, mental health, and treatment needs in incarcerated populations. Dr. Lynch recently coauthored a book focused on the intersections of trauma, mental health, and substance use in incarcerated women and girls. Dr. Lynch also regularly serves as a presenter for the Crisis Intervention Team Academy of Idaho and collaborates with a nearby women’s prison to offer treatment for concurrent PTSD and substance use.
Contributions
Publications
Examines interpersonal violence and mental health as predictors of women's offending histories in 491 women in jail.
Examines whether women's mental health changed post release and examined predictors of women's mental health and substance use post release. Finds interpersonal violence exposure and coping predicted mental health problems and substance use in formerly incarcerated women.
Reports the prevalence of serious mental illness and PTSD in a sample of 491 women in jails in four geographic regions.
Uses mixed methods to identify risk factors for women's entry into the criminal justice system. Finds serious mental health disorders, substance use, witnessing violence, and caregiver violence were all associated with onset of specific criminal behaviors.
Describes implementation of Seeking Safety, a treatment for concurrent PTSD and substance use disorder, with women in prison and reports on women's improvements in PTSD and depression symptoms and coping compared to women who were waitlisted for the group.
Summarizes literature highlighting the overlap among experiences of victimization and offending in women and girls.