Restorative Justice in Therapy: What It Is and How It Supports Trauma Healing
By Ashley Charbonneau
What is restorative justice?
Restorative justice is a framework that seeks to address harm caused by wrongdoing. It is concerned with the harm caused, not necessarily the specifics of the traumatic event, forgiveness, or reconciliation. This approach allows us to honor the interconnectedness of humans and identify how this can facilitate healing.
Why is this an option?
The legal system does not always support accountability. For example, individuals accused of a crime (defendant) are allowed to “plead the fifth” to protect their right against self-incrimination, and often the pre-trial and trial processes do not encourage a defendant to say, “Yes, I did this.” In this way, the legal system supports denial, as victims have to argue to multiple audience members that what happened to them actually happened.
Even when defendants plead guilty, or are found guilty at trial, they might continue to deny the harm they caused, their criminal behavior, and/or its impacts on victims. When there is a conviction, although there is some external accountability, such as the legal system holding them accountable or probation officers, the offender still does not “have to” admit to the crime. Additionally, consider that many victims, particularly those who have experienced sexual trauma, never come into contact with the legal system.
What a Restorative Justice Process Looks Like
A restorative justice approach requires the person who harmed them to show empathy and accountability. Empathy is a primary reason we as humans prevent ourselves from harming someone else. Since many people who cause harm exhibit cognitive distortions, it is important for them to take the victim’s perspective, experience others’ emotions, and believe others are valued and worthy of respect, while managing their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The person who caused harm, in this way, must see themselves as obligated to understand what your client has gone through. Ideally, this comes from a place of genuineness, where accountability, reparation, bettering themselves and those around them, and overall healing are priorities.
Restorative justice specifically asks offenders to acknowledge the harm they caused to the primary victim, as well as to their families, friends, and surrounding communities. Criminal and abusive behavior does not just impact the person who experienced harm. It has a ripple effect, impacting those with whom the victim has close relationships, such as friends, partners, or family members. We also look at how this impacts the families and friends in the life of the person who caused harm. Additionally, our communities at large are impacted.
Why Restorative Justice Must Be Individualized
Just as every client is different, every restorative justice process needs to be different or tailored to the unique needs and circumstances of the victim/survivor (the person who experienced harm). Every relationship between the person who caused harm and the person who experienced the harm is different, and everyone has a different support system.
Restorative justice processes must always be voluntary, initiated by the client who experienced harm. Ideally, the person who caused harm is in treatment or in some way exploring how they can repair harm on multiple levels.
If you work with victims, your client, too, must be in a place where they can be respectful and open to hearing what others have to say, including the offender. The space must be non-threatening and non-punitive to both parties. In this way, professionals are creating an environment of culture of consent. In their own therapy, victims should explore their motivations for contact with the offender. I have worked with victims who want to use this as an opportunity to yell at the offender or cause harm to the offender in some way; while these feelings are understandable, this is not the purpose of restorative justice.
Navigating Contact When the Legal System Is Not Involved
If your client wants to participate in restorative justice and/or have contact with the offender, and the offender is not in the legal system, this may require some creativity as to how you will go about including the offender in your client’s healing process. Similarly, if you work with an offender who is a voluntary client (which has happened!), and the offender wants to initiate contact with their victim for the purposes of accountability and apology, you might have to do some work to discern whether the victim wants this. This could include reaching out to other professionals, reaching out to victim advocates for a case consultation, or reaching out to family members to gather information about the other party.
If or when the goal is for your client to re-establish contact with the offender, it is necessary for you as the professional who supports them to remain nonjudgmental, while also assessing for safety. As the clinician, we must refrain from telling the client to not see the offender and/or be open to preparing them for contact with the offender. At times, we may need to be the one to advocate on behalf of the client, telling other professionals that our client is not ready to move forward or what our client needs from the offender prior to moving forward with contact.
Types of Restorative Justice Approaches
Some types of restorative justice approaches below: victim panels, victim-offender dialogues, and vicarious dialogues. But the opportunities for offender clients to give back to the community they harmed or repair harm with the victim directly are endless. I have seen projects such as social media campaigns about sexual assault prevention, offenders presenting to fraternities and sororities about sexual assault, fundraisers that benefit non-profits that provide services to victims, larger dialogues that occur in community circles with both victim and offender present, and plays written that depict abuse and accountability. We also see victims who have ongoing contact with the person who caused them harm, and in those cases, clarification and/or reunification are ways to move forward (which will be written about in another one of my blogs, so keep an eye out!).
Victim Panels in Restorative Justice
Victim panels allow victims to share their experiences with groups of offenders as audience members. As you might see at conferences, victims (or in this case, the panelists), sit at the front of the room, usually separate from the offenders (or audience). The panelists are accompanied by a professional (ideally a therapist) and use this as a platform to tell their stories, and audience members are expected to actively listen.
This can be an empowering process for the panelists, even though a lot of times it can be challenging for them to verbalize their victimization and/or its impacts to people they do not know. The goal is for these clients to feel empowered, listened to and validated, and as though their self-determination is being emphasized and supported.
If audience members are being inappropriate, the panelists can use this as an opportunity to set boundaries and assert themselves. The professional(s) in the room should also be prepared to hold audience members accountable in this setting, and it can be therapeutic for the offender to be held accountable by someone outside of their own circle. The panelists may choose to invite feedback from, or ask questions to, the offenders.
Victim Offender Dialogues
A victim-offender dialogue includes the person who caused harm (offender) and the person who experienced the harm (victim/survivor). It is ideal for both parties to have a therapist to assess whether they are ready and accompany them to this sort of session. There have been occasions where it is not possible for therapists to be part of this process; if this is the case, both the victim and offender should have some sort of advocate or support person with them. When offenders have gone through the legal system, there are usually mandatory protection orders in place, prohibiting contact between them and the identified victim. When this is in place, multidisciplinary teams must work together to get protection orders modified or look at other options, such as vicarious dialogues, described further below.
Practical Considerations for Therapists Working with Victims
The victim needs safety and care. They need to be believed and empowered to share their truth. Because of this, the professional working with the offender needs to ensure the offender can take accountability, listen, name and acknowledge the harm, demonstrate remorse and empathy, validate the victim’s experience, and share what they are doing to prevent themselves from harming someone else in the future.
This last piece can be particularly important, as many victims want to know the offender will never hurt someone else in the way they have been hurt. The main roles of the professionals is to ensure safety, set boundaries, and intervene if necessary. Sometimes this can feel adversarial, or like we are on the opposite side from the other client/professional, but I encourage you to remember we all want the same thing: accountability and reparation of harm.
Vicarious Dialogues
This brings people who have offended together with people who have been victimized, but not those who are part of the same traumatic event. We can do this through the use of victim representatives who can step into the role of the victim, and we can do this with groups of victims and offenders whose crimes are not related. These “proxy victims” can share the impact on the victim’s life and ask the offender any questions that remain.
The offender is still expected to take full responsibility for their behavior, while professionals promote accountability and provide support. A vicarious dialogue may also occur if the offender cannot or will not participate in a dialogue with their own victim, such as if they lack accountability, continually engage in abusive behavior, or flat out refuse to do so.
Why Restorative Justice Requires Specialized Training
Restorative justice is a complex and nuanced process, and it is not a model that many therapists are formally trained in or exposed to. It requires attunement to power, accountability, safety, and readiness. When approached in the right ways, however, restorative justice can be a powerful avenue of healing for individuals who have experienced trauma, offering opportunities for validation, voice, and repair that traditional systems often fail to provide. It can also be transformative work for those who have caused harm, creating space for responsibility and behavioral change.
How We Can Help
Restorative justice work is nuanced and ethically complex, it’s not necessarily something clinicians are meant to navigate alone. We offer individual and group clinical consultation for therapists working with trauma, accountability, power dynamics, and high-stakes relational work. Our consultation spaces are designed to support thoughtful decision-making, ethical clarity, and clinician sustainability. If you’re curious about consultation or need support around complex cases, schedule a free 20-minute consultation to explore how we can work together.
Author Bio
Ashley Charbonneau is a licensed clinical social worker, approved clinical supervisor, and blogger with Firelight Supervision. Ashley supports early-career and experienced therapists in building confidence, navigating clinical challenges, and growing their unique voice as clinicians. She specializes in trauma, addictions, clinical assessment, and supervision that’s rooted in authenticity and ethical care. Follow Firelight Supervision on Instagram and Facebook.
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