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Everyone experiences a range of emotions, both comfortable (like happiness, contentment, and excitement) and uncomfortable (like anger, regret, and sadness). Emotions are not good or bad; they all serve a purpose. Anger helps you understand when something is wrong and can motivate you to create change. Regret helps you understand what is important to you and how to prioritize better in the future. While there are no “right” or “wrong” ways to feel, sometimes emotions can beco

When your witness attends a witness support session, they will be taught two new emotional regulation skills. These half-hour educational sessions alone are not enough to make the difference in how your witness shows up in the courtroom. They have to practice skills in order to make them habitual, therefore instinctive, which allows them to be used even when the amygdala is running the show. Think about a big, grassy, overgrown field. This is your witness’s brain. Since child

Witness Support Services helps witnesses better manage their emotions, which can empower them to testify more accurately, credibly, and consistently. Giving evidence, especially in a formal proceeding, can be intimidating. That intimidation causes some individuals to “go blank,” to “want to please instead of recounting facts,” and/or to otherwise give unreliable evidence. These behaviors often result from inadequate emotional regulation of a stressful experience. Emotional

Have you ever gone through extensive practice with a witness, just to see all the work evaporate as they “ignore” your guidance and start talking about their assumptions, giving more information than they were asked, forgetting simple facts, or start getting combative? Your witness isn’t trying to sabotage the case. Their emotions have likely triggered their survival instincts to kick in, sabotaging their own ability to give accurate, credible testimony. The Amygdala and Pre-