Trauma-Informed Care Within the Homeless Service Milieu: Practical and Conceptual Considerations

Research indicates that most individuals in the general population experience some form of trauma (Kilpatrick et al., 2013) and that factors such as homelessness place individuals at higher risk of experiencing traumatic events (Deck & Platt, 2015; Ellsworth, 2019; Kushel, Evans, Perry, Robertson, & Moss, 2003). Considering that environments may both promote and impede the trauma recovery process, Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is a service framework intended to create a culture of trauma awareness and responsiveness (Fallot & Harris, 2006). Preliminary research demonstrates that TIC has positive outcomes for clients and staff (Damian, Mendelson, Bowie, & Gallo, 2018; Hales et al., 2018; Kusmaul et al., 2018). Service environments such as homeless service providers often create settings, or milieus, in which relational and interpersonal factors among clients may impact experiences of TIC. The present qualitative study explores how client-to-client interactions (a) impact client and staff experiences of TIC in homelessness services and (b) highlight TIC principles and their dynamics. The following inductive themes were identified based on 29 client and staff interviews: accessibility, confidentiality and privacy, conflict and conflict management, general environment, individualizing care, mutual support and community building, and policies and policy enforcement. All five TIC principles based on the Fallot & Harris (2006) framework were identified within the dataset: safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, and collaboration. Findings also highlighted inter-principle and intra-principle dynamics, and how they occurred. Specifically, how and the extent to which TIC principles were implemented at times had additional effects for TIC principles. Findings have practical implications for issues relevant to TIC within milieu settings and conceptual implications for ways in which TIC principles interact

Coping Among Advocates with and without Lived Experience of Sexual Assault

Volunteer sexual assault survivor advocates are vital to the provision of services by rape crisis centers. Volunteer advocates are exposed to trauma by witnessing the emotional and psychological impact of sexual assault on survivors. Trauma exposure places providers at risk for experiencing negative outcomes, such as vicarious trauma or secondary traumatic stress. Additionally, advocates who are survivors of sexual assault may be at higher risk for these negative outcomes. However, trauma exposure can also be a source of positive outcomes, such as posttraumatic growth. Focusing on advocate strengths, such as coping and self-care strategies that help advocates overcome distress during advocacy and their ability to navigate relational resources, whether at their organization or within their personal life, is important to preventing negative outcomes, promoting positive outcomes, and retaining volunteers in rape crisis centers long-term. Because some advocates may be survivors of sexual assault, understanding if and how experiences of advocates who are survivors compare to those who are not may further illuminate coping processes of advocates. The current study sought to explore experiences of advocates through qualitative interviewing with eighteen advocates, eleven of whom identified as survivors of sexual assault. Participants were recruited from three rape crisis centers in a Midwestern region. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis under a constructivist paradigm and themes were identified inductively. Themes were identified relevant to (a) individual coping strategies: debriefing with family or friends, distraction, non-verval emotional expression, focusing on positives, information gathering and problem-solving, mindfulness, preparing, relaxation, self-evaluation, setting limits, compartmentalizing, and lack of coping; (b) organization support of volunteers: building an advocacy community, debriefing with members of the organizations, support around calls, and encouraging self-care; and (c) barriers and limitations to coping: barriers that are advocate specific, need for formal support services, limited options for social support, and role specific barriers. Differences between advocates who survived sexual assault and advocates who did not experience sexual assault were found primarily in the functions of coping strategies, such as selecting strategies to cope with triggers during calls, and unique organizational support needs for survivors. Findings may inform coping strategies and organizational support

Waiting for shelter: Perspectives on a homeless shelter’s procedures

Research on homeless shelter implementation is limited. Some shelters have lengthy waitlists, which raises important questions about implications of waitlists for individuals with immediate shelter needs. This study used qualitative methods to understand the experiences of shelter seekers who were on a shelter waitlist (N = 59), including individuals who entered the shelter from the waitlist, and those removed from the shelter waitlist for procedural reasons. The average waitlist time was nearly 3 weeks, and 22.0% stayed at least one night on the street or another public place while on the waitlist. Responses to open‐ended questions regarding barriers and effectiveness of the shelter referral procedures revealed 4 themes: procedural challenges, procedural benefits, benefits of the temporary stay, and communication challenges. Further research is needed to inform shelter implementation on a larger scale in accordance with current community‐wide efforts to coordinate shelter services.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138221/1/jcop21896_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138221/2/jcop21896.pd

Addressing the Community Psychology Competency Dialectic through Participatory Pedagogy

Ongoing discussions persist regarding the potential usefulness and/or harmfulness of a defined set of core competencies in the field of community psychology. The competency thesis is that identification of core competencies can help define the field and distinguish the capabilities of community psychologists (Dalton & Wolfe, 2012). A set of competencies has implications for training and education, including clarity regarding what skills current and future students can expect to learn and what community psychologists may be expected to do. However, others have criticized the nature of standardized competencies. Presenting the antithesis to the competency thesis, Dzidic, Breen and Bishop (2013) question if compartmentalized competencies focus too much on static, individually oriented skills. They may distract from considerations of context, ethics and power within the dynamic ecologies of community psychology practice. Community psychology education and training programs are challenged with exposing students to a variety of central competencies while preparing them to engage in value-based research and practice in context. This article focuses on three applications of participatory pedagogy within the classroom that sought to synthesize the dialectic between core competencies and values-based, dynamic community psychology practice. Instructional materials for all three sessions are appended both for readers’ perusal as examples and for possible future adaptation and use in other community psychology courses. Participatory pedagogical approaches seek to foster student engagement, reflection, and collaboration to promote critical thinking, knowledge application and problem solving. In so doing, participatory pedagogy can bridge the gap between competencies and context, and offer at least a partial synthesis for the competency dialectic in community psychology education and training

Addressing the Community Psychology Competency Dialectic through Participatory Pedagogy

Ongoing discussions persist regarding the potential usefulness and/or harmfulness of a defined set of core competencies in the field of community psychology. The competency thesis is that identification of core competencies can help define the field and distinguish the capabilities of community psychologists (Dalton & Wolfe, 2012). A set of competencies has implications for training and education, including clarity regarding what skills current and future students can expect to learn and what community psychologists may be expected to do. However, others have criticized the nature of standardized competencies. Presenting the antithesis to the competency thesis, Dzidic, Breen and Bishop (2013) question if compartmentalized competencies focus too much on static, individually oriented skills. They may distract from considerations of context, ethics and power within the dynamic ecologies of community psychology practice. Community psychology education and training programs are challenged with exposing students to a variety of central competencies while preparing them to engage in value-based research and practice in context. This article focuses on three applications of participatory pedagogy within the classroom that sought to synthesize the dialectic between core competencies and values-based, dynamic community psychology practice. Instructional materials for all three sessions are appended both for readers’ perusal as examples and for possible future adaptation and use in other community psychology courses. Participatory pedagogical approaches seek to foster student engagement, reflection, and collaboration to promote critical thinking, knowledge application and problem solving. In so doing, participatory pedagogy can bridge the gap between competencies and context, and offer at least a partial synthesis for the competency dialectic in community psychology education and training