Child homelessness is highly correlated with complex traumatic exposure, which may include experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), community violence, and chronic illness. Individuals exposed to complex trauma in childhood are at increased risk for poor health and psychosocial outcomes in adulthood. Despite this, trauma-focused behavioral health services are not a core service offered to families in shelter, and families often face barriers to accessing such services. In recognition of these barriers, a small family shelter (Jane Addams Place) secured a grant to offer trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) to its resident children. TF-CBT, an evidence-based practice, has proven successful in treating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this setting. This article describes the challenges and successes of this program, and proposes several practice implications.

Junior social work faculty members face numerous challenges in adapting to their roles and preparing for continued work in academia. Many of these challenges center around the tasks of teaching and advising. Peer-led, mutual support groups offer an accessible and effective approach to facilitating growth. Such groups offer support that addresses several common challenges facing new faculty, primarily by helping to combat isolation, and facilitate group attachment. The article draws from literature on mutual aid groups; and provides several examples illustrative of group processes from a model version of the group.

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Youth who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary (TGNC) are at increased risk for mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, and suicidality; and social challenges including bullying, isolation, and lack of familial support. Best practices in promoting the social and emotional health of TGNC youth are continually evolving, and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) presents a compelling yet untested approach to meeting mental health needs of this population; a group AAT intervention might help TGNC youth who feel isolated to feel more connected and supported. This exploratory study sought to identify thematic content to be included in a future AAT group intervention geared towards TGNC youth, considering both the potential role of human-animal interactions and the identified needs of this population. Three focus groups were convened; one comprised of TGNC adults (N = 8), one of mental health clinicians with advanced training related to transgender mental health (N = 4), and one of certified Animal Assisted Play Therapists® (N = 5). The content of each group was coded thematically using modified grounded theory, and several subthemes emerged under broader themes of 1) the importance of animals in providing emotional support in general and 2) desired social supports that might be beneficial for TGNC youth. These themes inform discussion of possible next steps in the development of an AAT group for TGNC youth.

Families experiencing homelessness report higher rates of traumatic exposure than the general population, and traumatic experiences can often be precipitating factors for entrance into a homeless shelter. Emergency shelter is meant to be a brief, temporary housing intervention to support families toward more stable and permanent living arrangements. Beyond this ecological intervention, there is a frequently unmet need for trauma-specific mental health services. Further still, psychosocial interventions to support sheltered families should be sensitive to both the trauma-specific needs of this population and the constraints of the shelter setting. The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) is a brief, secondary prevention protocol that aims to prevent PTSD after exposure to a traumatic event, with research demonstrating its effectiveness in acute care settings such as child advocacy centres and emergency departments. This case study illustrates the implementation of CFTSI in an emergency family shelter in a large urban area, highlighting the appropriateness of the intervention for the setting, its adaptability to client needs and its generalizability to other non-traditional intervention settings.