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Evaluation ViewAttendees 5

Child / Adolescent - Trauma / Maltreatment
Symposia

Symposium 27 - Engaging with Communities to Improve Mental Health Services for Individuals Who Have Experienced Adversity and Trauma

Friday, November 15, 2024
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
Location: Regency Ballroom C2, Second Floor Mezzanine, Loews Hotel
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Abuse / Maltreatment, Trauma, Treatment
Level of Familiarity: Moderate
Recommended Readings: Loeb, T. B., Viducich, I., Smith-Clapham, A. M., Adkins-Jackson, P., Zhang, M., Cooley-Strickland, M., Davis, T., Pemberton, J. V., & Wyatt, G. E. (2023). Unmet need for mental health services utilization among under-resourced Black and Latinx adults. Families, Systems, & Health, 41(2), 149–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000750,   Powell, B.J., Patel, S.V., Haley, A.D. et al. Determinants of Implementing Evidence-Based Trauma-Focused Interventions for Children and Youth: A Systematic Review. Adm Policy Ment Health 47, 705–719 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-019-01003-3,  

Tavkar, P., & Hansen, D. J. (2011). Interventions for families victimized by child sexual abuse: Clinical issues and approaches for child advocacy center-based services. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16(3), 188-199. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2011.02.005

,   Thielemann JFB, Kasparik B, König J, Unterhitzenberger J, Rosner R. A systematic review and meta-analysis of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents. Child Abuse Negl. 2022 Dec;134:105899. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105899.,  

Individuals who experience adversity and trauma are at increased risk for mental health challenges and have disproportionate unmet mental health needs (Bellis et al. 2019). Yet, those at greatest risk for these experiences are often the least likely to engage with any mental health services, much less evidence-based mental health services (Loeb et al. 2023). To improve access to quality care, it is crucial to engage with the communities we aim to serve to learn about their strengths, needs, preferences, and lived experiences. Aligned with the conference themes of community engagement and advocacy, this symposium brings together community-engaged research that aims to identify treatment-enhancing protective factors and adaptations to evidence-based interventions for children and families who have experienced trauma. It also presents mixed-methods research that explores resilience assets and the service needs and experiences of diverse young adults who experienced adversity and trauma.

Cognitive behavioral interventions for trauma (e.g., Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) are well-established (Thielemann et al. 2022). Yet, many children who experience adversity and trauma, such as abuse, neglect, and witnessed violence, do not receive these services (Loeb et al. 2023). Some children and their families receive child welfare services, which can include prevention and/or intervention services and when necessary, placement in out-of-home care. Others may seek services from schools or community-based mental health providers. Evidence-based interventions, including cognitive behavioral interventions, have been increasingly integrated in schools, and community-based and child welfare services agencies (Powell et al. 2020). However, disseminating evidence-based interventions to these settings often requires adaptation informed by both practical considerations of service providers and the lived experiences of the vulnerable populations they serve (Bromley, 2023; Weeks, 2021).

This symposium includes community-engaged research that can provide insights for effectively serving diverse individuals who have experienced adversity and trauma in their communities. Predoctoral, early career, and established researchers will discuss their work with populations who have experienced adversity and trauma to understand how to meet their mental health needs using evidence-based interventions and available resources. Studies identify individual and family strengths and assets that can promote resilience and may be leveraged to optimize intervention effectiveness, as well as peer, institutional, and macro-level supports. They also highlight unmet mental health needs and perceptions of past service experiences from which future researchers and providers can learn.

Studies highlight two innovative group-based cognitive-behavioral intervention models for children who have experienced trauma. Mixed-methods findings also highlight the need for using short-term engagement strategies, building trust and alliance, and integrating culturally relevant assets and supports to improve mental health services for this vulnerable population.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify protective factors that promote positive mental health outcomes of children and adolescents with histories of child sexual abuse.
  2. Select group-based, trauma-focused interventions for children and adolescents who experienced trauma.
  3. Describe barriers to intervention engagement among individuals who experienced interpersonal trauma.
  4. Empathize with clients with trauma histories who may be reluctant to engage in services.
  5. Consider cultural variation in assets and resources that support mental health.

Presentations:

  • 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
    (SYM 27) Importance of Protective Factors in Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse Presenting to Treatment at a Child Advocacy Center

    Speaker: Melanie Willis, M.A., M.S. (she/her/hers) – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: Melanie Willis, M.A., M.S. (she/her/hers) – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: Gina May, M.A. – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: Akemi E. Mii, Ph.D. – University of California San Francisco

    Co-author: Hannah Coffey, MA – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: Brittany S. Erskine, M.A. – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: Niko Vehabovic, B.A., M.A. – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: Mary Fran Flood, Ph.D. – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-author: David Hansen, Ph.D. – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  • 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
    (SYM 27) Treating Polytraumatization in Children: Effects of a Group-individual Hybrid Model of Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Youth's Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms

    Speaker: Taylor Napier, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – The Ohio State University

    Co-author: Ashley Galsky, Licensed Clinical Psychologist (she/her/hers) – Oklahoma Health Science center

    Co-author: Kate Theimer, Licensed Clinical Psychologist (she/her/hers) – Oklahoma Health Science Center

  • 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
    (SYM 27) Understanding the Mental Health Service Utilization Experiences of Former Foster Care Youth

    Speaker: Kajung Hong, M.S. – San Diego State University

    Co-author: Yinan Lin, College Student – San Diego State University

    Co-author: Liana Parrish, B.A. – San Diego State University

    Co-author: Laura Proctor, Ph.D. – Mindful Psychotherapy, Inc

    Co-author: Simone Brown, B.A. – University of California, San Diego

    Co-author: Emmeline Chuang, Ph.D. – University of California, Berkeley

    Co-author: Jennifer Felner, Ph.D. – San Diego State University

  • 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
    (SYM 27) Portfolio of Resilience in the Face of Adversity and Mental Health Challenges Among Female Parenting Undergraduate Students: A Mixed Method Approach

    Speaker: Ruby Charak, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

    Co-author: Maria Ramos Martinez, BS (she/her/hers) – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

    Co-author: Jorge Ivan Cantu, MA (he/him/his) – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

    Co-author: Natasha Altema McNeely, PhD (she/her/hers) – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley