Exploring Shared Trauma in the Time of COVID: A Simulation-Based Survey Study of Mental Health Clinicians

From fear of contracting the virus, isolation from physical distancing, to navigating lifework balance, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to leave long-lasting psychosocial impacts on many. Shared trauma refers to similar psychological reactions to an extraordinary community event when experienced by both the clinicians and clients. We examined the experiences mong mental health clinicians in Canada and the United States (n = 196) in this online survey study during the second phase of the pandemic (Spring 2021). In addition to using traditional survey items (e.g., demographics, scales, and short answers), we also used video-recorded Simulated Clients (SC; i.e., professional actors) as a novel method to elicit the participants' assessment of the SCs and the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using shared trauma as a theoretical framework, we analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative results suggested that although these mental health clinicians certainly reported experiencing psychosocial impacts of the pandemic themselves, these shared experiences with client and general populations did not greatly impact how they understood the SCs. Qualitative results helped further contextualize the clinicians' own personal and professional lives. Implications for clinical practice and further research related to shared trauma are discussed.

Intimate Partner Violence and Employment-Seeking: A Multilevel Examination of Barriers and Facilitators

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts career development and negatively influences employment prospects, education attainment, and financial earnings; yet there is a gap in research exploring the experiences of employment-seeking from the perspectives of survivors. An intersectional and social ecological perspective provides an important framework and highlights the multiple intersecting barriers of IPV and employment ranging from mental health concerns such as trauma, anxiety and depression to lack of shelter and childcare, limited access to employment services, and other forms of discrimination. This article responds to this gap in research and provides findings from a constructivist grounded theory study of 16 employment-seeking survivors of IPV. To theorize and understand IPV and employment utilizing an intersectional and social ecological framework, the following research question were addressed: (a) What are the contextual barriers or facilitators that shape the employment-seeking process of survivors of IPV? (b) How do the experiences of discrimination shape the employment-seeking experience of survivors of IPV? (c) What employment services were helpful or unhelpful during the employment-seeking process? Two main themes emerged from analysis: (a) Multilevel barriers to employment and (b) Employment barriers/facilitators to employment-seeking. Findings indicate that survivors of IPV face multiple barriers to employment at the intrapersonal (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem), interpersonal (e.g., ties to an abusive partner, responsibilities related to childcare), community (lack of social support, few employment opportunities, poverty), and structural/institutionalized levels (e.g., racism, sexism, transphobia). Implications from these findings illustrate that employment-seeking is shaped by structural inequities, intersecting stigma, individual level barriers, and social identities, as well as experience of abuse, which is an important contribution to IPV research. This study provides insight into the complexities of employment-seeking and helps improve knowledge on the social ecological and intersecting barriers of employment from the perspectives of survivors.

Designing and Conducting Healthcare Simulations: Contributions From Social Work

Spurred on by medical education, the last decade has seen a steady increase in simulation-based teaching, learning, and student assessment in social work. Using professional actors trained to portray realistic client scenarios, social work students are afforded risk-free opportunities to rehearse and develop various competencies in working with these simulated patients (SP). This pedagogy is particularly relevant for social work students and practitioners because of the highly vulnerable and marginalized nature of the clients they work with (e.g., suicide intervention, child protection decision-making). In this editorial, we briefly discuss the competency frameworks respectively designed for medicine and other healthcare professionals as well as social work. We highlight ways in which simulation educators might design teaching, learning, and student assessment in preparing healthcare professionals for holistic competence. In doing so, this editorial articulates contributions of social work to broader healthcare simulation education.

Intersectional and Trauma-Informed Approaches to Employment Services: Insights From Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Service Providers

This article presents qualitative findings from a constructivist grounded theory study that examines intimate partner violence and employment-seeking from the perspectives of 10 service providers. Three distinct themes emerge through analysis: (a) understanding the intersecting barriers to employment faced by survivors, (b) integrated approaches to employment services, and (c) barriers to providing employment services. Findings have important theoretical implications on the intersectional nature of employment-seeking and provide insight into IPV service responses.

Examining the independent protective effect of subjective well-being on severe psychological distress among Canadian adults with a history of child maltreatment

The purpose of this study was to examine the independent protective effect of subjective well-being on severe psychological distress among adult Canadians with a history of child maltreatment. Data for this study were obtained from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (CCHS-MH). A sample of 8126 respondents aged 20-69 years old who experienced at least one child maltreatment event was analyzed using binary logistic regression with severe psychological distress as the outcome variable. Of the 8126 respondents with a history of child maltreatment, 3.9% experienced severe psychological distress within the past month. Results from the multivariate logistic regression revealed that emotional and psychological well-being each had a significant effect on severe psychological distress. For each unit increase in emotional well-being, the odds of a respondent having severe psychological distress were predicted to decrease by a factor of 28% and for each unit increase in psychological well-being, the odds of a respondent having severe psychological distress were predicted to decrease by a factor of 10%, net the effect of demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors. Other factors associated with psychological distress included: younger age, poor self-perceived physical health, and chronic condition. Having post-secondary education, having a higher income, and being non-White predicted lower odds of severe psychological distress. Although, child maltreatment is associated with stressful life events later in adulthood, subjective well-being could serve as a protective factor against severe psychological distress among adults who experienced maltreatment when they were children.