EQ2 Research
EQ2 shows a high level of feasibility and acceptability in preliminary research.
Residential Treatment for Children & Youth – The Official Journal of the Association of Children's Residential Centers
EQ2: Empowering Direct Care Staff to Build Trauma-Informed Communities for Youth (2020)
By: Sascha Griffing, Bethany Casarjian, & Katie Maxim
Abstract: This article evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and initial outcomes of an innovative organizational intervention (EQ2: Empowering Direct Care Staff to Build Trauma-Responsive Communities for Youth). EQ2 is a psychoeducational training designed to build staff effectiveness in agencies that serve at-risk, trauma-impacted youth, particularly those youth involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems. EQ2 incorporates principles of trauma-informed care, mindfulness, and restorative justice practices to help staff members to develop their own social and emotional regulation skills so that they can effectively model and co-regulate with youth, thereby contributing to the development of trauma-sensitive environments. Thirty-one staff members from four diverse youth-serving agencies participated in the six-session intervention delivered on-site at their programs. Preliminary results indicate that participating staff members perceived the intervention as: 1) increasing their understanding of the impact of trauma on youth behavior; 2) providing them with practical skills to proactively de-escalate crisis situations; and, 3) helping them to feel more effective in their professional roles. The data suggest that EQ2 is a promising intervention that can support positive outcomes for youth and staff, particularly in under-resourced communities.
Meta-Analyses Including the EQ2 Program
Fostering emotional and mental health in residential youth care facilities: A systematic review of programs targeted to care workers (2023)
By: Laura Santos, Rita Ramos Miguel, Maria do Rosário Pinheiro, Daniel Rijo
Abstract: Children and youth placed in residential youth care (RYC) exhibit complex emotional needs and significant mental health problems. Better outcomes in RYC have been associated with emotional availability from care workers. Nevertheless, many care workers struggle either with their own mental health and/or with adequately providing support for the mental health problems of youth under their care. Thus, staff training is recommended by international guidelines. The present study performed a systematic review of research on training programs aiming the fostering of emotional and mental health in RYC, following PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search was conducted in nine digital databases and other sources (websites, relevant journals, reference lists of included articles and relevant reviews), for publications from 1980 to 2021. Empirical studies published in peer-review journals, dissertations, and reports were included when assessing the effectiveness of RYC staff training on fostering emotional and mental health in staff and/or youth. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (Hong et al., 2018b). Subsequently, a narrative synthesis was conducted. After multi-stage screening, 18 eligible articles were selected for analysis. One study was excluded considering the quality assessment. Seventeen trainings and their outcomes were analyzed, suggesting mixed evidence of effectiveness on care workers, youth, and relationships. Most programs aimed to reduce youth problematic behaviors, and only a few specifically addressed care workers’ mental health. Findings also suggest that effectiveness was not properly tested in most studies. Future research resorting to rigorous methodologies should be conducted to provide evidence-based interventions for RYC.
Trauma-Informed Care Interventions Used in Pediatric Inpatient or Residential Treatment Mental Health Settings and Strategies to Implement Them: A Scoping Review (2023)
By:
Abstract: Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an approach to care emerging in research and in practice that involves addressing the needs of individuals with histories of trauma. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the current literature relating to TIC interventions used in pediatric mental health inpatient and residential settings. We sought to answer the following two research questions: (a) What are the TIC interventions used in pediatric inpatient and residential treatment mental healthcare settings and what are their components? and (b) What are the implementation goals and strategies used with these TIC interventions? We conducted this scoping review according to JBI (formerly Joanna Briggs Institute) methodology for scoping reviews. We included any primary study describing a TIC intervention that was implemented at a specific site which identified and described implementation strategies used. Of 1,571 identified citations and 54 full-text articles located by handsearching, 49 met the eligibility criteria and were included, representing 21 distinct TIC interventions. We present the reported aim, ingredients, mechanism, and delivery (AIMD) of TIC interventions as well as the implementation goals and strategies used, which varied in detail, ranging from very little information to more detailed descriptions. In the context of these findings, we emphasize the complexity of TIC and of TIC interventions, and the importance of identifying and clearly reporting TIC intervention goals, intervention details, and implementation strategies. We suggest applying intervention frameworks or reporting guidelines to support clear and comprehensive reporting, which would better facilitate replication and synthesis of published TIC interventions.
Keywords: child abuse; cultural contexts; treatment/intervention; vicarious trauma.