TY - JOUR
T1 - A resilience enhancing trauma-informed program for children and mothers in domestic violence shelters
T2 - A qualitative study
AU - van der Hoeven, Mara L.
AU - Widdershoven, Guy A. M.
AU - van Duin, Esther M.
AU - Hein, Irma M.
AU - Lindauer, Ramón J. L.
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by Stichting Kinderpostzegels (grant number 12021365, 2017). Funding Information Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Child & Family Social Work published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - In domestic violence (DV) shelters, offering psychosocial support services to mothers and children is vital. The program ‘Time for Tony the Turtle’ has been developed for mothers and children residing in DV shelters in the Netherlands. It aims to foster attachment and regulation skills, which can also prepare for trauma treatment if sought after later on. This qualitative study explores the experiences of mothers, children and professionals with the program and its perceived impact and what components function as facilitators and barriers in the implementation of such a program in DV crisis shelters in the Netherlands. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 mothers, 11 children and 18 professionals from three organizations offering DV shelters. We used thematic analysis to identify patterns of meaning in the interviews. Mothers, children and professionals valued that the program provided a calm moment for reflection in hectic times and that the playfulness in which the program addressed trauma-related topics. However, mothers find it difficult to attend the program in the beginning of their shelter stay, therefore hampering the applicability of the program. Our findings suggest that integrating the topic of discussing father in a program in crisis shelters is complex and deserves more attention.
AB - In domestic violence (DV) shelters, offering psychosocial support services to mothers and children is vital. The program ‘Time for Tony the Turtle’ has been developed for mothers and children residing in DV shelters in the Netherlands. It aims to foster attachment and regulation skills, which can also prepare for trauma treatment if sought after later on. This qualitative study explores the experiences of mothers, children and professionals with the program and its perceived impact and what components function as facilitators and barriers in the implementation of such a program in DV crisis shelters in the Netherlands. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 mothers, 11 children and 18 professionals from three organizations offering DV shelters. We used thematic analysis to identify patterns of meaning in the interviews. Mothers, children and professionals valued that the program provided a calm moment for reflection in hectic times and that the playfulness in which the program addressed trauma-related topics. However, mothers find it difficult to attend the program in the beginning of their shelter stay, therefore hampering the applicability of the program. Our findings suggest that integrating the topic of discussing father in a program in crisis shelters is complex and deserves more attention.
KW - children
KW - domestic violence shelters
KW - mothers
KW - qualitative methods
KW - resilience
KW - trauma-informed
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141550916&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12981
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12981
M3 - Article
SN - 1356-7500
JO - Child and family social work
JF - Child and family social work
ER -