Using composite case material to develop trauma‐informed psychoeducation for social care workers looking after unaccompanied minors in residential care in Ireland

Abstract

Although the provision of trauma-informed psychoeducation for carers of adolescents who have experienced traumatic events has been shown to be a fundamental aspect of the recovery process, it is not routinely made available to the social care workers who look after unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents living in residential care. Furthermore, the development of the content of trauma-informed psychoeducation is rarely informed by those who have experienced trauma or the professionals who support them. This paper documents the process of ensuring that these voices inform the development and delivery of trauma-informed psychoeducation for the social care workers working in this context. Four clinical reflection and three professional reflection composites were developed from the reflexive clinical journal data of the author's clinical practice as an expressive arts psychotherapist working with 28 unaccompanied minors during a 4-year period. As well as drawing on clinical reflections from therapy sessions (one to two paragraphs per session), the composite material drew on notes on informal conversations between the author and the professionals involved in the lives of unaccompanied minors (one to two paragraphs weekly). The latter was often a response to different situations which arose with the unaccompanied minors in their care, thereby demonstrating the need for a more structured and formalised delivery of psychoeducation for these professionals. The composite material was complemented with a training needs assessment in the form of a vignette and accompanying open questions conducted with 30 social care workers looking after unaccompanied minors in residential care. Reflexive thematic analysis on combined data sets identified the following themes: Impact of trauma on everyday lives Trauma-informed engagement Helping with difficult feelings and loss Reducing the stigma of therapy The resulting training content was enhanced by the selection of tools and techniques developed by a number of clinicians-researchers with expertise in healing post-traumatic stress.

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