Interventions for adult survivors of intrafamilial homicide: A review of the literature.

Individuals bereaved by intrafamilial homicide, in which the perpetrator and decedent were both members of the same family, experience an elevated risk for risk for mental health complications. Given the contextual complexity of intrafamilial homicide (IFH) and the negative sequalae this form of loss can engender, psychological interventions may assist survivors with adjustment on a number of fronts. This scoping review therefore addresses an important knowledge gap by summarizing the limited information on interventions specific to intrafamilial homicide survivors. Results failed to identify interventions specific to IFH bereavement, though interventions that may be deemed appropriate are highlighted and described. As such, this scoping review provides a practical synthesis of evidence-based and evidence-informed psychological interventions for traumatic loss that are applicable to and may hold promise for this vulnerable population. Recommendations for future research and best practices with intrafamilial homicide survivors are also discussed.

Moving toward transdisciplinary approaches to addressing HIV and psychological trauma: Barriers and facilitators to building collaborations.

Most people living with HIV have experienced potentially traumatic events (e.g., physical assault, sexual assault, intimate partner violence) and, consequently, are at risk of trauma-related mental health difficulties, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet, research and clinical efforts related to HIV and psychological trauma remain siloed. Guided by the four-phase model of transdisciplinary research, the current study explored barriers and facilitators to transdisciplinary HIV/trauma clinical and research collaborations to address the overlap between HIV and psychological trauma. This exploration represents an initial step in the development and conceptualization of a transdisciplinary team known as Team REACH (Resiliency, Engagement, and Accessibility for Comorbid HIV/PTSD), which seeks to address the overlap between HIV and psychological trauma. Barriers and facilitators were explored through individual qualitative interviews with 21 research and clinical staff members across two clinics within an academic medical center (i.e., an infectious diseases clinic and a trauma-focused specialty mental health clinic). The findings revealed a number of barriers, including a lack of awareness, time and funding concerns, and a lack of clarity regarding services or the division of responsibility. The results also highlight perceived facilitators for collaborations, such as existing infrastructure and relationships, shared goals, leadership support, knowledge of other agency activities, and staff/team buy-in. Recommendations for increased collaboration included ongoing communication, needs assessment and goal development, access to partners, and role establishment. These findings will guide the next steps in further developing transdisciplinary collaboration goals and have implications for increasing collaborative approaches to patient care and targeting processes to enhance team effectiveness for transdisciplinary goals.

Assessment Tools for Children who Experience Traumatic Loss: A Systematic Review.

Children who experience the traumatic (i.e., violent and/or unexpected) death of a loved one are at risk for a range of adverse developmental and mental health problems, including pathological processes of grief. Over the last decades, conceptualizations of maladaptive grief have varied, resulting in a range of assessment tools and no "gold standard" measure to assess symptoms of prolonged grief in children. The current paper is a systematic review of studies that measured grief in children who experienced traumatic loss in order to determine the measures currently used in the literature with children who experience traumatic loss. Searches were conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses in PUBMED, PsycINFO, and OVID and through hand searches of relevant reference lists. Two authors reviewed each study yielded by searches and conducted data extraction on included studies. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed, included a measure of grief, and consisted of samples of children (age 18 and younger) whereby at least a portion experienced traumatic loss. Thirty-nine studies met inclusion criteria, from which 17 measures were identified. The most commonly used measure was the Inventory of Complicated Grief (n = 10 studies) followed by the Extended Grief Inventory (n = 6). Most studies used different measures and variations of the same measures to assess similar constructs. All but one measure relied on child self-report. More standardization of measurement across studies is needed, along with parent and/or teacher reported measures.

Interventions for child and adolescent survivors of intrafamilial homicide: A review of the literature.

The nature of intrafamilial homicide is complex and traumatic. Child survivors are at significant risk for maladjustment, including negative psychological sequela, grief complications, and contextual challenges associated with the homicide. Thus, children may benefit from services addressing specific psychosocial challenges following intrafamilial homicide. In this paper, we review the literature to identify trauma- and grief-informed interventions implemented for youth following violent bereavement. Given limited research on this vulnerable population, we discuss interventions that show promise for child survivors, exploring specific needs, challenges, and potential implications of these interventions for treating children and families experiencing intrafamilial homicide bereavement.