'Now we are on the same page' - experiences of foster parents and social workers participating in Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) training.

BACKGROUND

Achieving safe and stable placements is a key mission for the foster care system. Foster parents and social workers are part of a caregiving network with responsibility for the child and their wellbeing. Emotionally dysregulated children's behaviors may pose a challenge to the caregiving system. Trauma-informed care (TIC) interventions aim at enhancing caregivers' understanding of such behaviors and underlying emotions.

OBJECTIVE

The present study explored the experiences of foster parents and social workers who attended TIC training together, with a special focus on their collaboration.

METHOD: Focus groups interviews using a semi-structured interview guide were carried out and analyzed with inductive thematic analysis.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: The study involved foster parents (n = 15) and social workers (n = 12) who had completed TIC training.

RESULTS

Our analysis extracted three themes: First, Looking through the trauma lens highlighted how new TIC-related knowledge and useful metaphors can provide a deeper understanding of the potential effects on the child of adverse experiences. Second, Supporting collaboration illustrated ways in which TIC training enhances the collaboration between social workers and foster parents, reaching beyond their different roles and discourses, by shared language about the children and their difficulties. Finally, From gut feeling to awareness summarizes participants' disclosures of a shift towards more aware and sensitive interactions with the child.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that the TIC intervention may promote a change in the caregivers' representations of the child and themselves. We argue that this may be central for sustainable change.