The impact of the healing together programme for children and young people affected by domestic abuse

Background

Children affected by domestic abuse have a heightened risk of later mental health related difficulties due to their traumatic experiences. Development of trauma-informed support programmes which aim to develop a child’s emotional understanding could offer an effective early intervention approach.

Objectives

The aim was to measure the impact of a trauma-informed intervention for children affected by domestic abuse. Intervention effectiveness was measured by tracking changes in emotional awareness at pre and post-test. Focus was placed on any interaction effects of delivery-method and age-of-child.

Participants and Setting.

In total, 327 children from the U.K. aged between 5–16 years who were involved in the Healing Together programme participated in the study. The programme took place within schools, youth organisations and early intervention services, between the dates of June 2021-June 2023.

Methods

The children completed the Emotional Awareness Questionnaire to measure Differentiating Emotions, Verbal Sharing of Emotions and Not Hiding Emotions before and after the programme.

Results

Immediately post-intervention, the Healing Together programme significantly increased children’s ability to differentiate emotions, not hide emotions, and verbally share emotions. In addition, the effectiveness varied by age, and whether the intervention was delivered on a 1–1 or group-basis. The intervention appeared to be more effective on a 1–1 basis and for 5–10-year-olds.

Conclusions

The Healing Together programme was effective in increasing children’s emotional awareness. This may have been due to the trauma-informed elements which allowed for a safe and co-regulating relationship to be established and the children to develop an awareness of how their body and brain work together when they are feeling unsafe.