Using Simulation to Train Social Workers on Trauma and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Overview: This interactive workshop presents the findings of a simulation-based research study with 15 intimate partner violence (IPV) service providers and proposes a model to train social work students and new practitioners interested in IPV and trauma-informed practice.Proposal text: More than half of survivors of IPV experience trauma as a negative outcome of abuse (Jones et al., 2001; Smyth et al., 2017). After an experience of abuse, survivors are more likely to experience posttraumatic stress than depression or anxiety (Dekel al., 2020). Posttraumatic stress, referring to overwhelming or invasive responses to a negative or complex situation, can make it difficult for survivors to cope and recover from violence (Carlson & Dalenberg, 2000; Herman & van der Kolk, 2020). A growing body of research has examined the links between trauma and IPV, illustrating the importance of trauma-informed practice within IPV service provision in addressing experiences of trauma (Authors’ own; Kulkarni, 2019). However, while many social work students and new graduates are interested in IPV and trauma work, they are often unprepared and lack the skills needed to work with survivors who have experienced trauma (Harr & Moore, 2011; Weinberg, 2020).

Used increasingly within social work education, simulation-based learning offers an innovative approach to teach practice-based skills (Bogo et al., 2014; Kourgiantakis et al., 2019). Utilizing in-person interactions with actors trained to portray clients, simulation-based learning can provide students with unique opportunities to develop practice skills (Lee et al., 2019). This approach is especially beneficial for social work students interested in IPV and trauma work who are seeking opportunity to practice. Furthermore, simulation-based learning provides a practical and ethical experience for students to try practice skills in a low-risk environment (e.g., actors vs. clients) without the risk of harming or retraumatizing survivors of IPV (Asakura, 2020). The overarching question guiding this research is: How can the use of simulation support the professional training of new IPV practitioners (e.g., students, new practitioners) in trauma-informed approaches with survivors of IPV.

Using simulation as a research methodology, this study recruited 15 IPV service providers to gain a better understanding of how trauma-informed practice is integrated in practice. Each participant engaged in a virtual 30-minute case-based simulated session with a live standardized patient (SP) who portrayed a survivor of IPV experiencing vulnerabilities related to immigration, race, and violence. Following each simulation, IPV service providers engaged in a 30–45-minute reflective dialogue on their experience in the simulated session. Reflections were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim and data was analyzed using a reflective thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021). Identified themes included: 1) the need for a comprehensive approach to trauma-informed practice that considers the intersecting identities of survivors of IPV (e.g., race, immigration status, culture); and 2) the inclusion of multiple conceptualizations of trauma-informed practice that integrate various interventions (e.g., EMDR, mindfulness-based, cognitive-behavioral).

Findings support the need to leverage simulation in teaching trauma-informed responses to IPV to social work students to better prepare them for the field. Implications for social work research and practice, including the benefits of simulation methodologies for exploring the complexities of IPV practice and the need to provide training to prepare social work students and new professionals will be described.