The intersection of homelessness, trauma, and substance use: Reading list

This reading list is designed to complement the webinar presented by Lili Lemieux-Cumberlege on trauma, homelessness, and substance use. The presentation explored the subject through a personal, interpersonal, and systemic lens, and examined how ideas from within compassion-focused therapy can be used to develop supportive organisational cultures, which protect workers from secondary trauma and burnout.

1) The experiences people have during childhood can have a significant impact on how they grow and develop. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are highly stressful, and traumatic, events or situations that occur during childhood and/or adolescence. It is recognised that (ACEs) are strong risk factors for homelessness. This systematic review and meta-analysis explores the prevalence of ACEs and their associations with health-related issues and functioning among homeless adults.

2) This article discusses early childhood trauma and the negative long-term consequences that can cause life-long medical and psychological difficulties. 

3) When examining trauma-related employment stress, it is important to look beyond the individual factors that can make someone more susceptible to burnout and secondary trauma. This chapter examines how organisations can address professional burnout and trauma-related employment stress.

4) SAMHSA have developed a publication  on the concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. The manual introduces a concept of trauma and offers a framework for becoming a trauma-informed organisation, system, or service sector.

5) A culture of care is an environment that is created where people feel valued and supported as part of a wider organisation. For professionals working in highly stressful environments with people who have experienced significant trauma, nurturing a culture of care is vital. This Culture of Care Barometer is designed to help organisations measure the culture of care they provide and explore certain areas of the work environment in greater depth.

6) Within her presentation, Lili discussed the three emotional regulation systems that are discussed within compassion focused therapy (CFT). Here you can find out more about the ideas within CFT and a link to an introductory presentation.