Social Validity Survey of Interventions Used in Treating Trauma in Idaho

Social validity is a way to determine the current acceptability of and satisfaction of certain types of treatments or interventions. This research specifically assesses how mental health providers perceive the treatment modalities available to intervene with people who have experienced trauma. This research may provide insight into how mental health practitioners view currently available trauma interventions. Presently, some studies show what individuals think of the trauma treatment they receive but little information on how providers feel about the treatment modalities they are using. Many families and, by extension, children are deeply affected by trauma, which means the efficacy of interventions is essential. Part of understanding whether and how an intervention works come not only from a client's point of view but from the provider's point of view as well. There has been some social validity research that shows that the attitude of the provider and ease of use of a treatment protocol can significantly affect how well an intervention works for the client. This project explores what trauma-focused treatment protocols providers use and why they use them (e.g., which they perceive as most efficacious, which are easiest to use). The data in this project will be gathered using snowball sampling of Idaho mental health professionals who serve people who have experienced trauma; these professionals will be asked to complete a short, web-based survey featuring four open-ended questions. The questions focus on the providers’ reports on 1) which treatment protocols they typically use; 2) why they choose to use the treatment protocols that they do; 3) what types of trauma are most often reported by their clients, and 4) what types of community resources they believe would be most beneficial for trauma survivors. Although this research is currently in its developmental stages and is exploratory in nature, certain results are expected to emerge. It is likely that certain treatment protocols, such as EMDR and CBT, are reported most commonly used in working with people who have experienced trauma.