Trauma-Informed Education and Self-Care for Social Work Students During Field Practicum

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Trauma-Informed Education and Self-Care Psychoeducational Workshop: Participants in the intervention arm will receive a 2-hour interactive psychoeducational workshop before or at the beginning of field practicum. The workshop covers trauma-informed practice, the nature and indirect effects of trauma, recognition of physiological and emotional stress responses, secondary traumatic stress, stress-management strategies, breathing and grounding exercises, cognitive flexibility, professional boundaries, and self-care strategies.

Self-Help and Peer-Sharing Group Sessions: Participants in the intervention arm will participate in three structured 60-minute small-group sessions conducted during the field practicum. The sessions provide a facilitated and psychologically safe environment in which participants can reflect on emotionally challenging field experiences, discuss the emotional impact of difficult cases, receive peer support, review self-care practices, and reinforce coping and emotional regulation strategies.

Study summary

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured Trauma-Informed Education and Self-Care Intervention in reducing secondary traumatic stress among undergraduate social work students completing their field practicum.

During field education, social work students may have direct professional contact with individuals affected by child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, poverty, loss, and other potentially traumatic experiences. Repeated indirect exposure to clients' traumatic experiences may place students at risk for secondary traumatic stress.

A total of 80 fourth-year undergraduate social work students will participate in the study. Participants will be allocated to an intervention group (n=40) or a control group (n=40) according to the geographic location of their routine field practicum. Students completing their field practicum in Manisa Province will constitute the intervention group, whereas students completing their field practicum outside Manisa Province, including İzmir and other provinces, will constitute the control group.

The intervention group will receive a two-hour Trauma-Informed Education and Self-Care workshop before or at the beginning of field practicum, followed by three structured self-help and peer-sharing group sessions during the practicum period. The control group will continue the routine field practicum process and standard university internship orientation without receiving the study-specific intervention during the study period.

Secondary traumatic stress will be assessed repeatedly in both groups throughout the approximately four-month practicum period. Psychological resilience will be assessed at baseline as a supportive participant characteristic. Intervention-related knowledge and skills will also be assessed in the intervention group.

The primary hypothesis is that students participating in the Trauma-Informed Education and Self-Care Intervention will demonstrate a more favorable change in secondary traumatic stress over time compared with students in the control group.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale Total Score — Baseline and Weeks 4, 8, and 12 after the start of field practicum
  Secondary traumatic stress will be assessed using the 17-item Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 17 to 85, with higher scores indicating greater secondary traumatic stress and therefore a worse outcome. The scale will be administered at baseline and at three follow-up assessments during the field practicum. The primary outcome will be the change in Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale total scores over time and the difference in this change between the intervention and control groups.

Trial sites (1)

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