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Implementing and Sustaining SHARE: An Exposure‐Based Psychotherapy Group for Incarcerated Women Survivors of Sexual Violence
Author(s) -
Zielinski Melissa J.,
Allison M. Kathryn,
Roberts Lindsey T.,
Karlsson Marie E.,
Bridges Ana J.,
Kirchner JoAnn E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1002/ajcp.12461
Subject(s) - health psychology , group psychotherapy , prison , sequela , psychology , recidivism , public health , sexual abuse , population , sexual violence , interpersonal communication , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychotherapist , suicide prevention , poison control , medicine , nursing , criminology , social psychology , environmental health
Although incarcerated women are a highly victimized population, therapy for sexual violence victimization (SVV) sequela is not routinely offered in prison. SHARE is a group therapy for SVV survivors that was successfully implemented and sustained in a women’s correction center. Here, we aimed to identify implementation factors and strategies that led to SHARE’s success and describe incarcerated women’s perspectives on the program. We conducted a retrospective process evaluation using interviews structured according to EPIS, a well‐established implementation science framework. Participants ( N = 22) were incarcerated women, members of the SHARE treatment team, and members of the correction center’s leadership, therapeutic team, and volunteer program. Factors that facilitated SHARE implementation varied by EPIS phase and organization. Positive inter‐organizational and interpersonal relationships were key across phases, as were the synergies between both the strengths and needs of each organization involved in implementation. Incarcerated women reported a strong need for SHARE and did not report any concerns about receiving trauma therapy in a carceral setting. Therapy for SVV sequelae, including exposure‐based therapy, is possible to implement and sustain in carceral settings. Community–academic partnerships may be a particularly feasible way to expand access to SVV therapy for incarcerated women.