Therapeutic Group Sessions (TGS)

Pediatric fellows training in a child maltreatment program

The Therapeutic Group Sessions (TGS) program addresses STS symptoms and increases resilience among child abuse pediatricians. TGS involves mandatory, monthly 90-minute small group sessions facilitated by a consistent mental health professional throughout the pediatric fellowship. Sessions included low intensity focusing activities, sharing impactful work-related experiences, mental health professional-led discussion of strategies and reflection on the session. The TGS program takes the responsibility off individuals for accessing supports and demonstrates the organization’s commitment to an important issue.

Jennifer Smith

• Agency/Affiliation: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
• Email: jennifer_n.smith@sickkids.ca

Publicly available information indicates there is some training available for this program. See contact info.

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

"What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?"

• Smith, J., Cho, R., Martin, C., Cory, E., Smith, T., & Shouldice, M. (2021). Building skills and resilience in child abuse pediatricians: A novel program to address secondary traumatic stress. Child Abuse & Neglect, 117, Article 105082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105082

  Type of Study: Posttest–only study

  Participants: 8

  Sample / Population:

  • Age — Not specified
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status —

    Participants were pediatric fellows training in a child maltreatment program.
    

  Location/Institution: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to design and pilot an innovative program [now called Therapeutic Group Sessions] to increase resilience and address secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms among fellows in a Child Abuse Pediatrics (CAP) training program. Measures utilized include study-developed written evaluations at the end of fellowship training that were analyzed for themes. Results indicate that fellows reported improvements in perceived STS symptoms and increased feelings of resilience. Limitations include the lack of a baseline assessment, the lack of standardized measures, the lack of a control group, the lack of participant demographics, small sample size, and concerns about generalizability to other locations. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.
  

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

There are currently no references available for Therapeutic Group Sessions.