TRANSFORMing theory to practice: Developing and implementing an anti-racist, community-based racial stress and trauma group intervention for BIPOC youth

Abstract

Evidence-informed trauma interventions developed specifically by and for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) that address racial, historical, and intergenerational trauma are sparse, particularly for youth. To meet this need, the current study developed and piloted a new intervention–Trauma and Racism Addressed by Navigating Systemic Forms of Oppression using Resistance Methods (TRANSFORM)–using a and community-engaged research-to-practice approach. Across two phases, we documented the community-participatory development of TRANSFORM and analyzed preliminarily quantitative data collected in a pilot study with N = 19 BIPOC youth. Phase 1 reports on the process and lessons learned from the community centered co-development. The phase 2 pilot study results revealed statistically significant pretest-to-posttest reductions in racial discrimination stress as well as trauma-related symptoms interfering with daily functioning for youth. Implications for community-based approaches to disrupting and healing racial stress and trauma within and across youth-serving systems are discussed.