Supporting expecting parents who have experienced trauma: Results of the STEP project
Overview
Pregnant women who have experienced abuse or other forms of trauma during their childhood are at risk of exhibiting a range of psychological and maternal vulnerabilities starting from pregnancy, contributing to the possibility that these traumas will have intergenerational effects. The STEP project (Supporting Transition and Engagement in Parenting) was developed to address these needs by offering a group-based prenatal intervention focused on mentalization, specifically adapted for individuals with a traumatic history who are expecting a child. This presentation presents data from the STEP research program, demonstrating that a history of abuse, in both women and men, is associated with an increased risk of psychological, relational, and parenting difficulties during the perinatal period, and is likely to have repercussions affecting their child’s early development. It also highlights the relevance of intervening in a way that promotes mentalization, since this skill is linked to psychological well-being during pregnancy in parents with a traumatic history, their parental functionality after the child’s birth, and a reduced risk of intergenerational transmission of trauma. The STEP program is then presented, followed by evaluation results that support its positive effects on psychological functioning, resilience, maternal engagement, and participants’ marital functioning.Speakers
Nicholas Berthelot
Nicolas Berthelot received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Laval University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Quebec in Montreal and at the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Quebec. He is now assistant professor in mental health in the department of Nursing at the University du Quebec in Trois-Rivieres (UQTR). He is also regular researcher at the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le développement de l’enfant et la famille (CEIDEF) and at the Groupe de recherche et d’intervention en négligence (GRIN) and associate researcher at the Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec (CRIUSMQ). His current research interests focus on the developmental mechanisms of risk, resilience and psychopathology in the context of childhood trauma and on the intergenerational impacts of child maltreatment. He practices clinical psychology with children, adolescents and adults and aims to integrate research and clinical practice. Nicolas Berthelot collaborates with colleagues from different disciplines in the conception, implementation and evaluation of personalized clinical interventions with survivors of child abuse or neglect in order to prevent a wide array of psychological and physical health problems in this population.
Kim Deschênes
Kim Deschênes is a doctoral student in psychology at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and Research Coordinator for the STEP project (Supporting the transition to and engagement in parenthood). Her doctoral thesis focuses on prenatal parental mentalization capacities in parents who have experienced abuse during childhood, and on their child's general and socio-emotional development.
