Therapeutic interventions with women and children in domestic violence shelters: A systematic scoping review

Background: Domestic (DV) is a significant social issue. Women and children who are displaced by violence in their homes often access shelters for critical support and housing. Support for the mother–child relationship can mitigate the impacts of trauma and enhance recovery. DV Shelters can play a role in provision of therapeutic approaches that strengthen the mother–child relationship however there is little evidence of these approaches being applied within the refuge environment. Aims: This review explored the application of therapeutic interventions that support the mother–child relationship in DV shelters. A systematic scoping review was conducted to determine the therapeutic approaches that have been applied in DV shelters, their effectiveness and to describe the activities that strengthen the mother–child relationship following an incident of DV with a particular focus on play and art-based approaches. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in six electronic databases (Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), SocINDEX and Web of Science). Twelve articles were included in the review. Findings were thematically synthesized using deductive coding against the research aims and inductively for findings in each paper. Findings: The results of this study demonstrated that there is little recent evidence of the use of therapeutic interventions that support trauma recovery and strengthen the mother–child relationship in DV shelters. However, the small number of included studies demonstrated that there is some use of these therapeutic interventions and that these interventions with mothers and their children can provide essential safety and stabilization support, which lays the foundation for recovery from trauma.