1. Psychotherapy work with Women in a homeless service
Nicola Saunders
Women’s Psychotherapist
Life Works Psychotherapy Service

2. Psychotherapy work with women in a homeless service
Life Works Psychotherapy Service - client & staff facing.
Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE’s)
Trauma Informed Environments
Development of Women’s Service – Shattered Lives Report
Psychotherapy with women – psycho-social
Psychosocial-educational group in the community
Trauma, Gender & Psychologically Informed Staff training

3. Psychotherapy work with women in a homeless service
Learning points
Psychotherapy can be adapted for social care environments & complex need
Women want psychotherapy and make use of it
Women’s group more difficult than individual; in a neutral space & away from women they live with. Normalisation of education & support important
Trauma informed and flight/fight - staff better able to understand PIE vs TIE
Trauma opens up possibility of talking about secondary trauma or vicarious trauma with ourselves & each other
Not embarked on systems yet we know it is important from our work with PIE
We are looking for external links for our own learning