Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening (PEARL) to Promote Healing Engagement for Survivors of Interpersonal Violence: A Feasibility Study

Interpersonal violence (IV) has detrimental health impacts for all people, with the consequences of unaddressed victimization representing a key driver of poor mental and physical health among survivors. To progress from merely identifying these disparities to actively intervening, innovative interventions are needed to promote healing engagement, build bridges within survivor care infrastructure, and connect survivors with appropriate resources to help them heal. The long-term goal is to establish survivor-centered interventions that promote healing and wellbeing for survivors of IV. The primary objective of this research is to refine and evaluate a photo-elicitation intervention, Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening (PEARL), aimed at identifying help-seeking barriers and promoting healing engagement among IV survivors. The rationale for this project is that there is a critical unmet need for inclusive interventions that identify survivor-centered social determinants of trauma healing while creating a structure for survivors to identify their needs and co-create a healing action for themselves moving forward. This project has two key aims: 1) to refine the PEARL intervention prototype for implementation with people who have experienced IV, and 2) to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of PEARL in survivor populations (N=40; 30 women, 10 men). The study will employ a community-engaged, mixed methods approach. Aim 1 will involve collaborating with a community and scientific advisory board to refine the PEARL prototype and enhance the effectiveness and applicability of PEARL. Aim 2 will employ a randomized waitlist control design to assess feasibility, acceptability, and PEARL's potential impact on healing engagement and related health outcomes. The research is paired with a career development plan that will equip the applicant with the skills necessary for community-engaged intervention development, universal design, and implementation science to transition her into an independent researcher that can improve the survivor care landscape through her program of research. The research proposed in this application is innovative because it focuses on recovery rather than deficit in survivor populations, using trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches. It also leverages photo-elicitation, allowing survivors to highlight their multidimensional social world and reflect on how it might facilitate, create barriers, or shape healing needs in real time. This study's significance lies in its response to the pressing need for inclusive interventions to explore the social determinants of health that influence IV survivor healing, all while promoting survivor engagement in the healing process. By bridging existing gaps in IV survivor support, this research aligns closely with NINR's mission to identify social/structural determinants and promote health and wellbeing in populations exposed to trauma and violence.