Mental health problems and stressful life events in women experiencing homelessnessAn adaptation of the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders

Abstract

Over the years, empirical evidence suggests that people experiencing homelessness particularly females disproportionately experience Stressful Life Events (SLEs) and mental health problems (Padgett et al., 2012; Phipps et al., 2019). Both SLEs and mental health problems are key factors in understanding the etiology and maintenance of homelessness (Nilsson et al., 2019; Padgett et al., 2012). However, few studies have focused exclusively on these issues with regards to women experiencing homelessness (e.g., Duke & Searby, 2019), and even fewer have done so in Spain. Further, most programs and social policies target structural, rather than psychological, factors contributing to homelessness (e.g., housing, employment reintegration, and legal support; Baxter et al., 2019; Wickham, 2020). Although such programs may indirectly improve psychological symptoms, there is a dearth of evidence-based psychological treatments developed specifically to target mental health problems in this population (Speirs et al.,2013). In addition, the majority of interventions do not adequately consider the problems and needs of women experiencing homelessness, a vulnerable subgroup with idiosyncratic characteristics (Luchenski et al., 2018; Speirs et al., 2013)...