Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Expressive Therapies Studies

First Advisor

Robyn F. Cruz

Abstract

Homelessness-service environments require non-clinical frontline staff to manage frequent crises and provide relational support to sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals with extensive trauma and minority stress histories. However, staff training often prioritizes didactic knowledge over embodied skills that support emotional regulation, attunement, and identity-affirming engagement. Grounded in trauma-informed care, minority stress theory, and somatic learning, this mixed-methods study examined the feasibility and preliminary patterns of change associated with an embodied staff training designed to prepare non-clinical workers to facilitate Affirmative Moving (AM), a brief movement-based, LGBTQ+-affirming support group model.

The study was conducted between July and September 2025 at community-based organizations in Los Angeles, California. Seven non-clinical staff completed three 3-hour training sessions and facilitated three AM groups with 15 SGM adults experiencing current or prior homelessness. Quantitative data included pre–post assessments using the Brief Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness–2 and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale–Short Form. Qualitative data were collected through a post-intervention staff focus group.

Results indicated significant increases in staff interoceptive awareness and worry about bodily sensations, alongside increased perceived difficulties in emotion regulation, suggesting heightened emotional awareness with perceived regulatory demands during early embodied learning. Client quantitative outcomes showed minimal change over the brief intervention period. Qualitative findings supported feasibility, highlighting practical training content, growing facilitator competence through experiential learning, and structural implementation challenges. Overall, findings suggest that AM is a feasible and contextually relevant training model that may support embodied awareness, emotional attunement, and identity-affirming relational practice among frontline staff.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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