Background: Violence against women places them in a vulnerable position with regard to homelessness. Although sometimes invisible, women’s homelessness is a complex reality shrouded in dramatic biographies that should be sensitively addressed to avoid revictimization. Methods: With the aim of understanding the chaotic discourse of homeless women’s experiences of violence, a qualitative single-case study was conducted using the photo-elicitation technique. Data were analyzed in accordance with grounded theory. Results: The participant’s discourse could be summarized in the following categories: “Living in a spiral of violence”, “Confronting vulnerability and violence”, “Being a strong woman”, “New family networks”, “Re-building mother–child relationships”, and “Nurturing spiritual wellbeing”. Conclusions: Supporting homelessness women requires an approach that focuses on the prevention of re-victimization and the consequences of violence in terms of physical and mental health. Shelters are spaces of care for recovery and represent referential elements for the re-construction of self.

Despite the high prevalence of emotional disorders and comorbidity among homeless women, there is a shortage of studies focused on interventions targeted at this population. This study aims to examine the feasibility of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders among homeless women, in relation to its quantitative effects on attendance, satisfaction, usefulness, emotional state, and group cohesion. The trial was registered at clinicalstrials.gov as NCT04392856. We use a one-group pretest-posttest design. The program consisted of 12 group sessions of approximately 90 min each. Treatment was provided to 54 homeless women, who were recruited from four different shelters in Madrid (Spain). The average attendance rate was 69.44%. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction (M = 8.97, SD = 1.45; out of 10), perceived usefulness (M = 9.10, SD = 1.42; out of 10), mood state (M = 6.11, SD = 1.02; out of 7), and group cohesion (M = 6.34, SD = 0.86; out of 7). There was a significant increase in the total score across these four variables following treatment. These findings suggest that the Unified Protocol is a feasible intervention for homeless women and may be beneficial; however, further studies that include a control group and a larger sample are on progress to test its effectiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The COVID-19 lockdown has had a massive psychological impact on mental health in the general population, with increases in anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Spiritual well-being, specifically peace and meaning, has already been identified as one of the main protective factors for these disorders in the COVID-19 context. The aim of the present study is to identify facilitating elements for peace and meaning during the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain. Online surveys were used to obtain data from a sample of 3480 Spanish people. Self-compassion and social support were positively related with peace and meaning, while loneliness and perceived discrimination were negatively related. The model for peace and meaning was statistically significant, explaining 47% of the variance. The significant variables were self-kindness, family support, mindfulness, and sense of belonging having a positive association and loneliness a negative one.

Background: One of the most relevant risk factors for suicide is the presence of previous attempts. The symptomatic profile of people who reattempt suicide deserves attention. Network analysis is a promising tool to study this field. Objective: To analyze the symptomatic network of patients who have attempted suicide recently and compare networks of people with several attempts and people with just one at baseline. Methods: 1043 adult participants from the Spanish cohort “SURVIVE” were part of this study. Participants were classified into two groups: single attempt group (n = 390) and reattempt group (n = 653). Different network analyses were carried out to study the relationships between suicidal ideation, behavior, psychiatric symptoms, diagnoses, childhood trauma, and impulsivity. A general network and one for each subgroup were estimated. Results: People with several suicide attempts at baseline scored significantly higher across all clinical scales. The symptomatic networks were equivalent in both groups of patients (p > .05). Although there were no overall differences between the networks, some nodes were more relevant according to group belonging. Conclusions: People with a history of previous attempts have greater psychiatric symptom severity but the relationships between risk factors show the same structure when compared with the single attempt group. All risk factors deserve attention regardless of the number of attempts, but assessments can be adjusted to better monitor the occurrence of reattempts.

On March 11, 2004, Madrid suffered one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of Spain, leaving more than 190 dead and 2,000 injured. For years, the psychological consequences of the attacks have been studied; however, its long-term effects on symptomatology and especially on well-being remains unknown. This study aims to explore, through a qualitative approach, pathways and obstacles to the well-being of those affected directly or indirectly by the attacks of March 11 in Madrid. Two focus groups were held, one for indirect victims and one for direct victims. Subsequently, a thematic analysis of the materials obtained was carried out. More than 10 years after the attacks, most of the participants reported great difficulty in achieving well-being. Acceptance and victims’ associations seemed to act as key facilitators, while symptoms, political institutions and the media were the main obstacles. Direct and indirect victims presented similar data although aspects such as guilt and family relationships played a different role in their well-being.

Natural disasters, such as the eruption of the “Tajogaite” volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, might have a high impact on the mental health of those who experience them. This study aims to evaluate the mental state of La Palma’s population on the acute phase of the event as well as two and seven months later. The main hypothesis was that levels of anxiety will decrease in time, while depression and perceived stress levels will remain stable. Levels of depression, anxiety, perceived stress and psychological well-being were measured, as well as their relationship and certain demographic variables such as age, gender and residential situation. Results showed that anxiety and perceived stress significantly decreased with time, but depression and well-being remained stable. Moreover, higher levels of depression could be partly explained by higher anxiety and perceived stress, previous pharmacological treatment, and lower levels of well-being. Also, being a woman, higher levels of perceived stress, living in a region affected by the eruption, and previous pharmacological treatment significantly predicted higher anxiety; being a woman, higher levels of anxiety and lower levels of well-being significantly predicted higher perceived stress. Finally, higher levels of well-being could be partly explained by lower levels of depression and perceived stress, and not living alone. This study was able to identify particularly vulnerable groups during natural disasters, such as the eruption of a volcano. This is important to provide early psychological care to those who need it in these situations.