Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects
Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Applied Clinical Project (ACP)
Degree Name
Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (DMFT)
Department
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy
Advisor
Tommie V. Boyd
Committee Member
Kara Erolin
Abstract
Human trafficking is prevalent globally, nationally and locally. In the state of Florida, there are many victims of domestic and international human trafficking. Therapists work in settings where they come in contact with victims of human trafficking while they are still in captivity. However, many therapists lack the training and resources to identify victims of human trafficking in the therapeutic setting, and so many of these victims go unidentified. While there are several human trafficking identification tools, none are designed exclusively for therapists to identify both international and domestic victims of sex trafficking. To address this need, I developed the Roberts Human Trafficking Tool (RHTT). This assessment used a collaborative approach for therapists to identify youths who are domestic and international victims of sex trafficking. This project utilized one action research cycle to obtain therapists’ feedback and suggestions for the improvement of the tool. To do this, I trained four stakeholders who were human trafficking therapists in South Florida on the assessment who utilized it among themselves and provided feedback for its advancement. This feedback was used to make changes to improve the tool. The findings indicate that the Roberts Human Trafficking Tool is a unique and interactive tool that helps break barriers in working with the human trafficking population. An important prerequisite for the effective utilization of the RHTT assessment is training therapists on human trafficking and on utilizing the tool.
NSUWorks Citation
Arthrine Meletha Roberts. 2018. A Collaborative Approach With Therapists: Training and Utilizing the Roberts Human Trafficking Tool to Identify Domestic and International Victims of Human Trafficking. Capstone. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy. (34)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/34.