Denise Michelle Brend, MSW, PhD is an assistant professor in the School of social work and criminology, Université Laval, Canada. Her research themes include the potential impacts of trauma on individuals, communities, and in helping relationships; and, systemic factors impacting wellbeing and structural approaches to occupational well-being in trauma-exposed settings. She is a co-investigator of the Canadian Consortium on Trauma in Children and Adolescents, a regular researcher at the Centre international de criminologie comparée (CICC) and the centre for Recherches appliquées et interdisciplinaires sur les violences intimes, familiales et structurelles (RAIV).

 

A practicing clinical supervisor and psychotherapist, Dr. Brend has over 20 years of clinical experience working with professionals, and voluntary and involuntary clients in community and mental health settings. She is currently working on projects implementing and evaluating trauma-informed care in institutional settings for youth in Canada and Europe; multiple clinical support and knowledge mobilization strategies to promote trauma-informed care in systems of care and control for youth and adults in North and South America; and, an ongoing analysis of trauma-informed care in carceral settings with a particular focus on staff wellbeing. This analysis includes a synthesis of the extant research evidence describing particular needs among staff belonging to historically or systematically oppressed groups (i.e., members of the 2sLGBTQi community, racialized people, Indigenous peoples, and those facing sex discrimination).