Anderson (2010) discussed protective factors and how they may help an individual facing family violence to persist and move past such trauma. She emphasized certain aspects of the role of the social worker explaining that social workers or other mental health professionals, “cannot change the abusive experiences encountered by their clients; they can only hope to influence reactions to the abuse” (p.1). Anderson focused on the resourcefulness of trauma survivors, calling this trait resilience. She explained that identifying the resilience of a client and pointing it out can give the client a new way of viewing their role in a traumatic event and the time after (Anderson, 2010). Anderson (2010) discussed several ways to better incorporate …show more content…
The way that the story is framed can provide meaning to the trauma and can place it in a larger context of an entire life filled with a variety of experiences, both good and bad. This discussion reminded me of narrative therapy, a therapeutic technique that focuses on framing a problematic event or behavior in a way that is helpful to the client and allows for positive movement forward. I enjoyed reading about the role of resilience in trauma because a focus on resilience is congruent with many social work values. This type of focus provides hope in an area of practice that is often filled with despair and a primary focus on symptomology. Social work emphasizes a strengths focused approach and resilience is an important strength to recognize in survivors of traumatic events. Acknowledging resilience allows a social worker to empower the client to realize their part in their …show more content…
Making a change from using the word victim to using the word survivor would be an easy change that could potentially empower my clients. Currently, I work with the Integrative Behavioral Health Clinic as a Master of Social Work Student Intern under direct supervision of a licensed clinical social worker. Some of the clients that I meet with have experienced trauma in their lives. I believe this course will inspire me to use respectful and empowering language and will provide me with new knowledge and skills to effectively work with clients who have experienced
Weick (1992) states “every person has an inherent power that may be characterized as life force, transformational capacity, life energy, spirituality, regenerative potential, and healing power, which is a potent form of knowledge that can guide personal and social transformation” (p. 24). No matter the crisis or oppression, it needs to be brought to client’s realization that they are strong, resilient and can overcome. They may not be aware of this inner power due to the constant stress and overwhelming sense of impending doom in their lives, but with the help of the strengths perspective, we can assist clients in realizing that they have strengths as well as weaknesses. Clients want to know that they can rely on social workers to provide adequate resources and respect their current situation, no matter how difficult it may be. Clients want to know that we can empathize with their situation and provide support, care and concern for the issues they are going through; they need to know that we will help them achieve their goals and not give up on them as many may have before in their lives. Saleeby (2013) states “your cli...
... Joyce Dorado. "Who Are We, But For The Stories We Tell: Family Stories And Healing." Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy 2.3 (2010): 243-249. PsycARTICLES. Web. 2 May 2014.
Conner, Michael G. “Coping and Surviving Violent and Traumatic Events.” Crisis Counseling. 24 Aug 2011. Web.
Overall this genre of conversational narrative is useful to those who need to “reconstruct and make sense of actual and possible life experiences” (7). There are pieces to a story that may not come as clear to a person who has been through traumatic situations, and storytelling is used to help not only with getting the story straight, but for healing as well.
At an individual or micro level this approach employs strategies and skills such as empowerment and validation, which helps to acknowledge the strengths of a violence survivor and believes the inequities a woman has experienced. At a macro level consciousness-raising is employed. Some of the distinctive concepts of this approach that help a practitioner to meaningfully work with survivors of violence against women includes giving importance to socio-cultural context, demystifying ‘power’ in the client-worker relationship, recognizing the need to assist in empowerment of women and lastly fostering the strengths, coping skills and other internal or external resources that are accessible for the woman survivor (Sharma,
This paper examines historical movements and theories considered in the developing the framework of narrative therapy and reduces each of them to two approaches, either an interpsychic or intrapsychic perspective. The combined use of these theories has provoked the authors to attempt to explicate the most effective and accurate method of how to encourage improvements of therapeutic observations in narrative therapy.
Domestic violence is a problem that can often be ignored, covered up and denied. Once a victim decides to take action to get out of an abusive relationship restoration can begin. When a victim has gone through a traumatic event he or she can struggle with the process of restorative justice. The victim may still be dealing with frightening memories of the abuse. Also a victim may have come to terms with the domestic violence and would just like to leave it in the past. These are some of the unique challenges faced by
In Trauma and Faith, Dr. Eriksson posed a question that caught on something inside of me and I have not been able to shake it since. She asked what we are to do with clients that are the perpetrators of trauma or whose trauma has led them to perpetuate the cycle. That stuck with me since in the field we mostly talk about treating the survivors not the perpetrators. As if divinely planned, a few weeks later I did an intake with a client at my practicum that embodied this very question. A member of a familial gang since birth, the client had experienced horrific trauma from a young age. Throughout his life, he had then inflicted great violence and trauma on those around him. My experience of sitting with this man who was both survivor and perpetrator,
According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of adjusting enough in the presence of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or major sources of stress such as financial and workplace problems, family/ relationship problems, and severe health problems or workplace and financial stressors (American Psychological Association, 2013).
For instance, I learned that one major component of resilience is physical health. Thus, it is imperative for children to eat well, exercise, and get six to eight hours of sleep each night. Another component of resilience is school support. This means that children need support from another adult that does not pertain to their family, such as a school counselor. Furthermore, I learned several strategies that schools and teachers can implement to help their students overcome traumatic experiences. For example, I learned that teachers should keep familiar routines, maintain high expectations for their students, and avoid focusing on their students’ negative behaviors. In addition, schools can be flexible and give these students time to speak to their teachers, counselors, or staff members. Talking to any of these individuals helps students express their feelings instead of bottling them up. Overall, this article helped me acquire more knowledge on resilience and strategies that I can one day use with my future
Leaving an abusive relationship is the most dangerous time in a survivor’s life. Many victims who leave are still scared and always looking over their shoulder. I don’t believe anyone should have to live this way. Survivors strengths are hope, healing, resilience and personal qualities begin to be restored after escaping a violent relationship. Victims and survivors need safety plans and nonjudgmental support systems. I consider victims to be very brave.
Robinett, Jane. "The Narrative Shape of Traumatic Experience." Literature & Medicine 26, no. 2 (Fall2007 2007): 290-311.
Resilience is the individual 's ability to overcome adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or stress such as family problems, relationship downfalls, health problems, workplace conflicts or financial issues. It can also help open up new experiences, help people connect with one another, persist, success and help expand horizons. Resilience in health care environment enables you to preserve patients safety. (Glass, N. (2010) resilience is the process of effectively negotiating, adapting to, or managing significant sources of stress or trauma. (Windle 2011)
Throughout the course of one’s lifetime, there are countless events that shape the personality, actions and mentality of that individual. Some of these events will affect the individual in a positive way allowing great life opportunities, while other events will unfortunately affect the individual in a negative way which can lead to disorders. Among the various events that can affect a person, one of the most common occurrences that some children witness early on in their lives that deeply affect their long-term mental health is being a witness to domestic violence. Research and observations that were studied revealed that there are multiple factors that can contribute to a child witnessing domestic violence. The more categories that the child falls into, the more likely they are to develop mental health issues later on in their life (Meltzer, Doos, Vostanis, Ford, and Goodman, 2009). The research conducted by Meltzer et al. (2009), was used to study the factors that were intertwined with domestic violence, as well as to better understand the needs of children who have witnessed the violence at a young age.
Narrative Therapy was developed to help people separate themselves from their problems. The idea is that this will help the person use the skills that they already possess to minimize the problems that exist in their everyday lives. The Narrative Therapy approach was developed by Social Workers Michael White (Australia) and David Epston (New Zealand) during the 1970s-1980s. “White proclaimed is work to be exclusively that of ‘rich story development’ “(Gallant).