This is for Trauma and counselling
The Case of Emma Read the following case study and follow
the instructions accordingly. You have just been appointed as a counsellor at a
high school in Gauteng (South Africa). The high school is situated in an urban
area and is reasonably well resourced. The school has 1400 learners and 23
teachers. The school offers a range of academic subjects as well as various
sporting codes and extra-curricular activities. The school’s student wellness
policy states that learners have access to six sessions with a counsellor. As
and when necessary, the counsellor is required to refer a client to a more
experienced practitioner (e.g. psychologist, doctor, social worker, etc.). A
concerned teacher referred Emma to you. Emma is 16 years old, in Grade 10 and
is generally a below-average school achiever (she just passes). The recent
onset of sadness, unexplained tearfulness, difficulty concentrating, and
struggles with sleeping is part of the presenting complaint. These are the
reasons the teacher has referred Emma to you. You have a small private office
on the school premises and Emma comes to you after her last class of the day.
You have a one-and-a-half-hour session with her. You begin your session and
Emma confirms her sleepless nights, difficulties with concentration, and
appears sad and tearful. Emma then starts talking and shares with you – in a
rather soft voice – that she feels ashamed of her body, is rapidly gaining
weight, and adds that she does not feel like going to school in the mornings
and would rather sit at home in front of the TV. She also mentions she is
behind withher schoolwork, and considering that it is September, preparations
for the final exams will soon commence. She tells you that her mother works as
a bookkeeper and that her mother and father separated a year ago. Her father
seldom makes contact with her and forgot to phone her on her birthday. She has
no idea whether divorce proceedings are underway but indicated that her father
is cohabiting with his new girlfriend, who Emma has met on two occasions and
seemingly dislikes. Emma’s boyfriend of over a year, who is in matric at the
same school, has also recently stopped contacting her and has not responded to
her WhatsApp messages. She also thinks he has defriended her on Facebook. She
thinks it is because of her weight gain, adding that her gym teacher recently
told her in the gym class “she was getting too fat” in front of the other
learners. Two nights’ ago, her mother came to her and asked her to try to get a
part-time evening and weekend job (as a restaurant server) to help with the
finances, as her father was defaulting on his financial maintenance. Emma has a
younger brother who is in Grade 5. She takes care of him during the afternoon,
helps with his homework, and walks him to the soccer field for practice every
evening. She is very close to her brother. She complained that she feels like a
burden to everyone and that for the last few days she wishes she could go to
sleep and never wake up. She tells you that she is unable to talk to her
mother, who returns home in the late evening, often grumpy, and has her own
problems. Emma says that her mother is depressed. During her session with you,
Emma says, “I would just like to go to sleep and never wake up. I am a burden
to everyone, and no one seems to like me”. Her eyes brimming with tears she
looks up at you and says “I’m not sure how you can help me, can you?”
Instructions: Based on your exposure to the content of this
module, discuss how you would go about managing the case of Emma. Your answer
should include the following: §
1.
The definition of and types of crises that might
apply to Emma;
2.
How you might
assess and identify Emma’s emotional state e.g. possible levels of self and/or
other harm;
3.
Emma’s coping mechanisms within the context of
anxiety and loss;
4.
What
principles/theories/models of crisis intervention would assist you in managing
Emma’s case;
