Trauma encompasses such events as child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, violence, incarceration, natural disaster, sex trafficking, traumatic grief, and bullying—and can occur at any age. Even after the immediate threat has passed, the trauma can continue to influence a person’s life in negative ways.
For adolescents, trauma can interfere with typical biological, psychological, and social development occurring at this stage. Imagine the case of a teen who has been assaulted. That person may become withdrawn and avoid social interaction as a direct result of the trauma experienced, thus impacting their social development.
In this Discussion, you assess how trauma has influenced an adolescent and how you might assist as a social worker.
Review the Learning Resources on trauma, adolescence, and social work with adolescents. Pay particular attention to the Levenson (2020) article.
Access the Social Work Case Studies media and navigate to Brady and to Tiffani. Choose one on which to focus this Discussion. (TRANSCRIPTS ATTACHED BELOW FOR BRADY AND TIFFANI)
Post an assessment of the trauma the adolescent has experienced and how that may impact their development. Bearing in mind that environmental concerns have been addressed, utilize your advanced-level skills to identify a modality that is appropriate for the developmental stage. Finally, describe some assumptions and pitfalls of the modality as it relates to the population.
