Week 6 Social Work Practice With Children And Adolescents

Week6 6446social Work Practice With Children And Adolescentstraumaread

Read about trauma and stress-related disorders, including reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, PTSD, acute stress disorder, and related conditions, with emphasis on their diagnostic criteria, manifestations, and implications for children and adolescents who experience traumatic events.

Discuss symptoms of PTSD relevant to a specific traumatic event, including two symptoms commonly observed and their significance. Additionally, describe how working with children or adolescents who have undergone such trauma might affect you professionally and emotionally, supporting your insights with references from the provided resources.

Paper For Above instruction

Understanding trauma and stress-related disorders in children and adolescents is crucial for social work practice, especially when engaging with clients who have experienced traumatic events. This paper examines the symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents, illustrating how these symptoms manifest after specific types of trauma, and explores the impact such work can have on the social worker.

To begin, selecting a traumatic event provides context for the symptoms discussed. For example, consider a child who has been a victim of sexual abuse—a traumatic experience that can lead to PTSD with a range of symptoms. The traumatic event often leaves indelible psychological scars, which manifest in various ways in children and adolescents.

Two commonly observed symptoms of PTSD in children who have experienced sexual abuse include intrusion symptoms and avoidance behaviors. Intrusion symptoms refer to involuntary re-experiencing of the traumatic event, such as nightmares, intrusive thoughts, or distressing memories. For instance, a child may have recurrent nightmares reliving the abuse, which can significantly disrupt sleep and daily functioning (Putman, 2009). This symptom reflects the child's difficulty in processing and integrating the traumatic memory, leading to persistent psychological distress.

A second symptom, avoidance, involves efforts to evade reminders of the trauma. Children might avoid certain places, people, or activities that they associate with the traumatic event. For example, a child might refuse to go back to the home or school where the abuse occurred, or might shy away from conversations about their feelings or the event itself (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Such behaviors serve as a protective mechanism to reduce anxiety but can interfere with normal development and social functioning.

These symptoms are significant because they hinder the child's ability to engage in typical activities, develop trusting relationships, and regulate emotions. The intrusion symptoms can increase anxiety and fear, while avoidance can lead to social withdrawal and emotional numbness. Recognizing these symptoms allows social workers to tailor interventions aimed at processing trauma and fostering resilience.

Working with children or adolescents who have experienced trauma can profoundly affect social workers both professionally and emotionally. The exposure to clients' painful memories and ongoing distress may evoke feelings of helplessness, frustration, or burnout. For example, witnessing a child's suffering and knowing that their trauma may have long-term consequences can be emotionally taxing, potentially leading to vicarious trauma (Culver, McKinney, & Paradise, 2011). This underscores the importance of self-care strategies and supervision to manage emotional fatigue and maintain effectiveness in practice.

Furthermore, working with traumatized youth requires sensitivity and cultural competence, as children’s responses to trauma are influenced by their backgrounds and support systems. The social worker's emotional state can be affected by the trauma narratives shared by children, necessitating ongoing reflection and professional development to prevent emotional exhaustion and to ensure ethical and empathetic engagement.

In conclusion, PTSD symptoms such as intrusion and avoidance are common in children and adolescents who have experienced trauma like sexual abuse. Recognizing these symptoms is vital in clinical assessment and intervention planning. Moreover, the emotional toll on social workers highlights the need for resilience-building and institutional support to sustain effective practice. Emphasizing trauma-informed care can improve outcomes for young clients and promote the well-being of practitioners.

References

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
• Culver, L. M., McKinney, B., & Paradise, L. V. (2011). Mental health professionals’ experiences of vicarious traumatization in post-hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 16(1), 33–42.
• Putman, S. E. (2009). The monsters in my head: Posttraumatic stress disorder and the child survivor of sexual abuse. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87(1), 80–89.
• Stover, C. S., Hahn, H., Im, J. J. Y., & Berkowitz, S. (2010). Agreement of parent and child reports of trauma exposure and symptoms in the early aftermath of a traumatic event. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2(3), 159–168.
• Laureate Education, Inc. (2014). Trauma. Baltimore, MD: Author.
• Chasser, Y. M. (2016). Profiles of youths with PTSD and addiction. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 25(5).
• Herrera, A. V., Benjet, C., Mendez, E., Casanova, L., & Medina-Mora, M. E. (2017). How mental health interviews conducted alone, in the presence of an adult, a child or both affects adolescents’ reporting of psychological symptoms and risky behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(2).
• DSM-5 Bridge Document: Trauma, Stress, and Adjustment (2014). Laureate Education, Inc.
• Additional scholarly articles on trauma and coping in youth and practitioners (e.g., Felitti et al., 1998; Trickey et al., 2012; Levenson et al., 2017; Brewin et al., 2017).
• Relevant intervention models and trauma-informed care frameworks (e.g., Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2014).