ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW:
Students will synthesize the information they have learned throughout the course in order to analyze the following case vignette of a disaster-impacted family, identify the unique needs of individual family members and the family as a unit, and develop a treatment approach that is appropriate for short-term, crisis counseling settings.
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Please read the case example above and write a 3 paper in which you answer the questions that follow the case example. Your paper should be double spaced and written in 12-point font. Please cite at least two readings from this class in your paper and include these references at the end of your paper in APA format.
Case Vignette
You are a community social worker working with the police department to deliver crisis intervention services to police, emergency responders and survivors of a recent hurricane at a disaster shelter. It is midnight and Mia, one of the survivors (who was sexually assaulted one week prior to the hurricane), wakes up screaming and throwing things at the young man in the cot next to hers. You are being asked to defuse the acute crisis episode and provide crisis intervention. Before meeting with Mia, her sister who is also staying in the shelter, grabs you and provides you with some additional information about Mia. From Mia’s sister you learn that Mia is a 26-year-old single Black woman with no children. The sexual assault she experienced was alleged to have been perpetrated by an acquaintance of Mia’s who she invited into her home to fix her broken dishwasher. She has filed a police report and the police were in the process of investigating when the hurricane hit.
Prior to the hurricane Mia worked as a school teacher at a local public school which is now closed indefinitely due to the hurricane. She lives alone in an apartment in the same building in which her sister, brother-in-law, and their small child reside. Mia’s parents are both alive and live in a small home in an area of the city currently flooded by the hurricane. Mia, her sister, brother-in-law and nephew, and Mia’s parents are all staying in the same shelter together. Prior to the hurricane Mia had an active social life with many friends and activities and was actively engaged in her church and on the board of the local community center. Mia is able-bodied and her sister describes her as “happy-go-lucky” prior to the sexual assault.
Since the sexual assault Mia’s personality has changed somewhat and she is increasingly irritable, frightened, and frequently complains of stomach aches, headaches, and other physical concerns.
Questions for this Paper:
- Mia appears to be experiencing an acute stress reaction. What are some signs and symptoms of her acute stress reaction identified in the above case example?
- Please consider the principles of trauma-informed care, Robert’s seven stages of intervention, and the principles of Psychological First Aid, how do you intend to proceed with Mia? What will you focus on with her and in what order?
- Are there specific areas of functioning that you would focus on in assessment? If so, why? Are there specific assessment tools you might use with Mia? If so, what are they and why would you use them?
- Are there specific interventions you might consider using with Mia? If so, what are those interventions and why do you think they might help Mia?
- Given that interdisciplinary collaboration is important in disaster mental health, who else might you collaborate with in order to help Mia and why?
- Given what you currently know about Mia, what are her risk factors for developing PTSD or sub-threshold PTSD symptoms over time?
- Given what you currently know about Mia, what factors might protect her from developing PTSD or sub-threshold PTSD symptoms over time?
- What are Mia’s strengths and supports and how might you help her to utilize these strengths and supports?
