Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
All sessions can be found in full on learn.nctsn.org under “Clinical Training” – “Identifying Critical Moments and Healing Complex Trauma”. These are worth CEU (Continuing Education Units) credit when completed in their entirety.
After watching the video, please take the time to give us feedback on the session. Your feedback will help us shape the new webinars and sessions! If you have any questions or would like a copy of your responses, please email Caitlin Sullivan at caisullivan@uchc.edu
Addressing Patient Needs While Maintaining Boundaries: A Triggered Patient Seeks Physical Comfort
The Session
Post Session Interview
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Description
In this webinar we meet 11-year-old Clara. Clara reveals her first (redacted) experience by her mother’s former live-in boyfriend, Michael, and how the abuse progressed. Clara becomes overtly distressed and leaps onto the therapist, embracing him. The therapist gently reestablishes physical boundaries and facilitates her diaphragmatic breathing. The scenario illustrates the complexity of the therapeutic relationship and the balance therapists must achieve for effectively supporting traumatized patients while also maintaining healthy boundaries.
Triggered Distress in a Young Child During Play Therapy
The Session
Post Session Interview
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Description
In this webinar you will meet Maya, a 9-year-old girl, referred for therapy due to numerous instances of domestic violence by her father toward her mother (some of which she witnessed), physical abuse by her father, and possible (redacted) with no specific disclosures. Maya has attended therapy with this therapist for only a short time and recently, has begun to demonstrate more trauma-related play. This session illustrates how dysregulation and trauma processing can be exhibited in play, sometimes with significant distress for the child with developmental trauma.
Engaging a Sexually Traumatized Youth in Therapy
The Session
Post Session Interview
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Description
Adam, a 15-year-old, is referred to therapy after several weeks of unexplained sickness. Adam has always excelled in school despite having been sexually abused by his soccer coach in his past. About a year ago, Adam’s grades and sports performance started to slip when an adult female tutor became sexually abusive and threatened him if he reported her. Adam was already seeing a therapist to work on recent difficulties in school and conflicts with his parents. As he attempts to end therapy, he reveals for the first time that he is experiencing current sexually abused.
Understanding and Working with Dissociative States
The Session
Post Session Interview
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Description
In this webinar, you will meet Adam, a 15-year-old Caucasian male. For years, Adam was excelling in school and was a star soccer athlete. Unbeknownst to his parents, Adam was sexually abused a year ago by his female tutor Amber. Following the assault, Adam began to struggle in school and behaving in uncharacteristic ways. Adam was referred to a therapist and about one year later, Adam reported to his therapist that he was hearing voices telling him to kill himself. Over several weeks Adam became increasingly anxious and sad and began to experience auditory hallucinations telling him to either hang himself or jump out a window.
Dealing with a Reluctant Disclosure of Sexual Exploitation
The Session
Post Session Interview
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Description
In this session, the therapist assesses Jordyn’s safety and explores the source of her heightened level of distress. Jordyn becomes very angry and frustrated with the therapist. To deescalate the situation, the therapist shifts gears and attempts to re-engage Jordyn in the therapeutic process by identifying supportive people in her life. However, in doing so, Jordyn accidentally reveals the source of her distress. It turns out that Jordyn has been struggling with a secret for several weeks that involves her older boyfriend and possible exploitation. The therapist supports Jordyn as she gathers the details she will need to report the information to the authorities and more importantly to keep Jordyn safe.
Supporting a Recently Traumatized Youth in a Crisis of Dissociation and Self-Harm
The Session
Post Session Interview
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Description
Samantha is a 15-year-old African American girl who lives in public housing in an urban area rife with violence and drug use. Samantha is an outstanding student and attends private school on scholarship, where her friends describe her as beautiful, popular, brilliant, and a star athlete. At age 10, Samantha saw her brother murdered when he was walking her home from school. Their mother became hysterical and chronically depressed, and their father changed from a loving dad to drinking and screaming at the family. Samantha was sexually assulted by her boyfriend’s male friends at a party at which she, usually a non-drinker, became intoxicated and passed out. Samantha has no memory of the assault and was referred to a female therapist, Dr. Sofia Mattei, by a sexual assult counselor who met with her at the hospital. This webinar presents Samantha’s first therapy session with Dr. Mattei.
Trauma and Distress Across Generations
The Session
Q&A
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Description
This webinar depicts a moment when Rose initially directs her feeling of being victimized toward her therapist. Rose expresses that therapist’s contact with her mother and school has increased the stigma and vulnerability she feels, and her sense that she’s not getting the support she needs. Rose sees the therapist as responsible for greater distress for both herself and her mother. This webinar illustrates the complexity of developmental trauma and raises questions as to whether the therapeutic relationship can be repaired. The therapist attempts to balance concerns of trust and safety in the context of Rose’s culture and the impact of developmental trauma across generations.
Guiding Youth Through Loss and Betrayal
The Session
Q&A
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Description
A client reveals during her first therapy session that she discovered her adoptive mother hid letters from her biological mother. In her past, she was placed in several foster care homes after incidents of physical and sexual abuse and family violence related to drug use by her mother and male partners. Though she was adopted two years ago, finding these hidden letters has escalated her feelings of distrust and not being accepted as a full member of her adoptive family.
Keeping Secrets: Family Communication After Trauma
The Session
Description
Jordyn, who disclosed (redacted) exploitation in a previous session has continued to see her therapist to address her symptoms of distress which include depression and PTSD. During this session Jordyn is joined by her father Jimmy who has his own trauma history related to combat exposure. Despite notable progress in both Jordyn’s and Jimmy’s respective individual treatment, tensions are growing at home that are related to the upcoming court proceedings and trial for the man who exploited Jordyn. To address the mounting tensions at home, the therapist decides to focus on communication. In this family session, secrets are revealed and the therapist is challenged to repair the rift between father and daughter caused by the information disclosed.