I just completed a paper on the affects of sexual abuse
on a child’s development and believe it is an area of interest for all social
levels. I think it is important to not how sexual abuse has the tendency to be
cross-generational. Parent’s who have a
history of child sexual abuse allow their trauma to affect their child,
ultimately becoming the child’s own trauma. Professionals should focus on how
to treat those who have already fallen victim of child sexual abuse in order to
prevent more cases from happening. Child sexual abuse affects, not only the
victim, but the parents, teachers, and community involved. Trauma informed care
should emphasize the treatment of both the child victim and their caregivers.
In order for parents to provide positive support for their child, the parent
must heal their trauma first. Caretakers must process the child’s trauma
themselves in order to foster a healthy healing environment for the child.
The assessment and engagement skills detailed in this weeks
discussion are very useful for my in my internship. As a Mental Health
Counseling Intern at a charter school (grade 6th-12), I implement
these tools on a regular basis. By paraphrasing a students response I can gain
better understanding for the student as well as my self. This will show the
student that I am listening in addition to understanding where they are coming
from. My internship advisor encourages me to use a Narrative Therapy approach.
Narrative conversations are interactive and always in
collaboration with the client consulting the therapist. This approach seeks to
understand what is of interest to the people consulting them and how the
journey is suiting their preferences. Narrative therapy is a non-blaming
approach to counseling and community work, which centers the client as an
expert in their own life. It views
people as a separate entity to their problems.
Before my internship, I had only relative knowledge regarding Narrative
Therapy but I have since integrated these principles in my approach to
counseling.
