Discussion: Trauma and Adolescent Development
Discussion: Trauma and Adolescent Development
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 That person may become withdrawn and avoid social interaction as a direct result of the trauma experienced, thus impacting their social development.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.
To Prepare
- 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.
By Day 3
Post an assessment of the trauma the adolescent has experienced and how that may impact their development. Identify the areas that should be addressed in an intervention based on their developmental stage. Finally, describe how you might address those areas as a social worker, based on the Levenson article.
Required Readings
Brandell, J. R. (Ed.). (2020). Theory & practice in clinical social work (3rd ed.). Cognella.
- Chapter 7, “Clinical Social Work With Adolescents and Young Adults” (pp. 123–146)
Levenson, J. (2020). Translating trauma-informed principles into social work practice. Social Work, 65(3), 288–298. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swaa020
Required Media
Walden University, LLC. (2022). Social work case studies [Interactive media]. Walden University Blackboard. https://class.waldenu.edu
- Navigate to Brady and to Tiffani, and choose one on which to focus your Discussion.
Answer preview to Discussion: Trauma and Adolescent Development
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