Social Workers Gain Trauma-informed Skills With a BSW Online
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Social workers play an essential role in supporting individuals and communities facing a wide range of crises and traumatic experiences. Whether working with children, families or individuals processing personal or societal issues, social workers must be prepared to address the different types of trauma their clients endure.
Through Carlow University’s online Bachelor of Social Work (BSW): Crisis and Trauma Concentration program, aspiring social workers gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing different populations. They also learn intervention methods to help clients improve their short-term and long-term well-being.
Engaging Childhood Trauma Effectively
Social workers frequently engage with clients who have experienced a wide range of traumatic experiences, according to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. These experiences can leave lasting effects, shaping behaviors and emotional states, which impact the ability to function in society. Recognizing these different trauma types is critical for providing appropriate support and intervention.
Regardless of their client’s background or symptoms, social workers must be prepared to intervene in a crisis. AMN Healthcare defines a crisis as a situation in which an individual’s existing coping mechanisms are not sufficient to handle the trauma or stress they face, leading to more anxiety and dysfunction. Crises can involve a combination of past personal traumas and current ones, such as homelessness or public health emergencies. Social workers learn to recognize each and implement action plans to improve their clients’ current realities.
Other types of childhood trauma include physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic violence and bullying. These experiences can lead to long-term psychological and emotional distress, requiring targeted interventions to foster healing and resilience. In the case of physical abuse, children can develop traumatic stress reactions that include cutting themselves off from relationships, blaming themselves for the abuse, developing anxiety and acting out through aggressive behaviors. Others become numb and withdrawn, lacking control over their lives, according to the network.
Some clients may have experienced severe events, such as escaping war and persecution, forced to seek safety in a different country. The network refers to this as refugee trauma, where children and adults experience negative impacts on their mental and physical health long after they have left their home countries. Other clients may have experienced child sex trafficking trauma, where their entire survival — money, food, clothing or shelter — was dependent on their ability to perform a sex act for adults. The effects of these situations can devastate a child’s psyche, leading to intrusive thoughts, nightmares, trouble concentrating and problems initiating healthy relationships, according to the network. Outcomes can include substance abuse and suicidal ideation.
Intervention Skills and Strategies for Responding to Crises
Crisis intervention is at the core of a social worker’s skill set for stabilizing the situation, reducing distress levels and helping clients move forward with their lives without experiencing more long-term psychological damage, according to AMN Healthcare. To do so, social workers conduct an initial assessment of their client’s emotional state and immediate risks to their safety. They use active listening and empathy to learn more about a person’s day-to-day experiences. A trauma-informed approach asks, “What has happened to you to bring you to this moment?” as opposed to “What’s wrong with you?”
Engaging trauma survivors with empathy and a trauma-informed approach increases the likelihood that social workers can help clients learn effective coping strategies, improve their awareness of possible symptoms and normalize their response to trauma. It reduces the chance of retraumatizing them. Social workers must practice self-care, so they do not begin to show signs of stress disorders themselves.
Social workers identify short-term interventions — such as addressing their clients immediate needs, such as crisis intervention care, housing and healthcare — that pave the way for long-term success, according to AMN. They also connect clients with healthcare resources to address immediate needs. From there, social workers develop a crisis plan alongside their clients that includes strategies for recovery now and in the future.
Prepare for a Career in Social Work and Crisis Intervention With Carlow University
As part of Carlow University’s online BSW: Crisis and Trauma Concentration, students complete four crisis and trauma focused courses that prepare them for career success upon graduation. The Impact of Trauma course introduces students to the field of psychological trauma, while the Crisis Intervention course delves into the techniques social workers can use to modify, manage and cope with crisis situations. In the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment course, students learn the many signs and symptoms of child maltreatment.
Addressing challenging issues and supporting individuals with traumatic experiences is a critical element of social work. The curriculum offered by Carlow’s BSW helps graduates leave the program with the knowledge and skills to help individuals secure the resources they need and move forward with hope for the future.
Learn more about Carlow University’s online Bachelor of Social Work (BSW): Crisis and Trauma Concentration program.