Leaning into Discomfort: Providing Effective Care for Children and Teen Victims of Human Trafficking
Karie McGuire, DSW, LCSW, CHES & Robert Mundy, LSW | September 22 | 1:45-2:45 PM
Topic: Direct Service | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Too often, well-meaning care providers participate in a system that re-traumatizes survivors of childhood abuse and interpersonal violence (Elliot, Bjelajac, Fallot, Markoff, & Reed, 2005). Providers often misunderstand the presentation of trauma, misattribute behaviors to apathy or defiance, and focus disproportionate attention on the choices of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) victims instead of on oppressive social structures and practice standards that recreate their harm. DMST victims’ responses to their trauma, like cursing and insulting, can cause significant discomfort for providers, who respond in ways that echo the autonomy-limiting, dignity-denying patterns DMST survivors have learned to avoid. As social workers who observed our DMST survivors’ interactions with countless providers, we propose a relationship-based lens for applying trauma informed care. A relationship-based lens examines the provider’s relationship with their clients, and their relationship to the social obstacles that trap clients before, during, and after their exploitation. Specifically, we recommend leaning into one’s discomfort to better understand DMST survivor needs, applying specific interpretive and communication skills when a survivor’s cursing and trauma-informed behaviors escalate. Through active listening and consistent expression of regard, providers can more effectively recognize client-centered narratives and model new, healthier relationships which survivors can reference during their recovery. This presentation will assist providers who want to develop and apply skills to understand DMST’s client-centered narratives can help victims overcome their hesitancy to engage and begin to build trust, possibly for the first time.
Presentation Objectives:
· Educate attendees about how DMST survivors and victims present for care, given their exposure to compounding traumas
· Invite providers to identify their internal biases that can hamper client recovery
· Provide specific clinical tools to help providers engage appropriately and effectively with domestic minor sex trafficking survivors and victims