Leaning into Discomfort: A Relational Approach to Working with Young Victims of Human Trafficking
Karie McGuire, DSW, LCSW, CHES | September 20 | 9:45-10:45 am
Topic: Direct Service | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
In this session, which is a continuation of a presentation from 2021, we will further explore how providers who want to develop and apply skills to understand DMST’s client-centered narratives and support victims can overcome any hesitancy to engage and begin to build trust, possibly for the first time. Too often, well-meaning care providers participate in a system that re-traumatizes survivors of childhood abuse and interpersonal violence. 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. The presenter will explore how a relationship-based approach is not only an effective way to build trust, but through a relationship-based lens, we can begin to examine the provider’s relationship with their clients and their relationship to the social obstacles that trap clients before, during, and after their exploitation. Specifically, the recommendation here is to lean into one’s discomfort to better understand DMST survivor needs and to apply specific interpretive and communication skills when a survivor’s cursing and trauma-related behaviors escalate. This presentation will assist in helping participants also examine how leaning into discomfort can impact biases and overall self-care in the direct practice in the field.
Presentation Objectives:
• Educate attendees about how DMST survivors and victims present for care, given their exposure to compounding traumas
• Invite attendees to identify their internal biases that can hamper client recovery and understand how this exploration relates to self-care
• Provide specific clinical tools to help providers engage appropriately and effectively with domestic minor sex trafficking survivors and victims