Building Resilience in Trauma-affected Children: Amira Case Study
Question
Task: How can resilience be fostered in children who have experienced trauma?
Answer
Amira Case Study
Answer 1
Resilience can be widely described as the capability of a system to acclimatiseefficaciously to hurdles that intimidate the survival, purpose or future improvement of the system. The intricate adaptive system of resilience encompasses human persons but also economies, families, organisations and ecosystems(Masten and Barnes, 2018). In the given case study, the fourteen-year-old Amira lives in Leeds with her family and has experienced a bomb blast thereby experiencing substantial trauma. Amira has been developing trauma-associated symptoms including post-traumatic symptoms and general anxiety.
The behavioural theory identifies a chief drive in assisting to define the children’s development and learning and encompasses modifications in behaviour as a consequence of attaining reinforcement and treatment of associations between stimulation and stimuli and the child’s apparent reactions (Saracho, 2021). Michael Ruter describes resilience as acooperative concept that is alarmed with the amalgamation of grave risk involvements and a comparatively optimistic psychological consequence irrespective of those experiences (Shean, 2015).Resilience to trauma is defined in various ways: optimistic child outcomes irrespective of exposure to trauma, mitigation of trauma recurrence despite further exposure to high risk or mitigation of traumatic experiences in the face of substantial risk. In this case, resilience must encompass self-awareness, self-care, purpose, relationships and mindfulness.
Answer 2
The reliable presence of a supportive relationship in the form of teachers, parents, friends, family or healthcare practitioners is crucial to foster inner strength within the child(Chatterjee, 2019). A huge part of developing resilience encompasses being able to recognise personal goals and then tolerate the discomfort which is creating resistance towards that aim. Learning from one’s failure is of substantial significance towards becoming a resilient young individual. One way as guardians to foster resilience is to identify and complement the children while they are undertaking responsible risks and challenging themselves to build confidence. Naming and recognising emotions can allow children to become self-aware and allow them to manage their own emotional states efficiently. Some of the ways in which Amira’s parents and the school can build her resilience is by setting goals, encouraging responsible risks and supporting her while not trying to solve every minor disappointment or problem she encounters. This will be helpful in building problem-solving and development skills and foster self-regulation in Amira.
Shubha Case Study
Answer 1
Culture plays a significant role in terms of shaping entire aspects of patient care in psychiatry that influence where, how, when, and whom the patient narrates their experience of distress and illness. Similarly, in the given scenario also it has been identified that Shubha has been unhappy with the appointment because she belongs to Bangladesh, she might not feel comfortable expressing her distress and illness to someone that does not belong to the same culture or community. Therefore, in concern to the Cultural Formation Interview Framework, the important factors that must be considered while carrying out the assessment of Shubha’s mental health and well-being in order to ensure cultural sensitivity are such as “cultural identity of the individual, cultural extent of psychological functioning and support, cultural explanations of illness, and the cultural components of the patient-physician relationship” (Aggarwal et al., 2014). It is imperative to consider these factors because she has not been open about her distress to her family members, and thus it can be more difficult for her to express someone completely new from a cultural and traditional background, wherein considering the given factors might help make Shubha feel comfortable to express her distress.
Answer 2
The factors that must be considered while taking out risk formulation with Shubha in order to make sure it is person-centred while applying a strength-based approach are as discussed below:
• Presenting the problem to include what the clinician or person identifies as difficulties, how the life of the patient has been affected and when specific difficulty should be targeted for intervention.
• Identifying probable biological and environmental aspects that may put the patient at risk of budding particular mental health problems (Macneil et al., 2012).
• Precipitating factors such as the important events prior to the onset of the disorder like substance use, financial stressor etc.
Reference
Aggarwal, N.K., Glass, A., Tirado, A., Boiler, M., Nicasio, A., Alegría, M., Wall, M. and Lewis-Fernández, R. (2014). The Development of the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview-Fidelity Instrument (CFI-FI): A Pilot Study. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, [online] 25(3), pp.1397–1417. doi:10.1353/hpu.2014.0132.
Chatterjee, R. (2019). Six ways to raise a resilient child. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/05/six-ways-to-raise-a-resilient-child [Accessed 23 Jan. 2023].
Macneil, C.A., Hasty, M.K., Conus, P. and Berk, M. (2012). Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice. BMC Medicine, [online] 10(1). doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-111.
Masten, A. and Barnes, A. (2018). Resilience in Children: Developmental Perspectives. Children, [online] 5(7), p.98. doi:10.3390/children5070098.
Saracho, O.N. (2021). Theories of Child Development and Their Impact on Early Childhood Education and Care. Early Childhood Education Journal. [online] doi:10.1007/s10643-021-01271-5.
Shean, M. (2015). Current theories relating to resilience and young people A literature review. [online] VicHealth. Available at: https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/-/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Mental-health/Current-theories-relating-to-resilience-and-young-people.pdf?la=en&hash=3DFACAE0B3CC3554DA74B98C04DF42FD845F108F [Accessed 23 Jan. 2023].
