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Intimate Partner Trauma Case Study

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According to Walker (1991) "when coupled with ongoing individual therapy, women attending Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) support groups, which have been proven beneficial, they become empowered by knowing they are not alone." They are sharing their shame as well as self-blame, and research has proven a restored functionality and well-being in victims of IVP.
Ehlers & Clark (2000) "encourages victim’s to identify their core beliefs as it is crucial for the practitioner to have insight into how the victim has internalized trauma, often believing that they are the root cause of the domestic violence that have experienced." To this regard, women can share like experiences and as they tell their story, a little bit more of their psyche heals. …show more content…

Session 1, will focus on establishing ground rules and guidelines, specifically addressing confidentiality. They will also begin the rapport building process with group members and group facilitators by sharing a brief story about them which will empower them to control what they want to share and why.
Session 2, will continue to establish trust and rapport, including a small group exercise to discuss their personal experience with trauma.
Session 3, will focus on safety planning; as many victims still live in fear of retaliation.
Sessions 4 & 5, will focus on empowering the group members by providing psycho-education about the development of PTSD. Knowledge is viewed as power; the better the women understand their current situation, the more control they have over it. The clients will be given relevant handouts and worksheets regarding symptoms and effects related to IPV and PTSD. It is intended that this educational component will have a secondary effect of providing group cohesiveness so members do not feel like they are the only one suffering from previous …show more content…

Facilitators will teach group members how to complete Automatic Thought Records (Greenberger & Padesky, 1995) as an effective way of challenging negative beliefs about themselves and their traumas. It is likely that most of the women in the group will endorse core beliefs that they are unlovable, do not deserve to be happy or feel that they are too weak to leave a relationship. The facilitators will point out these beliefs to the group as well as highlighting any themes that arise regarding cognitive appraisals of the traumatic event, such as victim

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