Course info

Isabella, an 18-year-old young adult with PTSD and a regular client of Dr. Gilda Rodriguez, has an intense dissociative reaction after a loudly slamming door triggers a flashback. Dr. Rodriguez helps Isabella cope with her flashback by engaging in a variety of grounding techniques and guides her to recognize the crisis as a trauma-related reaction to an unexpected reminder of witnessing the gun-related death of a close friend. This enables Isabella to process feelings of fear and grief while regaining a sense of being safe in the current moment. In the Case Conference after the session, Dr. Rodriguez talks with colleagues and the social work supervisor at a respite house where Isabella resides. Dr. Rodriguez describes her observations and responses to the intense dissociative reaction experienced by Isabela. Parallels are identified between the grounding techniques Dr. Rodriguez used and the informal but equally important ways in which the social worker interacts with Isabella on a day-to-day basis.