Juan's Case Summary

Juan is a 3 ½-year-old boy that experienced sexual trauma at the hands of his own father. It can be difficult for a therapist to hear the details of a case like this. Personal reactions can be severe and these reactions can be harmful to the client and to the therapist. It is important to realize one’s biases and reactions before working in the field. Therapist biases can make the client feel a wide range of emotions that could make it difficult for them to benefit from therapy. It’s also important to partake in self-care as a therapist to prevent experiencing secondary trauma when hearing cases like this. Juan’s case, and similar cases, may cause personal reactions that the therapist must be aware of and prepared to encounter. Juan’s mother sought help because Juan was partaking in inappropriate behaviors. He would often masturbate in the tub at home and during naptime at school. He would also take his clothes off and also try to get other children to take their

Cox & Steiner (2013), discuss that debriefing with a supervisor after a difficult case is an effective form of self-care. Social workers cannot talk about the details of cases with their friends and family, therefore, supervision is the only safe outlet they have for talking about their reactions to the case. Knight (2013), also identified the importance of social workers coming up with their own coping skills. In addition to hobbies and relaxing tasks, finding a way to keep work separate from everyday life can be an effective form of self-care. It is important for a social worker to practice self-care to continually and effectively help others, because it is difficult not to be affected by the cases that social workers encounter. Realizing our reactions and biases, and participating in self-care may help to prevent against further harm to our traumatized clients and