Mahin is a 35 year old immigrant woman of Iranian descent. She has recently moved in with her partner, 42 year old Caucasian female, Analisa, whom she met at work. This had been a huge step for Mahin as her family had not been able to accept her sexual orientation and had disowned her. Mahin is a trained software professional and has a well paying job in a multinational company. They live in an affluent white neighborhood. Mahin claims to be religious but has not visited a mosque in over 5 years. She immigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was 14 years old and states that moving to the new High School was very challenging.

History with Analisa:

Mahin met Analisa two years ago and they became friends. Last year their relationship became intimate and two months ago Mahin moved in to Analisa's apartment. Mahin reports that Analisa was very caring in the beginning, but has become emotionally and verbally abusive, especially when she gets "mad." She throws things on the floor and once broke the television but recently she has started pushing and shoving Mahin when they get into an argument. Two days ago, Mahin had to wear shades to work to hide her eyes that were swollen from being 'accidentally" elbowed by Analisa.

Respond to both prompts.

Prompt 1: Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's Ecological model, examine the impact of culture on the client's experience of trauma. Identify some of the barriers that may prevent Mahin from seeking help.

Prompt 2: How do you see culture and trauma intersecting (or potentially intersecting) in your work with clients?

Consider the following questions while forming your responses to the discussion prompt above:

• How did the articles/readings/video impact your understanding of the topic being discussed?
• How did you react to the articles/readings?
• What did you learn from the readings/video?
• What are its strengths or limitations?