Scenario 1

You are working in a Live In Treatment Centre (residential) that serves high risk youth (age 13-17).

You are meeting with a new admission for the first time. Maggie has just turned 16 and is of aboriginal background. Maggie was taken into CAS directly after birth due to the CAS concerns over her mother ability to take care of her.

Maggie was adopted before her first birthday by a non aboriginal family and has lived with them for all of her sixteen years.

Maggie has had on ongoing difficulties at school and in the community to the point where the police have been involved.

Maggie is currently out of school. Although Maggie does not like the idea of being placed out of her home she has agreed to placement.

You have been assigned to be her individual worker in the program and are meeting with her for the first time.

As you start your meeting with Maggie, she states that she does not trust you and you can't understand her. She states that she feels no one understands how difficult it has been for her living in a "white society" and feeling judged all the time. She loves her parents but states that they are not her family.

She says that her life has been "sh**" living in a white man world and she does not know her world.

Maggie wants to do better but feels that there is no point as she does not feel she fits in anywhere. Maggie has few friends who are older. Maggie does share that she has an ongoing fear that she will be abandoned and left without anyone. Recently Maggie became aware that her adoptive mother has been diagnosis with cancer.

You have been asked to meet with Maggie and develop the goals that she wants to work on while in the program.

Using the Trauma Informed slide as a framework -

1. Discuss how you would engage Maggie.
2. What would be the questions that you may want to ask during your initial meeting.
3. What would you want Maggie to take away from the meeting.
4. What do you see as the major challenges to treatment and how do you feel that you can overcome these.