Forced Assimilation Case Study

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Final Exam Nathanael Vitkus • What type of issues should the therapists be aware of issues that started after genocide & forced assimilation? Individuals who have survived genocide and forced assimilation might have survivor guilt; a condition brought about by being a survivor of a horrific event, in which the individuals who “make it” might question why they survived whereas others did not, they might feel guilty or somehow unworthy (not that worthiness is a factor to surviving a genocide). For therapists addressing this issue they should tread carefully, primarily by listening to them but being mindful of the effect of silence might have, engaging in their questions if therapeutic (but mindful yet again that sometimes there really isn’t an answer that suffices), and by putting them in contact with other genocide and forced assimilation survivors and/or a support group for survivors of a genocide or forced assimilation. Because while listening might help out the genocide or forced assimilation survivor, the support that can be provided by other survivors might be more beneficial because of it being an experience they survived together in a way, that they aren’t alone in the struggle of surviving. …show more content…

Therapists can address this by listening about what’s triggering them, the frequency, and what they do after they’ve been triggered. If a therapist is trained in CBT or DBT it might be beneficial to instruct the individual with PTSD in either form of therapy. It would also be beneficial for a therapist to present a holistic (mind, body, spirit) approach to PTSD because it could very possible that the individual might think that they can think themselves out of PTSD, or if they just take medicine to treat their PTSD,