Our faculty member is Kirby Reutter, Ph.D. He’s a bilingual clinical psychologist specializing in trauma work with asylum seekers, including the use of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
Client Presentation
For this clinical case, exemplifying how treatment using trauma-focused DBT might unfold, the client has been given the name of Maria. She is 19 years old, a Hispanic woman from Nicaragua, and presents with a chronic history of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Precipitants
Maria’s father left the family when she was two years old. Her mother remarried, and her stepfather started molesting Maria weekly when she was five. When intoxicated, he was prone to violent rages, and would beat Maria’s mother in front of her and her three siblings.