Working With Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Brenna

Brenna is an 18-year-old, heterosexual, African American female. She is pregnant, residing in a homeless shelter, and has no income source. Brenna was raised by her biological mother in a one-bedroom apartment in an urban neighborhood. When Brenna was 15 years old, her mother began dating a new man. This man sexually assaulted Brenna while they were home alone one evening. She immediately disclosed the sexual assault to her mother who called her a liar and told her to move out. Brenna then lived in a variety of situations, sometimes residing with friends for short periods and sometimes living in a youth shelter. During this period she attended high school intermittently but did not graduate.

After her 18th birthday, Brenna moved in with her boyfriend, Cameron. Also living in the household were Cameron’s mother, his 16-year-old sister, and a 7-year-old brother. Shortly after moving in with Cameron, Brenna became pregnant with his child. Prior to the pregnancy, Cameron would often abuse her physically, verbally, and emotionally. When Brenna announced the pregnancy, Cameron became even more violent, accused her of sleeping with other men, and denied paternity of the baby. When Brenna was 4 months pregnant, Cameron attempted to strangle her, so Brenna moved to a shelter. Although the shelter was willing to house Brenna and her newborn temporarily, their policy required Brenna to secure new living arrangements prior to giving birth.

I was assigned to be Brenna’s social work case manager at this shelter. Brenna and I worked together to set manageable goals during her stay at the shelter and also developed a plan for ongoing mental health support. Utilizing individual case manage- ment sessions, I worked with Brenna to prioritize goals regarding nancial stability, permanent housing, and medical care. Brenna had dif culty reading and writing, so we worked together to