Case Study 3.1

Your client is a woman with two children who has just had her home destroyed by a flood. You are visiting with her in a crowded shelter as she sits in a chair with her sleeping toddler in her arms and a child about age 6 sitting quietly at her feet. She is saying very little in response to your light, conversational comments. She is looking down and away from you as you speak. Periodically, during your five-minute conversation, she has wiped a tear from her eye. In terms of rapport-building:

What might you do to extend an invitation to engage her in a dialogue? What might you do to show flexibility in terms of discussing the topic?

Exercise 3.1

What are the ways that you welcome (or anticipate welcoming) clients into sessions? Share with your colleague. How might you avoid using these welcoming strategies in a disaster setting, or how might you adapt such approaches to a disaster mental health setting?

Exercise 3.2

Imagine that you are counseling someone at a disaster site. What types of natural or human0-caused disasters do you anticipate being difficult for you? How would you work with these difficulties?