Question

A young adult client has been meeting with a social worker due to a diagnosis of major depression. When discussing his childhood, the client reports that he was often bullied and humiliated by peers at school. The client reports this with a flat affect and a sense of detachment. The social worker should respond by:

A. Sharing a personal experience of being teased as a child.
B. Assist the client in developing awareness around his feeling related to being bullied.
C. Confront the client's denial.
D. Provide the client with psychoeducation on the relationship between bullying and depression.

Answer 1

The social worker should assist the client in developing awareness around his feelings related to the childhood bullying, fostering understanding and processing of suppressed emotions in a safe therapeutic environment.

Step-by-step explanation:

The social worker should respond by assisting the client in developing awareness around his feelings related to being bullied. This approach is supportive and therapeutic, facilitating the client’s understanding and processing of emotions which may be suppressed or disconnected from the experiences of bullying. This could involve exploring the client’s feelings in a safe environment and working through the emotional numbness that often accompanies traumatic experiences to foster healing.

Although providing psychoeducation on the relationship between bullying and depression is important, it might be more appropriate after addressing the client’s emotional detachment. Confronting the client's denial might be too aggressive and could harm the therapeutic relationship. Sharing personal experiences may make the session about the social worker rather than keeping the focus on the client's experiences and healing process.