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Defusing Violence and Facilitating Recovery from Profound Dissociation

NCTSN Resource

Resource Description

Depicts a mother and her teenage daughter who have experienced severe family violence by an ex-husband/father in the past become embroiled in an intense verbal argument that escalates into sudden physical violence. Their therapist attempts to mediate the disagreement while not siding with either mother or daughter, and then must help the mother recover from shock and dissociation while simultaneously helping the daughter not run away and stay present in the room. Mother and daughter go through a complex series of emotional reactions (anger, fear, guilt, shame, grief) with the help of the therapist, and are able to make the shift from experiencing a flashback of violence to reconnecting with one another based on their core relationship.

Published in 2019

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