The Challenges Faced by Psychologists, Counselors, and Social Workers
The expansion in the scale of human trafficking presents challenges to government and law enforcement agencies in curbing this practice. However, psychologists, counselors, and social workers face the challenges of rehabilitating the survivors of this heinous activity. The challenges faced by the councilors is that a majority of the survivors are still victimized which affects their self-esteem and discourages them from seeking and accepting help. Additionally, a majority of the survivors’ attendance to group therapies is involuntary which poses challenges to leaders of such therapies. It is, therefore, important to identify exercises that can be employed by groups of adolescent girls who are victims of human trafficking.<\/p>
Opening Exercise: Games and Crafts
The first opening exercise that can be employed by group leaders is the use of games and crafts. Games and crafts enable participants to open up and encourages interaction among the group members. Additionally, the crafts and games can be themed such that myths and facts about human and sex trafficking are easily identified. Games that can be played include communication board games that help the survivors in expressing themselves. Card games can be good icebreakers, but can also be used to convey information regarding different activities that are considered as trafficking and measures that can be adopted to avoid exploitation. Crafts such as drawings are essential as they enable individuals to unconsciously express themselves enabling group leaders to draw effective rehabilitation paths. Some of the drawings may involve clocks that depict the waiting processes that the girls went through and most of the drawings showcase a sorrowful aspect.<\/p>
Opening Exercise: Multi-Generational Profiling
The other opening exercise that a social worker can replicate is the multi-generational profiling. The girls are asked to write the names of old, middle-aged, and young women whom they admire or feel close to especially if they are family. The activity involves the girls writing or narrating short stories about the identified three women with variously given prompts. The prompts provided will seek to create an understanding of the challenges that affect women thus providing insights into better personal lives. Furthermore, the group leader will facilitate the identification of romanticized areas and the correct areas in attempts to differentiate public and private lives. This exercise helps identify the hostile social and economic environments and means by which the identified women have overcome.<\/p>
The Importance of Maintaining a Positive Attitude and Using Games and Crafts
In the discussion of group therapy, a lot of scholarship has been conducted and literature is written to support the different rationales. Schimmel and Jacobs (2011) state that it is important for leaders to maintain a positive attitude in the group discussion as it helps in the engagement with participants. The creation of a positive attitude through games and association with multi-generational women enables the participants to feel like members of the group that they are accepted thus enabling them to open up and start the healing process. Furthermore, Hickle and Roe-Sepowitz (2014) identify that games and crafts educate the girls on the activities that constitute human trafficking. In their article, the authors identify various instances where girls are educated on things they did not consider as trafficking in the course of different games.<\/p>
The Effectiveness of Games and Multi-Generational Profiling in Group Therapy
Games and multi-generational profiling create a conducive environment for teenage girls as they ice break, provide informal channels of sharing, and provide better stories for the girls too associate. Additionally, the involvement in groups of people with similar experiences provides a conducive environment for the girls which encourages them to share. The described exercises encourage cohesion in the group as games and crafts encourage collaboration while multi-generational profiling provides girls with opportunities to indirectly air their aspirations. Consequently, the above exercises are effective in the group therapy of trafficked adolescent girls.<\/p>
References
Hickle, K. E., " Roe-Sepowitz, D. E. (2014). Putting the pieces back together: A group intervention for sexually exploited adolescent girls. Social Work with Groups, 37(2), 99-113.
Schimmel, C.J., " Jacobs, E. (2011). When leaders are challenged: Dealing with involuntary members in groups. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 36(2), 144-158.
