The intern and the challenging client

Abstract

The symptomatology and clinical treatments for physically and sexually abused children and adolescents are addressed in this article, with a special focus on adolescent clients who live with domestically violent and substance abusing families. A case presentation provides a detailed look at an intern's experience confronting the multitude of issues occurring simultaneously in the life of an adolescent client. A retrospective look at the intern's lack of experience and supervision while treating this adolescent client highlights the need for research into the overwhelming experience of interns in underfunded, understaffed and undersupervised domestic violence and sexual assault agencies.