MSW 525 MODULE 8

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Trauma Treatment Plan: Eva Benitez

STUDENT NAME

Master of Social Work, Chamberlain University College of Health Professions

MSW 525 Trauma Treatment for Children and Adolescents

Dr. Jessica Benito

DATE

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Trauma Treatment Plan: Eva Benitez

The focus of this treatment plan will be Eva Benitez from the movie Freedom Writers

(LaGravenese, 2007). Eva is a 14-year-old Latina teenager who grew up in a community filled

with racial tension, gangs, and violence (LaGravenese, 2007). She attended Woodrow Wilson

High School in Long Beach, California (LaGravenese, 2007). Eva is strong and caring, but due

to what she has experienced, she often appears angry or defensive. One of the hardest things she

experienced as a child was seeing a man get shot while she sat on her porch (LaGravenese,

2007). After that, the police arrested her father for the crime, even though she knew he was not

the one who did it (LaGravenese, 2007). This event caused Eva to lose trust in the police and

other authority figures and made her feel even more pressure to stay loyal to her family and

gang. Her father’s incarceration and the constant violence around her left Eva struggling with

who she is, where her loyalty should be, and what her future could look like. This paper will

focus on Eva’s trauma history, the problems she struggles with, and a treatment plan that uses the

Safety-Focused phase of Trauma Systems Therapy. It will also look at her strengths, barriers,

and potential solutions to help her move forward.

Treatment Plan: Priority Problems

Priority Problem 1: Exposure to Violence and Trauma

When Eva is exposed to reminders of violence or the fear of losing someone close, she

responds by becoming defensive and angry. She often goes into a fight-or-flight state, using

aggression or withdrawing to protect herself. This can be understood through her past

experiences of growing up surrounded by gang violence and witnessing a man get shot in front

of her father’s home, which led to her father’s arrest. These experiences taught her that survival

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required staying tough and never showing weakness. This problem is a priority because her

unresolved trauma is closely tied to her anger, mistrust, and hypervigilance. Until she begins to

work through it, she will struggle to feel safe enough to fully engage in treatment.

Priority Problem 2: Conflict Between Family Loyalty and Personal Needs

When Eva is exposed to family expectations that go against her own needs, she usually

shuts down or acts out. She goes into a freeze or flight state where she feels stuck and conflicted.

This comes from her father going to prison and the strong influence he had on her, which

pressured her to stay loyal to her family and culture even when it wasn’t safe. She often felt like

she couldn’t make her own choices without letting her people down. This was clear when she felt

conflicted about testifying in court against her boyfriend, who killed a student from her school

(LaGravenese, 2007). Because of that choice, she ended up being disowned by her family and

gang friends. This problem needs to be addressed because her guilt and fear are holding her back.

If it isn’t worked through, Eva will stay stuck between her family’s expectations and her own

well-being.

Priority Problem 3: Distrust of Authority Figures

When Eva is exposed to authority figures, she often reacts with distrust and resistance.

She challenges adults quickly as a way of protecting herself from being hurt or ignored. This

comes from her past experiences with teachers, police, and others in power who judged her

community and dismissed her struggles. As a child, Eva witnessed a man being shot while she

was sitting on her porch (LaGravenese, 2007). Even though she knew who the shooter was, the

police broke into her home and arrested her father for the crime (LaGravenese, 2007). Watching

her father being taken away for something he didn’t do reinforced her belief that people in power

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were not safe or trustworthy. Eva has also expressed that she hates white people because she

feels they hold all the power. This problem is a priority because without addressing her distrust,

Eva will struggle to accept help from support systems or therapeutic relationships. Building trust

with safe adults is necessary for her to make progress in treatment.

Priority Problem 4: Struggles With Identity and Hopelessness About the Future

When Eva is exposed to conversations about her future, she avoids the topic or says it

doesn’t matter. She shuts down and feels hopeless, unable to picture a life different from what

she knows. This comes from growing up around poverty and violence, where she saw people in

her community stuck in the same cycles. Because of this, she has low self-esteem and little belief

that her life could change. This is important to work on because without hope or a stronger sense

of self, Eva won’t be motivated to focus on her growth. Helping her build confidence and see

new possibilities is key to her healing.

Key Players in Eva’s Treatment Plan

The Child

Eva is the most important member of her treatment team. Including her in the plan gives

her a sense of control and keeps her motivated. She will join therapy to work on her trauma,

manage emotions, and set personal goals like staying in school and using coping skills.

Family Members

Eva’s mother is part of the plan to give family support and keep Eva tied to her culture,

even if their relationship is strained. Her father is included if it is safe, since his influence shaped

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her views on loyalty and identity. Limited involvement from him can help Eva work through her

loyalty conflict and begin to heal from that pain.

Mentor

A mentor is included to give Eva guidance and provide a safe adult relationship outside

of family and peers. Since Eva struggles with trust, a consistent and supportive mentor can

slowly help her rebuild confidence in adults and show her healthier ways to make choices.

Teacher

Ms. Gruwell is included because school is such an important part of Eva’s life. She has

already built trust with Eva and showed her that not all authority figures are against her. Having

Ms. Gruwell on the team gives Eva encouragement to stay engaged in school and see education

as a way forward.

Therapist

The therapist’s role is to give Eva a safe and structured space to process her trauma, learn

coping skills, and work on her identity outside of gang ties. Therapy is essential for helping Eva

manage survival states and build healthier emotional regulation.

School Social Worker

A school social worker can help connect Eva to resources and check in on how she is

doing at school. They can also serve as another safe adult for her and help maintain open

communication between school and home, ensuring her needs are supported in both places.

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Initial Phase of Intervention for Eva

Eva shows survival states like anger, shutting down when she feels conflicted, and

avoiding conversations about her future. Her environment is unsafe since she lives in a violent

community, faces gang pressure, and goes to a school where she does not always feel protected.

One of the most impactful experiences from her past was watching a man get shot in front of her

home and then seeing the police arrest her father for the crime, even though she knew he was

innocent. Experiences like this left her feeling unsafe and mistrustful. Eva’s intervention will

begin in the safety-focused phase, as this phase is needed when a child is showing survival states

and is also living in a harmful environment.

The safety-focused phase is the most appropriate intervention to begin with because Eva

cannot begin to work on regulating her emotions or processing trauma until she feels secure in

her daily life. Saxe et al. (2016) explain that children need safety and stability before they can

move forward in treatment. For Eva, this means surrounding her with protective factors, such as

supportive adults like Ms. Gruwell, a mentor, and her therapist, as well as safe peer connections.

Starting here gives her the stability she needs to eventually engage in treatment, rebuild trust, and

begin to see hope for her future.

Solution Planning for Eva’s Treatment

Eva’s treatment starts in the Safety-Focused phase because she lives in a harmful

environment and her caregivers have not always been able to protect her when she shifts into

survival states. The goal here is to make her environment feel safer and to lower the chances she

will fall into survival states. Her exposure to violence and trauma, individual therapy will give

Eva a safe space to talk about what she has witnessed, like the shooting in front of her father’s

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home, while also teaching coping skills for anger and fear. This solution helps her manage

survival states and slowly rebuild trust in her safety (Saxe et al., 2016). For her conflict between

family loyalty and her own needs, family therapy, parent education, and mentoring are key.

These supports improve communication with her mother, help both parents understand trauma,

and show Eva she can value her family while still making safe choices. Including her father,

even in a limited way, eases the pressure she feels to stay loyal at all costs.

For her distrust of authority, building steady relationships with safe adults such as her

therapist, Ms. Gruwell, and a mentor will replace negative experiences with positive ones. This

helps Eva learn that not all authority figures will harm or dismiss her. Furthermore, her struggles

with identity and hopelessness, school support, and a positive peer group give her safe daily

connections and reduce gang pressure. These solutions create a sense of belonging and show her

new possibilities for the future. Each solution links directly to the problems in Eva’s plan and

matches the Safety-Focused phase by stabilizing her environment and building protection around

her. Once these areas are more secure, Eva will be ready for the next stage of treatment.

Strengths and Barriers in Eva’s Treatment Plan

Strengths

Eva has some personal strengths that can help in her treatment. She has already shown

she can trust adults like Ms. Gruwell, which means she can open up when she feels respected.

She also demonstrates resilience by continuing to attend school despite the stress at home and in

her community. Her loyalty and strong sense of justice, while sometimes creating problems, can

also be redirected as positive values to support her growth and development. An important

environmental strength is the support she receives at school. With Ms. Gruwell and possibly a

school counselor, the school can become a safe base for her. Access to a mentor or youth

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program is another strength, as it gives her safe peer connections and consistent adult support

outside of her neighborhood.

Barriers

Eva has a hard time trusting authority because of her past experiences with the police and

other adults who judged her community. She also struggles with choosing between being loyal to

her family and keeping herself safe, which leaves her feeling stuck. Another big barrier is that

she lives in a violent neighborhood where there is a lot of gang pressure. Poverty also limits her

options for safe activities and resources. Even at school, while she has supportive adults, there

may still be negative peer influences that can trigger her survival states.

These strengths and barriers guide the treatment plan because they show where protective

factors already exist and where risks need to be reduced. In line with the Safety-Focused phase,

the plan will use Eva’s existing supports at school and her ability to connect with trusted adults

while addressing harmful environments, family conflicts, and her mistrust of authority (Saxe et

al., 2016).

Triggers and Stressors in Eva’s Case

Using the Moment-by-Moment Assessment, Eva has different reminders and stressors

that can set off her survival states. One major reminder is police or law enforcement, since she

saw her father arrested for a crime he did not commit. This makes her connect the police with

fear and injustice. Another reminder is violence in her neighborhood, like gunshots, fights, or

seeing gang activity, which brings her back to the shooting she witnessed as a child. School can

also be a stressor when she feels judged by authority figures or compared to others, since she

already struggles with trust. Family conflict is another reminder, especially when her father

pressures her about loyalty or when she feels she is letting her family down. Even conversations

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about her future can be a stressor, because she often feels hopeless and unable to imagine a life

outside of her current environment.

Conclusion

Eva’s treatment plan centers on the Safety-Focused phase of Trauma Systems Therapy to

make sure her environment feels more stable and supportive. The plan highlights both her

strengths and barriers while involving key people who can guide her progress, such as her

therapist, mentor, Ms. Gruwell, and her parents. Starting here will help Eva build trust, use

coping skills, and feel safer in her daily life. These supports give her a base to keep moving

forward in treatment and work toward healing over time.

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Reference

LaGravenese, R. (Director). (2007). Freedom writers [Film]. Paramount Pictures.

Saxe, G., Ellis, B.H. & Brown, A. (2016). Trauma systems therapy for children and teens.

Guilford Press