Upon hearing the stories of sometimes horrific atrocities clients or client families have experienced, you as a social worker may find yourself confronting existential questions such as Why? For example, Why do horrible events happen to good people? Why do people abuse their children?
Trying to make sense of such trauma is not easy, and you may seek answers to these existential questions your whole life. And yet, there are opportunities for growth despite trauma for both clients and social workers. This is known as post-traumatic growth, where a renewed sense purpose or a more profound outlook on life is the by-product.

In this Discussion, you work to seek meaning from the trauma your clients experience and the subsequent healing you help your clients achieve in your social work practice.
To prepare:

Read about trauma-informed social work, and read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Vis, J.-A., & Boynton, H. M. (2008). Spirituality and transcendent meaning making: possibilities for enhancing posttraumatic growth. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 27(1/2): 69–86. http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/15426430802113814

Post:

In 1 sentence, identify an existential question with which you have grappled in relation to a client who has been traumatized.

Reflect on your fieldwork, or perhaps identify an existential question that might arise in working with the client in the case study you have selected throughout the course. (Case Study of Jack Levy)

In 3 to 4 brief sentences, describe where there is potential for growth for the client as a result of the trauma.
In 3 to 4 brief sentences, explain where there is potential for growth for you, the social worker, as a result of listening to the client’s stories and bearing witness to their trauma.
Describe any challenges you may experience between the meaning you hold based on your personal beliefs and working within the client’s potentially different belief framework.

Explaining Your Choice 
For each of the following questions, state which letter best answers or completes the question and give a brief explanation (2-3 sentences) for why that is the best choice. There is generally only one good answer per question, but sometimes there may be more than one, depending on how well you can justify your answer. NO CREDIT for answers without explanations, and the explanation must logically justify your choice.
 1.  How was the role of women in the Islamic world influenced by the Arabic conquest of Mesopotamia and Persia?
a. Female infanticide was declared illegal.
b. Islamic society became more patriarchal. 
c. Islamic society became much less patriarchal.  
d. Polygamy was outlawed.  
e. A fertility goddess rose to challenge Allah.
    2.   During the Tang and Song period the imperial civil service examinations
            a.    declined dramatically in importance.
            b.     were halted and not restarted until the Ming dynasty. 
            c.    were expanded and allowed posts to be filled with officials of genuine intellectual ability.
 d.    were restricted to the wealthier families.
            e.    were adopted by the foreign Manchus and used to their advantage.
    3.    In relation to Chinese traditions and influences, Vietnamese women

a. were forced to accept foot binding.
b. had far fewer rights than Chinese women.
c. played a more prominent role in society and the economy.   
d. were excluded from the local marketplaces.
e. wrote many more books than their Chinese counterparts did.
4.    Which of the following Indian concepts did NOT become popular in any of the Indianized states of southeast Asia?
a. Hinduism.
b. literary classics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
c. the caste system. 
d. conducting official business in Sanskrit.
e. the creation of a Confucian class of scholarly bureaucrats.
5.  In regard to attaining the imperial crown, Charlemagne
a. hesitated to call himself emperor out of respect for the Byzantine emperors. 
b. openly challenged the Byzantine emperors for the title.
c. accepted the preeminence of the more powerful Islamic empires.
d. laid siege to Rome in an attempt to force the popes to grant the title.
e. raised an army to attack Constantinople.
6.  During the period of Mongol domination,
a. trade slowed dramatically because of heavy taxation.
b. interaction between different peoples of Eurasia was limited by Mongol cruelty. 
c. unification was achieved by the implementation of a state religion.
d. long-distance trade became much less risky. 
e. trade was halted by the extension of the Great Wall of China.
7.      In terms of gender issues in sub-Saharan Africa, 
a. the position of women was essentially the same as in other societies of the time.
b. women had more opportunities open to them than did their counterparts in other societies. 
c. women played the dominant role in society.
d. women played a strictly subservient role. 
e. women had no opportunities and suffered worse than their counterparts elsewhere did.
8.      The investiture contest centered on
a. the struggle between Christian and Islamic forces for control of Jerusalem.
b. the high interest rates charged by Italian banks.
c. the appointment of church officials by imperial authorities. 
d. the ritualistic jousting among knights to prove their courage.
e. the conflict between France and England for control over Lombardy.
9.    In regard to political structure, the Aztec empire
a. developed a remarkably sophisticated bureaucracy.
b. developed a bureaucracy very similar to the Inca empire.
c. had no elaborate bureaucracy. 
d. was ruled by a priestly theocratic state.
e. developed a proto-democratic institution known as the Fire Hundred.
10.    Ibn Battuta was able to travel so extensively because
a. his military might made conquest easy.
b. he held a position as an envoy for the Mongols.
c. his religious and legal training allowed him to serve as qadi.
d. he traveled with Marco Polo.
e. he enjoyed diplomatic immunity as a diplomat for the Vatican.