Crisis Response Portfolio: Intimate Partner Violence Case Study
This paper presents a crisis response portfolio centered on a case study involving Jamie, a 28-year-old Latino immigrant male experiencing intimate partner violence in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The portfolio examines the ethical and legal responsibilities of professional counselors, including confidentiality obligations, mandatory reporting duties, and immigration-sensitive practice. It outlines disaster response resources, psychological first aid, suicide risk assessment, and detailed safety planning for sexual assault and domestic violence situations. Drawing on ACA ethical guidelines, Florida state statutes, and local community resources, the paper demonstrates how a counselor can develop a culturally responsive, legally compliant, and trauma-informed approach to crisis intervention for clients in complex family systems.
- Introduction: Understanding Intimate Partner Violence: Case background and systems-theory overview of Jamie
- Part 1: Roles and Responsibilities: Ethical, legal, and state protocol obligations for counselors
- Part 2: Disaster Response Resources: Red Cross and community resources for domestic violence
- Part 3: Suicide Risk Assessment and Safety: Suicide screening, state commitment law, and hotlines
- Part 4: Sexual Assault, Violence, and Safety Planning: Five-step individualized safety plan for Jamie
- References: Cited sources and professional guidelines
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What makes this paper effective
- Integrates ACA ethical codes directly into practice decisions, demonstrating applied professional ethics rather than abstract theory.
- Maintains cultural sensitivity throughout, acknowledging the client's immigration status, Latino background, and patriarchal cultural context without reducing the client to stereotypes.
- Provides a concrete, step-by-step safety plan written from the client's first-person perspective, making the intervention tool immediately practical and accessible.
- Connects national frameworks (e.g., NCTSN's eight core actions for psychological first aid) to specific local Florida and Miami-Dade resources.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied case conceptualization — taking an abstract clinical framework (systems theory, ACA ethics, state law) and translating it systematically into individualized client interventions. Each section moves from principle to practice, showing how a counselor reasons through ethical, legal, and resource considerations for a specific client profile.
Structure breakdown
The portfolio is organized into four numbered parts following a brief introduction: (1) ethical, legal, and protocol responsibilities; (2) disaster response resources including the Red Cross and community organizations; (3) suicide risk factors, assessment questions, commitment procedures, and resources; and (4) a detailed, multi-step safety plan for sexual assault and domestic violence, including immigration-sensitive provisions. A references section concludes the work.
Introduction: Understanding Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate partner violence affects clients across the socioeconomic, ethnic, age, and sexual orientation spectrums. Women are nearly twice as likely to experience violence or sexual abuse as men, but statistics should never obscure the fact that many men are also victims of intimate partner violence or household abuse (Sugg, 2015). While factors like patriarchal norms and gender roles frequently contribute to the etiology of intimate partner violence, counselors should be careful to avoid jumping to conclusions or applying stereotyped judgments when working with clients like Jamie.
Jamie is a 28-year-old Latino male. Born and raised in Honduras, Jamie might be considered a typical male in a patriarchal society, but the case conceptualization reveals a more complex pattern of abuse — especially when viewed through the lens of systems theory. Focusing on Jamie allows the counselor to provide insight into systemic issues, thereby lending insight into ways all family members can heal. For example, Jamie's behavior is in part modeled after that of his father, based on what the client has revealed about his own childhood. Jamie was himself sexually abused by an uncle, undoubtedly contributing to lingering trauma that precipitates the perpetuation of abuse. While Jamie is sometimes the aggressor in his relationship with Maria, Maria has also resorted to violent behavior against Jamie. Rigid concepts of masculinity, male virility, and male sexuality are also contributing factors in this case. Now that Sofia, the eight-year-old daughter of Jamie and Maria, is at risk for experiencing sexual abuse, case workers have a responsibility to intervene immediately.
Part 1: Roles and Responsibilities
Professional counselors working in a crisis situation like that of the Luna household have a direct ethical responsibility to intervene. While counselors are ethically obliged to maintain confidentiality with clients, there are exceptions to this rule — especially when "serious and foreseeable harm" may be at stake, as it is in this case (ACA Code of Ethics, B.2.a). The ACA also advises all counselors working on the same case to collaborate when making decisions related to confidentiality. ACA Code of Ethics provision B.4.b covers ethical behavior when working as part of a team on family cases. As the counselor working with Jamie, it is also necessary to remain sensitive to the client's immigration status and that of his wife, keeping such information confidential in accordance with ACA Code of Ethics B.1.c.
As the ACA Code of Ethics, B.2.a notes, counselors often have a legal obligation to report behaviors that threaten or jeopardize the safety of another person. The State of Florida also has laws that protect the best interests of each family member, with particular emphasis on Jamie's daughter. For example, state statute § 921.0024 requires the counselor to alert Jamie about the legal ramifications of exposing Sofia to domestic violence. The counselor is not legally obligated to report violations of American immigration law and absolutely should not do so in this particular case (Sconyers & Tate, 2016).
The State of Florida has requirements and protocols for an Emergency Response Team (ERT) that can be utilized when working with Jamie. The Florida Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies (CARE) includes an ERT with a crisis center and a transitional housing option in case one of the partners chooses to leave the household (FCADV, 2019). Food and clothing assistance may also be available to Jamie.
Florida offers an abundance of resources for clients like Jamie. The FCADV (2019) CARE emergency response operation can help Jamie receive transitional housing, food, and clothing assistance if the abuse were to escalate. Local resources are also important in this case. Miami-Dade County offers a Domestic Violence Assistance program, which provides job assistance during the relocation process as well as legal assistance should the case go to trial.
Part 3: Suicide Risk Assessment and Safety
Jamie did not mention suicidal thoughts or behaviors, but the counselor is responsible for inquiring directly about the presence of such thoughts.
Assessment questions that could help the counselor recognize risk factors or early warning signs include asking how often the client has morbid thoughts related to self-harm or self-annihilation, and to what degree the client has envisioned methods of carrying out an act of suicide. The counselor should also ask whether the client has attempted suicide in the past and whether the client believes that death would be a relief or an escape from current problems.
A safety plan for a suicidal client would extend beyond that of a domestic violence client like Jamie, beginning with a reliable crisis hotline such as the Miami-Dade County Crisis Intervention resource.
In the State of Florida, a person can be involuntarily committed if there is "substantial likelihood that in the near future he or she will inflict serious bodily harm on himself or herself or another person, as evidenced by recent behavior causing, attempting, or threatening such harm" (Mental Illness Policy, 2019).
Suicidal clients and their family members can access resources in the State of Florida and in Miami-Dade County. For example, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Miami) lists several hotlines that can be used by Jamie and other members of the Luna household.
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