Trauma is an individual’s response to an emotionally distressing and unexpected event which overwhelms their capacity to manage. It can be a single event or enduring activity, which completely overwhelms the individual’s ability to manage the emotions associated with the experience. Traumatic events shatter an individual’s assumptions of trust, and shake the basis of their beliefs about safety.
Research has clearly demonstrated the link between severe abuse and traumatic responses in children.
What are the signs of trauma?
Many of the emotional, behavioural, and cognitive signs and symptoms of the post traumatic period are due to the futile efforts of the child to re-organise, re-evaluate and return to their pre-traumatic world – an impossible task.
A traumatised child may have reactions that can include denial, fear, anger, guilt, sadness, and confusion. Though these reactions are unusual and disturbing, they are typical and are a normal response to abnormal events. Indeed, these are an important part of the usual recovery process.
How does trauma affect a child?
For a child who has experienced significant and early abuse, there is an interruption to the normal developmental processes, and these have a severe detrimental impact on the acquisition of self concept, autobiographical memories, regulation of emotions, and empathic response.
Even more concerning has been emerging research findings, which clearly demonstrate that a traumatic experience does have a dramatic impact on the development of a child’s brain. This can result in irreversible changes, and may lead to elevated levels of arousal, hypervigilance, aggression, hyperactivity, behavioural impulsivity and inattention. These in turn have dire consequences on attainment of skills mastery, academic performance, social integration, solving life problem, and general mental health.
What ought to be done for traumatised children?
For a child that has experienced significant harm, their sense of safety and trust will need to be restored. This means that removal to a new environment will be critical. However, this alone is insufficient.
Each child will need to make sense of their traumatic experiences, and address the emotional issues arising from them. This requires a supportive and nurturing environment that allows and facilitates the child to explore the pain and rage associated with the trauma. For many placements this will not be able to be contained.
Therapeutic residential childcare that facilitates the child’s exploration of these emotions is essential to their recovery.
How does trauma impact on children?
Following any traumatic experience, an individual attempts to re-organise, re-evaluate and return to their pre-traumatic world. For children this presents a significant challenge as they often do not have the capacity to understand or explain the experience. Indeed, younger children may make many false assumptions about the event and its likely origin, finding a possible cause in their own thoughts or actions.
Abused and neglected children will often take personal responsibility for the pain and suffering inflicted upon them by adults. If the harm leads to separation from the family of origin, the child will usually blame themselves for this highly invasive intervention. Removal from the family home and familiar surroundings is distressing for a child, and will further compound the emerging traumatic response.
Do all children have a significant reaction to traumatic experience?
The majority of children who have a traumatic experience will have a severe reaction. Research has shown that there are mediating factors that increase or decrease the risk of a severe traumatic response. Factors that increase the risk of a severe emotional response include, multiple or repeated events, perpetrator is a family member, physical injury, chaotic family environment, distant or absent care provider; while factors likely to reduce risk include, single event, perpetrator is a stranger, strong cultural or religious beliefs, intact and supportive family.
Do traumatised children need intervention and support?
In general, the majority of children who experience a severe event will require some assistance in their efforts to obtain equilibrium in a radically altered world. Early intervention is best as the traumatised child will lack the skills to make sense of the experience without objective and supportive assistance.
What treatment modality is best for a traumatised child?
The research literature clearly shows that there is no one particular intervention that offers a complete and definitive treatment for traumatised children. However, the four most common categories describing interventions are: cognitive behavioural, psychotherapeutic, developmental (attachment), and neurodevelopmental.
Without a planned positive intervention, the impact of trauma will be ongoing and have severe consequences for a child. A careful and considered intervention will make a significant difference and maximise the prospect of a child reaching their potential.
What is trauma?