Child Trauma

Signs of repetition include nightmares and flashbacks. The authors then discuss trauma resolution. They make the important point that children’s trauma must be discussed by direct disclosure in order for them to resolve their issues. Simple play therapy, these authors believe, is not adequate to do this.

Original Thesis Statement: Incorporating art-based activities and techniques effectively develops coping skills, self expression, open communication, and begins the healing process for children who have experienced trauma.

& Li, 2001). With the brain developing at its fastest rate in childhood, it is especially

“American Psychiatric Association defines trauma as an event that represents a threat to life or personal integrity. Trauma can also be experienced when children are faced with a caregiver who acts erratically, emotional and /or physical neglect, and exploitation” (Maltby, L., & Hall, T. 2012. p. 304). Trauma comes in many different forms including: war, rape, kidnapping, abuse, sudden injury, and

Challenges have varied throughout my life in both health complications and society itself. Early trauma has conflicted my mom for sometime whose brothers died in a horrendous drowning accident in 1979 . As life progressed and I came into the world, drug addiction and other illnesses manifested in our outside family, eventually making its way to my older sister. These events at a young age helped me understand reality faster than a normal person.

Since beginning the Early Childhood Trauma project little has not surprised me. When we first discussed the project and learned that the men volunteered to participate in this study due to personal desire I was shocked. Maybe it is due to my personal biases, but I would never expect these men, who have mainly negative experiences with institutions to participate in an institutionally based intervention project. The men volunteering for this project indicated that I should attempt to limit guiding my process by preconceived notions and instead be as partial as possible. My lack of understanding, misconceptions and absence of personal experience that relates to these topics no doubt is partially why I find the majority of the information surprising. However, the experience of our first meeting, which I am examining here, was surprising for a different set of reasons. There were several moments during our meeting with DeAndre, Luis, Angle, Junito and Ron I would classify as 'disorienting', and I will reflect and synthesize them in the following paper. They apply to atmosphere, unforeseen commonalities and knowledge,

There are many types of trauma that people experience everyday in our world. People can do awful things to each other, including violence, abuse, and neglect. Accidents happen that leave us feeling distressed. Some threaten our sense of safety and connection. These are all experiences that take time to heal and recover from. We must find a way to reconcile the life we had before it happened and the life as we know it after a tragic event. The pain of the memories alone can be devastating. It takes time and support to find a sense of self again, to feel safe in the world again. But what if the trauma happened before life ever really began? Is there any lasting effect on a person that was merely an infant when the trauma was experienced?

Stories and illustrative examples of art-based interventions provided evidence-based approaches using art therapy to heal the children of trauma. There are connections between what the art revealed and how it opened up a line of communication for the child and adult. Art benefited the child by providing a medium to express and communicate the traumatic experiences. It also helped a child seek self-development, reduce physical stress, and improve methods of dealing with traumatic memories. Art therapy also benefited the teacher by providing meaningful approaches to address the child, ask questions, build a trusting relationship, and develop further healing approaches.

This model provides flexibility to a semi-structured concept to encourage creativity among counseling professionals. As a future Marriage and Family Therapist, I have a strong connection with using theories encompassing the family dynamics and culture. As a proponent of Play Therapy interventions, I enjoy teaching clients emotion regulation and relaxation techniques through creative activities in the best interest of the client. Furthermore, conjoining parent-child sessions not only provides growth of the child but unites the family and increases skill building for all individuals attending sessions. Conversely, unlike other trauma models, TF-CBT provides clients with multiple phases of cognitive coping and processing to explore and correct negative distortions through building confidence and skills. Teaching the child and parent’s relaxation breathing, effective emotion expression, and cognitive coping skills prepare the family for modules deemed difficult because sharing the traumatic experience involves painful emotions. Consequently, processing the child’s trauma nearing the end of treatment allows the counselor and family to build a strong therapeutic relationship in multiple sessions prior to the trauma narrative and processing the traumatic experience. This trauma model provides hope for traumatized individuals to take back the

Exposure to domestic violence can impact the behavioral, social-emotional, and cognitive development of children. Children who are exposed to domestic violence tend to exhibit more aggressive behaviors with their peers, show signs of depression, and have a difficult time forming relationships (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Cognitively, studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence may have difficulties learning and concentrating in school, have difficulties with conflict resolution skills, and may believe in male privilege, (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Concentration is difficult for children exposed to domestic violence because of how unsafe they may feel in their surroundings. They may be preoccupied with the violence that is

ACEs and the Brain: Decreased Brain Volumes With Higher ACES and the Role of Sex

Child therapy differs greatly from adult therapy in a way where in adult therapy, a person is expected to talk about their feelings while the therapist sits there to listen and take notes. With child therapy, there is no way to do that without the child getting bored about sitting still and talking about their feelings. According to child therapist Douglas Green, child therapy should be done in the language of play. Children are more expressive about their feelings and they grow a lot more when they are playing games, with toys, engaging in activities, through drawing, and some other forms of art (Green, 2012). In other words, the child will recover and grow more from the divorce of their parents or the death of their dog or family issues in general if they link up with a therapist and be able to express themselves by engaging in any type of play, than talking about their feelings. By doing this, a therapist will get more feedback from the child instead of forcing them to just sit still and ask them questions. Play therapy, along with other methods specifically designed for child therapy, focuses on the child’s emotional well-being, it serves as a healthy way to express their concerns and feelings, and it helps improve their relationship with those around them especially their families.

The issues surrounding children’s behaviour after a traumatic experience are complex, multifactorial and often hugely controversial. Having considered the literature on the subject, one could be forgiven for believing that there are as many opinions on the issues as there are people considering the issues.

“These kids can be so easily brainwashed.” (Gettleman, 6) Meaning that when children are lured to these camps, kidnapped or think that it is is going to be okay going there , they are forced to join the military, and they are forced to take up a job such as a spy or fire on the front lines, or become a slave. They are taught this with really no choice. Usually the kids have lost something. Such as people that make up most of their life, which causes even more trauma . It is not just that, but they are given drugs and alcohol to erase their minds and even forget who they are. “Using gun powder and cocain, marijuana, brown pills, white pills”, and alcohol. Said Ishmael Beah. All of these things are used to erase any memories and everything they

This article is recent, published within a peer-reviewed journal. The author-conducted research is empirical, qualitative and phenomenologically designed, uniquely enabling children to describe their play therapy experiences and identify factors that influence these experiences.