Healing is possible...

Childhood Trauma

Every child deserves to be loved, protected, cherished and respected - without exception.

Childhood Trauma can refer to...

Single Event Trauma - Some examples include: car accidents or other accidents; experienced or witnessed assault; witnessed death or suicide; life-threatening illness requiring aggressive/painful treatments; etc.

Ongoing or Long-Term Trauma* - Some examples include:

emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse; neglect; racism; bullying; witnessed domestic violence; kidnapping; living in a war zone; witnessing the prolonged and painful death of a loved one; etc.

*When trauma is prolonged and occurs in an environment of captivity - such as is often the case with child abuse - it is referred to as complex trauma (Herman, 1992).

Whether a child who survives trauma will develop PTSD is determined by a number of factors including:

● the child's age and developmental stage when the trauma occurred;

● the kind of support the child received prior to, during, and after the trauma;

● whether the child was under additional stressors (physical or emotional) at the time of the trauma;

● how long the trauma lasted; and

● whether the trauma was caused intentionally by another person, and if so, whether that person was in the role of a trusted care giver.

Common trauma symptoms observed among survivors of complex trauma include:

greater vulnerability to repeated harm that is self-inflicted (e.g., self-injury, eating disorders, substance abuse) or at the hands of others
frequent feelings of being "zoned out" or "spaced out"
denial or amnesia about all or parts of the trauma
injury to self-concept (e.g., believing oneself to be "damaged", "broken", shameful or unloveable)
ongoing physical symptoms with no apparent physiological cause
difficulty managing or regulating emotions
inability to trust and/or feel close to others
lack of purpose or meaning in life
development of a bond with the perpetrator

(Courtois, 2004; Ford, Courtois, Steele, van der Hart & Nijenhuis, 2005; Herman, 1992, van der Kolk, 2002)