CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

Psychology- Childhood Trauma/Post Traumatic Stress

Psychology- Childhood Trauma/Post Traumatic Stress

Introduction

Experiencing childhood trauma entails the potential of adversely impacting development and functioning in numerous ways. A broad array of mental health diagnoses and symptoms are exhibited by children who experience trauma, and a considerable percentage of youth build up serious risk and psychopathology behaviors (Kisiel & Lyons, 2001; Kilpatrick, et.al, 2003; Herman, 1992; Kendall-Tacket, Williams & Finkelhor, 1993). The current theoretical and empirical studies on childhood trauma point out that chronic exposure to family violence, child abuse, and different interpersonal trauma type could affect functioning across interpersonal, physiological, cognitive, behavioral and emotional domains, and could direct to dysregulation (van der Kolk, 2005; Herman, 1992; Cook, et.al, 2005). Youth that is exposed to trauma might persist on developing novel symptoms with the passage of time in the company on heightening severity, because these children are confronted with new developmental or stressor challenges (StreekFisher & van der Kolk, 2000; Brown, Cohen, Johnson & Smailes, 1999). Violence and trauma against children are acknowledged as important problems of the society, which at times direct to extensive service needs and ongoing difficulties into adulthood. Therefore, comprehending the trauma effects has turned out to be a mental health priority and is worthy of vigilant concentration for ensuring that the children are given the most apposite services feasible for best addressing such requirements (Tolan & Guerra, 1998; Saunders & Meinig, 2000). Particularly the child welfare and child protective systems have been charged with caring and intervening for the families and children that are traumatized. Such systems are frequently challenged by the complex sets of diagnoses and responses children have at the time they come in the system perusing decades of exposure to child abuse or chronic neglect at the hands of their caregivers. This paper describes the psychological issues involved in the assessment of past history of child trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, the paper describes the ethical and legal issues involved in the assessment of past history of child trauma. In addition to this the paper even evaluates whether the therapeutic process can create false, traumatic memories for clients or not.

Discussion

A vital step for better comprehending the complex trauma and particular strengths and needs of children and their families that have been traumatized, is comprehensive assessment; the offered services and treatment must even be unswervingly linked to the findings of the assessment (Courtois, 2004). The strengths assessment, which is frequently neglected, might be specifically significant for identifying the probable areas for developing resilience. In addition to this, it is significant to keep assessing the children from time to time as the functional difficulties and mental health could vary with the changing life circumstances and the developmental impact (Margolin & Gordis, 2000). Enduring comprehensive assessment is specifically significant for youth in the systems of child welfare who have authenticated neglect and chronic abuse pasts, and exposure to different factors of risk (such as parental mental ailment); the supplementary removal stress from their communities, schools, homes, and caregivers; and ...