Trauma in children and young people

Trauma might be described in terms of an event experienced, or the effects or consequences (symptoms) of the event. In the latter case, the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV-TR1 is the most quoted source for defining post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This collection of symptoms is helpful in indicating when trauma is severe enough to need serious treatment. Smaller trauma, on the other hand, is often neglected by therapists, doctors and the general population as something we just have to cope with. But the effects of even small trauma in childhood are seriously accumulative and often underrated. It is also arguable that untreated attachment difficulties in early childhood can increase the likihood of PTSD – but this statement still rests on anecdotal evidence.

Newsletter

English

Philip Dutton

Dutton, P. (2007, September). Trauma in children and young people. Counselling Children and Young People, 1-10