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Robert Rhoton PsyD Psychological Health and Wellness [email_address]
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Psychological trauma in early childhood can have a tremendous negative impact as it can distort the infant, toddler or young child’s social, emotional, neurological, physical and sensory development. This is especially true of young children who have experienced multiple and/or chronic, adverse interpersonal  events through the child’s care giving system.  The symptoms and behavioral characteristics can be categorized into  seven domains
Domain One Attachment - Uncertainty about the reliability and predictability of the world, problems with boundaries, distrust and suspiciousness, social isolation, difficulty attuning to other people's emotional states and points of view, difficulty with perspective taking and difficulty enlisting other people as allies.
Domain Two Biology - Sensorimotor developmental problems, problems with coordination, balance, body tone, difficulties localizing skin contact, hypersensitivity to physical contact, analgesia, somatization, increased medical problems
Domain Three Affect or emotional regulation - easily-aroused high-intensity emotions, difficulty with emotional self-regulation, difficulty describing feelings and internal experience, chronic and pervasive depressed mood or sense of emptiness or deadness, chronic suicidal preoccupation, over-inhibition or excessive expression of anger and difficulty communicating wishes and desires.
Domain Four Dissociation - distinct alterations in states of consciousness, amnesia, depersonalization and derealization and two or more distinct states of consciousness, with impaired memory for state based events.
Domain Five Behavioral control - poor modulation of impulses, self-destructive behavior, aggressive behavior, sleep disturbances, eating disorders, substance abuse, oppositional behavior, excessive compliance, pathological self-soothing behaviors, difficulty understanding and complying with rules and communication of traumatic past by reenactment in day-to-day behavior or play (sexual, aggressive, etc.).
Domain Six Cognition - difficulties in attention regulation and executive functioning, problems focusing on and completing tasks, difficulty planning and anticipating, learning difficulties, problems with language development, lack of sustained curiosity, problems with processing novel information, constancy, problems understanding own contribution to what happens to them, problems with orientation in time and space, acoustic and visual perceptual problems, impaired comprehension of complex visual-spatial patterns
Domain Seven Self-concept - lack of a continuous and predictable sense of self, low self-esteem, feelings of shame and guilt, generalized sense of being ineffective in dealing with one's environment, belief that one has been permanently damaged by the trauma, poor sense of separateness, disturbances of body image and shame and guilt
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Personality disorders assessment & treatment

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  • 30. Psychological trauma in early childhood can have a tremendous negative impact as it can distort the infant, toddler or young child’s social, emotional, neurological, physical and sensory development. This is especially true of young children who have experienced multiple and/or chronic, adverse interpersonal events through the child’s care giving system. The symptoms and behavioral characteristics can be categorized into seven domains
  • 31. Domain One Attachment - Uncertainty about the reliability and predictability of the world, problems with boundaries, distrust and suspiciousness, social isolation, difficulty attuning to other people's emotional states and points of view, difficulty with perspective taking and difficulty enlisting other people as allies.
  • 32. Domain Two Biology - Sensorimotor developmental problems, problems with coordination, balance, body tone, difficulties localizing skin contact, hypersensitivity to physical contact, analgesia, somatization, increased medical problems
  • 33. Domain Three Affect or emotional regulation - easily-aroused high-intensity emotions, difficulty with emotional self-regulation, difficulty describing feelings and internal experience, chronic and pervasive depressed mood or sense of emptiness or deadness, chronic suicidal preoccupation, over-inhibition or excessive expression of anger and difficulty communicating wishes and desires.
  • 34. Domain Four Dissociation - distinct alterations in states of consciousness, amnesia, depersonalization and derealization and two or more distinct states of consciousness, with impaired memory for state based events.
  • 35. Domain Five Behavioral control - poor modulation of impulses, self-destructive behavior, aggressive behavior, sleep disturbances, eating disorders, substance abuse, oppositional behavior, excessive compliance, pathological self-soothing behaviors, difficulty understanding and complying with rules and communication of traumatic past by reenactment in day-to-day behavior or play (sexual, aggressive, etc.).
  • 36. Domain Six Cognition - difficulties in attention regulation and executive functioning, problems focusing on and completing tasks, difficulty planning and anticipating, learning difficulties, problems with language development, lack of sustained curiosity, problems with processing novel information, constancy, problems understanding own contribution to what happens to them, problems with orientation in time and space, acoustic and visual perceptual problems, impaired comprehension of complex visual-spatial patterns
  • 37. Domain Seven Self-concept - lack of a continuous and predictable sense of self, low self-esteem, feelings of shame and guilt, generalized sense of being ineffective in dealing with one's environment, belief that one has been permanently damaged by the trauma, poor sense of separateness, disturbances of body image and shame and guilt
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Editor's Notes

  1. FRUSTRATION Trauma Spoiled Punitive or demanding parent values
  2. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  3. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  4. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  5. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  6. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  7. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  8. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.
  9. How Trauma Affects Children in Care Adopted children have already experienced trauma due to the loss of their birth parents. Additional losses and traumas experienced reopen previous traumas. Children who have lost their birth parents may be exposed to common childhood traumas, but because of their early experience, will often have more intense or “bigger” reactions to those new traumas than peers who are still with their birth families. (Discuss how multiple car accidents can lead to increased vulnerability. Same is true of multiple emotional injuries. End result is hypervigilance and inability to trust. Many learn to inappropriately self-soothe.) Children communicate through their behavior. When they react emotionally, their behavior is not willful. Children in care are also easily reminded of their earlier traumas, and events that would otherwise be neutral or even positive to healthy children become traumatic to hurt children. We call these events “triggers.” Explain that we will now look at some common trauma “triggers” for children in care.