Trauma and the Developing Brain - College of Education & Human ...

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Handout for Trauma, The Developing Brain, Healing and Emotional Regulation Seminars Karina A. Forrest-‐Perkins MHR LADC, 2011 Introduction to Childhood Trauma Traumatic experiences can have a devastating impact on a child, altering his or her physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development. In turn, the impact on the child has profound implications for his or her family, community and, ultimately, all of us. Caregivers, childcare providers, teachers, law enforcement, child protection workers, social workers, judges, nurses, pediatricians, and mental health service providers all will work with traumatized or maltreated children. Now that we have reviewed some of the disheartening information, let's hear some good news. With treatment, the effects of childhood trauma can be alleviated. Early and aggressive treatment of traumatized children decreases risk for developing PTSD and other trauma-‐related problems seen later in life. Treatments usually incorporate three elements: 1. Review and recollection of the traumatic experience 2. Information about the normal and expected processes of post-‐traumatic functioning 3. Focus on specific symptoms Despite the positive effects we know treatment has on trauma sufferers, the unfortunate reality is that most traumatized children do not get any help whatsoever. There is a dangerous belief among adults that children are "resilient" and can weather trauma naturally. Those children who do get services often have limited access and brief contacts. Early and sustained treatment for children who have suffered trauma is important if the long-‐term effects are to be avoided. The Alarm Reaction The human body and human mind each have a set of very important and very predictable responses to threat. Threat may come from an internal source, such as pain, or an external source, such as an assailant. One common reaction to danger or threat has been labeled the "fight or flight" reaction. In the initial stages of this reaction, there is a response called the alarm reaction . Think about what happens when you feel threatened. Your racing heart, sweaty palms, nausea, and sense of impending harm are all symptomatic of this alarm reaction. 18
Handout for Trauma, The Developing Brain, Healing and Emotional Regulation Seminars Karina A. Forrest-‐Perkins MHR LADC, 2011 When a person perceives a threat, the initial stages of a complex, total-‐body response will begin. The brain orchestrates, directs, and controls this response. The more threatened an individual feels, the further their brain and body will be shifted along an arousal continuum in an attempt to ensure appropriate mental and physical responses to the challenges of the threat. The cognitive (thinking), emotional, and behavioral functioning of the individual will all reflect this shift along the arousal continuum. During the traumatic event, all aspects of the individual's functioning change, including feeling, thinking, and behaving. For instance, someone under direct assault abandons thoughts of the future or abstract plans for survival. At that exact moment, all of the victim's thinking, behaving, and feeling is being directed by more primitive parts of the brain. A frightened child in a threatening situation doesn't focus on the words being spoken or yelled; instead, he or she is busy attending to the threat-‐related signals in their environment. The fearful child will key in to nonverbal signs of communication, cues such as eye contact, facial expression, and body posture, or proximity to the threat. The internal state of the child also shifts with the level of perceived threat. With increased threat, a child moves along the arousal continuum from vigilance through to terror. (See the above graph for different possible response scenarios.) The Arousal Continuum The arousal continuum is characterized by many physiological changes. Under threat, sympathetic nervous system activity increases in a gradual fashion. Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration are altered during the arousal response. Glucose stored in muscle is released to prepare the large skeletal muscles of your arms and legs for either a fight or a flight. 19
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