How trauma can affect a child’s brain, development and relationships
You’re familiar with those words and may even mention them in everyday conversations, such as “that was traumatic”, but what does that actually mean?
How does trauma affect children’s brains?
How does trauma impact the way kids relate to others?
And how does trauma impact kids day-to-day functioning?
The answers are complicated and depend mostly on the type of trauma a child has experienced.
Identifying the types trauma in children
Trauma in children is generally understood as a child’s response to a major catastrophic event that is so overwhelming it leaves them unable to come to terms with it. There are different types of trauma which result in differing impacts on children and different symptoms and signs exhibited.
Identifying the trauma type and symptoms can let us know what support is needed.
A single event, or simple trauma (not simple as in not significant, but simple opposed to complex) is treated differently to complex trauma.
For example, treating a child who has been in a traumatic car accident is different to treating a child who has experienced the repeated trauma of abuse and neglect.
Trauma can also be intergenerational. Intergenerational trauma means that the traumatic experiences a parent, family, or community experienced years prior to the current generation, changes the way the next generation understands, copes with and heals from trauma.
Treatment for simple or complex trauma in children
Trauma has many causes, factors, types, symptoms and treatments.
Many children can experience a one-off trauma and recover. Other children may experience complex trauma and require specialised support and treatment.
Both simple and complex trauma activate a child’s limbic system of the brain, resulting in higher levels of activation of neural pathways and in some cases higher anxiety levels. Anxiety symptoms that result from a simple trauma is actually a child’s brain's way of trying to protect them from further trauma and assure their survival.
Children who have experienced complex trauma often have a very overactive Amygdala (part of the limbic system), requiring techniques and strategies to reduce the child's automatic reactive responses to threat.
The Amygdala is often associated with the “flight, fight, freeze” response. An overactive Amygdala is common in children who have experienced relational trauma compared to children who have experienced a one off (simple) trauma.
Some children who have experienced trauma continue to be exposed to the same trauma, and the same brain response. The Amygdala is also key to anxiety treatment, and why it's so important to address brain neurobiology to reduce anxiety and fear-based responses going forward.
The importance of a trusted adult for child with trauma and anxiety
One of the main factors in trauma treatment imperative to recovery, is an available, secure, attuned adult to assist the child to feel safe and practice brain-based strategies, while also working on the child's relational template (being the internalised relational pattern that has been learned through repeated exposure and applied to interpersonal circumstances throughout life). Relational templates are activated by specific context driven interactions. For most children, their relational templates are developed through positive interactions with a trusted parent or caregiver. For a child that has experienced ongoing trauma of abuse and neglect from a parent or caregiver, they may have never had the experience of an unconditionally available, supportive, attuned adult to assist them to feel safe. This adult may also be the source of fear and significant harm.
A trauma therapist can help support the child to manage memories, triggers and reminders of the trauma, as well as building tolerance to the feelings associated with the thought/memory to reduce anxiety. This therapy can also assist the child to build new relational templates required to maintain positive and trusted relationships.
This has been a guest post from Sarah Elliott from Melbourne Edge.
Melbourne Edge specialises in working with children and families. They provide support and strategies to help you deal with worries, fears, anxiety, depression, harmful behaviours and trauma. If you have noticed a change in your child’s behaviour or they have experienced trauma, contact Melbourne Edge on 0478 129 135 or book directly on their website