It\u2019s vital we understand what are considered traumatic events, recognize the signs children exhibit (though they vary in age and developmental stage), and know what treatments are available to support those affected.<\/p>\n
Children experiencing trauma responses may have experienced:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n- Physical or emotional bullying<\/li>\n
- Involvement in an accident<\/li>\n
- Natural disasters<\/li>\n
- Sexual abuse or exploitation<\/li>\n
- Terrorism<\/li>\n
- Community violence<\/li>\n
- Serious illness<\/li>\n
- Physical abuse<\/li>\n
- Witnessing domestic violence<\/li>\n
- Neglect<\/li>\n
- Grief or coping after the death of a loved one<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Blog-graphic_Child-Therapy.png\")
Recognizing Signs of Traumatic Stress in Children<\/strong><\/h4>\nA child may exhibit symptoms of traumatic stress when they are triggered by something that reminds them of the traumatic event. And while everyone exhibits reactions to stress, traumatic stress can manifest in ways that interfere with a child\u2019s daily life and how they relate to those around them. Some signs include:<\/p>\n
\n- Intense episodes or ongoing emotional upset<\/li>\n
- Depression and anxiety<\/li>\n
- Regressing in established skills<\/li>\n
- Nightmares and trouble sleeping<\/li>\n
- Difficulties self-regulating<\/li>\n
- Poor eating and weight loss<\/li>\n
- Displaying feelings of guilt or shame<\/li>\n
- Struggling to form attachments or relate to others<\/li>\n
- Older children may exhibit risky behavior in the form of drug or alcohol use, as well as unhealthy sexual activity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Treating Trauma with Therapy<\/h4>\n
Treatment can help children understand their traumatic responses and identify triggers, as well as decrease their stress symptoms, develop healthy coping skills, re-establish safety, and process their experience so their related memories and emotions are less disruptive. There are different therapeutic approaches to treating trauma.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/h5>\n
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/a> (or TF-CBT) understands parents and\/or caregivers significantly impact a child\u2019s trauma response, and this treatment approach can sometimes require their participation. In those instances, it typically begins with separate sessions for the child and parent (non-offending parent in cases of abuse) before moving into joint sessions.<\/p>\nTF-CBT aims to help the child modify distorted thinking, overcome negative behaviors, challenge invasive thoughts, restore a sense of safety and security, and empower the parent or caregiver to better help the child going forward. TF-CBT incorporates several core features and techniques, including psychoeducation (teaching normal reactions to traumatic experiences), coping skills, gradual exposure, cognitive processing for regulating emotions, and rebuilding trust in relationships with adults.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prolonged Exposure Therapy<\/h5>\n
It\u2019s common for children who\u2019ve experienced trauma to try and shut out their memories and avoid any feelings associated with it, but that can hinder their ability to heal. Prolonged exposure therapy<\/a> focuses on approaching traumatic memories gradually to decrease PTSD symptoms and responses over time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
EMDR<\/h5>\n
The goal of EMDR<\/a>, which stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is to overwrite the earlier, unprocessed version of an event\u2019s memory and put it into context \u2014 making it something that\u2019s remembered rather than relived.<\/p>\nEMDR involves having the child focus on the traumatic event and accompanying memories while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements). This can reduce the intensity and emotion surrounding the memory. EMDR treatment can be tailored to the child, but it works best for those who experienced a trauma with a clear beginning and end (an accident, for example).<\/p>\n
<\/h5>\nArt Therapy<\/h5>\n
Art therapy<\/a> is another approach that can help children process trauma in a way that makes them more comfortable expressing themselves, boosts their self-esteem, and even improves cognitive and sensory-motor functioning in young children.<\/p>\n<\/h5>\nPlay Therapy<\/h5>\n
Play therapy<\/a> is an approach for working through a child\u2019s trauma because by allowing the child to express and communicate in a way that feels natural. The act of play is a fundamental component of children\u2019s growth and expression, so it can have a therapeutic impact and feel more natural when they use it to address difficult topics.<\/p>\nWhile the memories of a traumatic event will remain after therapy, they can have less control over children\u2019s everyday lives, and healthy coping skills can help them succeed and thrive moving forward.<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/h4>\n
https:\/\/www.nctsn.org\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/child-trauma\/understanding-child-trauma<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/child-trauma\/recognizing-and-treating-child-traumatic-stress<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/cctasi.northwestern.edu\/trauma-focused-therapy\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8812369\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4476061\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/childmind.org\/article\/emdr-therapy-for-childhood-trauma\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7163896\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Traumatic events affect children in different ways, but therapy can help them heal. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), two-thirds of children experience a traumatic event by the age of 16. Sadly, there is no age immune to the impacts of trauma. It\u2019s vital we understand what are considered traumatic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[340,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-may","category-lifestyle-and-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27859"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27950,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859\/revisions\/27950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Recognizing Signs of Traumatic Stress in Children<\/strong><\/h4>\nA child may exhibit symptoms of traumatic stress when they are triggered by something that reminds them of the traumatic event. And while everyone exhibits reactions to stress, traumatic stress can manifest in ways that interfere with a child\u2019s daily life and how they relate to those around them. Some signs include:<\/p>\n
\n- Intense episodes or ongoing emotional upset<\/li>\n
- Depression and anxiety<\/li>\n
- Regressing in established skills<\/li>\n
- Nightmares and trouble sleeping<\/li>\n
- Difficulties self-regulating<\/li>\n
- Poor eating and weight loss<\/li>\n
- Displaying feelings of guilt or shame<\/li>\n
- Struggling to form attachments or relate to others<\/li>\n
- Older children may exhibit risky behavior in the form of drug or alcohol use, as well as unhealthy sexual activity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Treating Trauma with Therapy<\/h4>\n
Treatment can help children understand their traumatic responses and identify triggers, as well as decrease their stress symptoms, develop healthy coping skills, re-establish safety, and process their experience so their related memories and emotions are less disruptive. There are different therapeutic approaches to treating trauma.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/h5>\n
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/a> (or TF-CBT) understands parents and\/or caregivers significantly impact a child\u2019s trauma response, and this treatment approach can sometimes require their participation. In those instances, it typically begins with separate sessions for the child and parent (non-offending parent in cases of abuse) before moving into joint sessions.<\/p>\nTF-CBT aims to help the child modify distorted thinking, overcome negative behaviors, challenge invasive thoughts, restore a sense of safety and security, and empower the parent or caregiver to better help the child going forward. TF-CBT incorporates several core features and techniques, including psychoeducation (teaching normal reactions to traumatic experiences), coping skills, gradual exposure, cognitive processing for regulating emotions, and rebuilding trust in relationships with adults.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prolonged Exposure Therapy<\/h5>\n
It\u2019s common for children who\u2019ve experienced trauma to try and shut out their memories and avoid any feelings associated with it, but that can hinder their ability to heal. Prolonged exposure therapy<\/a> focuses on approaching traumatic memories gradually to decrease PTSD symptoms and responses over time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
EMDR<\/h5>\n
The goal of EMDR<\/a>, which stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is to overwrite the earlier, unprocessed version of an event\u2019s memory and put it into context \u2014 making it something that\u2019s remembered rather than relived.<\/p>\nEMDR involves having the child focus on the traumatic event and accompanying memories while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements). This can reduce the intensity and emotion surrounding the memory. EMDR treatment can be tailored to the child, but it works best for those who experienced a trauma with a clear beginning and end (an accident, for example).<\/p>\n
<\/h5>\nArt Therapy<\/h5>\n
Art therapy<\/a> is another approach that can help children process trauma in a way that makes them more comfortable expressing themselves, boosts their self-esteem, and even improves cognitive and sensory-motor functioning in young children.<\/p>\n<\/h5>\nPlay Therapy<\/h5>\n
Play therapy<\/a> is an approach for working through a child\u2019s trauma because by allowing the child to express and communicate in a way that feels natural. The act of play is a fundamental component of children\u2019s growth and expression, so it can have a therapeutic impact and feel more natural when they use it to address difficult topics.<\/p>\nWhile the memories of a traumatic event will remain after therapy, they can have less control over children\u2019s everyday lives, and healthy coping skills can help them succeed and thrive moving forward.<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/h4>\n
https:\/\/www.nctsn.org\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/child-trauma\/understanding-child-trauma<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/child-trauma\/recognizing-and-treating-child-traumatic-stress<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/cctasi.northwestern.edu\/trauma-focused-therapy\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8812369\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4476061\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/childmind.org\/article\/emdr-therapy-for-childhood-trauma\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7163896\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Traumatic events affect children in different ways, but therapy can help them heal. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), two-thirds of children experience a traumatic event by the age of 16. Sadly, there is no age immune to the impacts of trauma. It\u2019s vital we understand what are considered traumatic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[340,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-may","category-lifestyle-and-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27859"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27950,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859\/revisions\/27950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Treating Trauma with Therapy<\/h4>\n
Treatment can help children understand their traumatic responses and identify triggers, as well as decrease their stress symptoms, develop healthy coping skills, re-establish safety, and process their experience so their related memories and emotions are less disruptive. There are different therapeutic approaches to treating trauma.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/h5>\n
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/a> (or TF-CBT) understands parents and\/or caregivers significantly impact a child\u2019s trauma response, and this treatment approach can sometimes require their participation. In those instances, it typically begins with separate sessions for the child and parent (non-offending parent in cases of abuse) before moving into joint sessions.<\/p>\n TF-CBT aims to help the child modify distorted thinking, overcome negative behaviors, challenge invasive thoughts, restore a sense of safety and security, and empower the parent or caregiver to better help the child going forward. TF-CBT incorporates several core features and techniques, including psychoeducation (teaching normal reactions to traumatic experiences), coping skills, gradual exposure, cognitive processing for regulating emotions, and rebuilding trust in relationships with adults.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s common for children who\u2019ve experienced trauma to try and shut out their memories and avoid any feelings associated with it, but that can hinder their ability to heal. Prolonged exposure therapy<\/a> focuses on approaching traumatic memories gradually to decrease PTSD symptoms and responses over time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The goal of EMDR<\/a>, which stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is to overwrite the earlier, unprocessed version of an event\u2019s memory and put it into context \u2014 making it something that\u2019s remembered rather than relived.<\/p>\n EMDR involves having the child focus on the traumatic event and accompanying memories while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements). This can reduce the intensity and emotion surrounding the memory. EMDR treatment can be tailored to the child, but it works best for those who experienced a trauma with a clear beginning and end (an accident, for example).<\/p>\n Art therapy<\/a> is another approach that can help children process trauma in a way that makes them more comfortable expressing themselves, boosts their self-esteem, and even improves cognitive and sensory-motor functioning in young children.<\/p>\n Play therapy<\/a> is an approach for working through a child\u2019s trauma because by allowing the child to express and communicate in a way that feels natural. The act of play is a fundamental component of children\u2019s growth and expression, so it can have a therapeutic impact and feel more natural when they use it to address difficult topics.<\/p>\n While the memories of a traumatic event will remain after therapy, they can have less control over children\u2019s everyday lives, and healthy coping skills can help them succeed and thrive moving forward.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.nctsn.org\/<\/a> Traumatic events affect children in different ways, but therapy can help them heal. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), two-thirds of children experience a traumatic event by the age of 16. Sadly, there is no age immune to the impacts of trauma. It\u2019s vital we understand what are considered traumatic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[340,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-may","category-lifestyle-and-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27859"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27950,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27859\/revisions\/27950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldblifestylebenefits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Prolonged Exposure Therapy<\/h5>\n
EMDR<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n
Art Therapy<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n
Play Therapy<\/h5>\n
Sources:<\/h4>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/child-trauma\/understanding-child-trauma<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/child-trauma\/recognizing-and-treating-child-traumatic-stress<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/cctasi.northwestern.edu\/trauma-focused-therapy\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8812369\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4476061\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/childmind.org\/article\/emdr-therapy-for-childhood-trauma\/<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7163896\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"