Hi everybody. This article contains some good news!
According to an article on the website of the American Psychological Association (APA), a growing body of research is leading many psychologists to call for the inclusion of complex childhood trauma in various classification systems.
"To better serve children who faced poverty, homelessness, and severe neglect throughout his childhood, a growing group of psychologists and psychiatrists is studying complex trauma—which can refer to exposure to multiple adverse events and the impacts of that exposure—and advocating for its inclusion in various classification systems.
These experts argue that formalizing disorders such as complex PTSD (cPTSD) and developmental trauma disorder (DTD) enables better treatment for such children, because those diagnoses account for the detrimental effects of chronic stressors such as neglect, emotional abuse, and family or community violence—and ensure that children receive trauma-informed care. Now, they can point to a growing research base to support that claim.
“These kids are often seen as a problem to their schools, caregivers, and society,” said psychologist Joseph Spinazzola, PhD, executive director of the Foundation Trust, a philanthropic organization that supports underserved groups, and co–principal investigator of two field studies of DTD. “In the absence of a trauma diagnosis, kids are getting left out. We’re working to manage and contain their behaviors, but we’re not addressing the underlying factors driving those behaviors.”
DTD is a more multifaceted diagnosis specific to children, encompassing 15 possible symptoms across several domains, including emotion, cognition, behavior, and relationships.
Symptoms include behaviors such as habitual self-harm, extreme distrust, and verbal or physical aggression toward others. DTD covers adversity not described by PTSD, and it also accounts for the disruptions in development that result from sustained trauma during childhood, which typically occurs in the context of relationships.
“This is a disorder where kids are fundamentally feeling insecure and that there is something wrong with them because they are either in emotional turmoil or emotionally shut down,” said clinical psychologist Julian Ford, PhD, ABPP, a professor of psychiatry and law and director of the Center for Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders at the University of Connecticut, who is also the co–principal investigator of the DTD field studies with Spinazzola and trauma psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, MD. “This emotion dysregulation occurs because they have essentially organized their development around survival.”
To read more about these exciting developments, please view the article at the link below. If you are a member of the APA, there may be a chance you can earn Continuing Education credits from reading the article.
[Improved treatment for developmental trauma - https://www.apa.org/monitor/20...developmental-trauma]
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