The philosophy of trauma-informed care is becoming more and more embedded in the philosophies and practices of child-serving agencies.

When a child experiences a single traumatic event and is fortunate enough to be surrounded by supportive and nurturing adults, that trauma can generally be assessed and usually treated effectively with the help of parental support. When a traumatized child responds with internalized distress such as sadness, depression or anxiety, our systems appear to understand what that child needs to help in their healing and recovery.

However, when a child has experienced multiple and complex trauma, child-serving professionals, including those in behavioral health, child welfare, juvenile justice and educators, can struggle to see the connection between such histories and other common presentations.

It is not uncommon for children with histories of complex trauma to respond with externalizing behaviors and to be diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder. Sometimes children also respond with agitated depression and anxiety. These are the children who may at times rage, fight, argue, refuse to comply, run away, lie and steal.

[For more of this story, written by Beverly Tobiason, go to http://jjie.org/trauma-informe...inside-silos/278955/]