Trauma isn't always the result of one big bad terrible thing happening to a child that changes that child.
In fact most trauma, is a day to day trickle. An accumulation of days bearing witness to domestic violence, of a steady cascade of insults, of the endless moments of neglect.
"And this ends up being severe (trauma)," said, Martha "Marti" Strauss, of Brattleboro, a professor in the department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University New England. "One event can lead to another. So you are neglected and then you come to school not ready to learn and then you fall behind at school or your parents are engaged in domestic violence so you are witnessing domestic violence and then you don't sleep well. So it ends up being kind of a snowball of problems that makes it more severe."
These traumas, which Strauss refers to as attachment or development trauma, and how to help a child who has suffered through them is the subject of her latest book.
"I'm calling it mostly attachment trauma or developmental problems. And the way it shows up is early problems with the caregiver. The person who is supposed to be taking care of you, isn't doing a good job of it."
In fact most trauma, is a day to day trickle. An accumulation of days bearing witness to domestic violence, of a steady cascade of insults, of the endless moments of neglect.
"And this ends up being severe (trauma)," said, Martha "Marti" Strauss, of Brattleboro, a professor in the department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University New England. "One event can lead to another. So you are neglected and then you come to school not ready to learn and then you fall behind at school or your parents are engaged in domestic violence so you are witnessing domestic violence and then you don't sleep well. So it ends up being kind of a snowball of problems that makes it more severe."
These traumas, which Strauss refers to as attachment or development trauma, and how to help a child who has suffered through them is the subject of her latest book.
"I'm calling it mostly attachment trauma or developmental problems. And the way it shows up is early problems with the caregiver. The person who is supposed to be taking care of you, isn't doing a good job of it."
To continue reading this article by Melanie Plenda, go to: http://www.reformer.com/storie...putney-sunday,501016
Photo by Kristopher Radder
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