What Is Childhood Trauma?
Childhood trauma can affect a child’s development as they grow and mature, and if left untreated it can continue to affect a person throughout their life. As such, addressing childhood trauma as early as possible can be a fundamental element to helping an individual heal and start the journey towards recovery.
This blog explores what childhood trauma is, who it can affect, and how psychology can help. For further information, advice, or to book an appointment, contact our professional and caring team at Nest Health Hub today.
What Is Childhood Trauma?
Childhood trauma can occur when a child experiences an event that is distressful or emotionally painful. This traumatic experience can be a singular incident, a repeated series of incidents, or several different experiences. Regardless of where the childhood trauma stems from, this often leads to the child experiencing mental and physical effects that can negatively impact their daily life. In turn, this can impede their ability to mature and function well in society as they age.
Childhood trauma can have an impact on mental and physical health, their relationships with others, and may have a reduced ability to parent their own children later in life.
What Ages Does Childhood Trauma Impact?
Trauma that happens to a person under 18 years is classed as childhood trauma. Additionally, trauma that occurs to a person between birth and the age of six years is generally regarded as early childhood trauma.
When a person experiences trauma before the age of three years, this can disrupt their bonding with their caregivers and negatively impact their relationship. At this early stage of life, childhood trauma can also affect foundational development including their ability to learn language, physical, and social skills. Babies and toddlers can be directly affected by trauma suffered by their parent/s or caregiver/s, as this can disrupt their home and daily routine.
Examples of Childhood Trauma
The child does not necessarily need to notice or remember the event the way an adult or older child would for it to be traumatic. Anything that affects their caregiver/s and/or family members can affect a baby or younger child, even though they cannot express their reactions in the same way.
The experience does not have to happen directly to the child themselves for them to experience childhood trauma. Watching a family member go through a difficult health battle can be traumatic for children, as can witnessing a person suffering from addiction or mental illness.
Some experiences that can lead to childhood trauma include:
Physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse
Physical or emotional neglect
Witnessing or experiencing violence in the home or family
Witnessing or experiencing violence in the community, such as war or civil unrest
Bullying or mistreatment, in person and/or online
Natural disasters such as bushfires and floods
Death or illness of a parent or other family member
Parent or other family member suffering from addiction or mental illness
Parental divorce or separation
Car accident
Poor parent-child relationship
Coming from immigration or a refugee background
Sudden or unwanted relocation, such as moving home
Poverty
Discrimination
Imprisonment of a parent or other family member
It’s important to note that what is traumatic for one person may not be for another. For example, violent media (whether fictional or non-fictional) can have a traumatic effect on many children, but not all. Additionally, things that feel like everyday life to an adult, such as living in a dangerous area or experiencing bullying, can be an ongoing source of stress and trauma for a child.
How Many Children Are Affected By Childhood Trauma?
One in four Australian adults are estimated to have experienced trauma in their childhoods, which equates to approximately five million people. The study that concluded this, published in 2015, found that the traumatic experiences happened in their homes, families, neighbourhoods, or within institutions.
While total prevalence of childhood trauma is difficult to measure, it is thought to be as high as 28%.
How Psychology and Occupational Therapy At The Nest Health Hub Can Help With Childhood Trauma
Regardless of the cause or causes of childhood trauma and how severely it affects a person, treatment is available. Psychology and Occupational Therapy in Newcastle can help individuals of all ages to work through their childhood trauma and improve their wellbeing and quality of life. At the Nest Health Hub, we employ trauma-informed and evidence-based psychological therapies such as play based therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Neurofeedback, Neuropsychotherapy, and Trauma-Focussed Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (TF-CBT) to assist people who have experienced childhood trauma. We have also developed the NEuroSensory Therapeutic (NEST) Program to support children and their families develop the skills and capacity for resilience following experiences of childhood trauma. If you feel that you or your child could benefit from our service, please feel free to get in touch with our caring and professional team in Newcastle today.
