What is Trauma?
- It’s a scary dangerous or violent event that can happen to anyone.
- Not all scary or dangerous events are traumatic events.
What is a traumatic event?
- It’s a scary, dangerous, or violent event.
- When we face or witness an immediate threat to ourselves or to a loved one.
- Typically involves serious injury or harm.
- We feel terror, helplessness, or horror at what we are experiencing and our inability to stop it or protect ourselves or others from it.
- Danger can come from outside of a family(such as a natural disaster, car accident, school shooting, or community violence)
- Danger can come from within the family such as a serious injury, domestic violence, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or the unexpected death of a loved one
Traumatic Experiences (defined by NCTSN)
- Accident Violence within family
- Injury Abuse
- Serious illness Neglect
- Fires Homelessness
- Crime School violence
- Community violence Bullying/Cyberbully
(shootings,stabbings,robbery Life threatening illness of loved ones. - Fighting at home,neighborhood
- Life threatening health
school) Painful medical issues.
- Death of a loved one Act of terrorism
- Sudden death of loved one Living or escaping from
- Combat injury of a loved one a war zone.
- Economic stress/poverty Abandonment
Trauma Facts
- FACT: Trauma can impair learning. Single exposure to traumatic events, may cause jumpiness, intrusive thoughts, interrupted sleep, nightmares, anger and moodiness and/or social withdrawal. Any of which can interfere with concentration and memory.
Chronic exposure to traumatic events,
especially during a child’s early years can:
- Adversely affect attention, memory and cognition
- Reduce a child’s ability to focus, organize, and process information.
- Interfere with effective problem solving and/planning
- Result in overwhelming feelings of frustration and anxiety.
- Traumatized children may experience physical and emotional distress
- Physical symptoms like headaches and stomach aches
- Poor control of impulses
- Unpredictable and/or impulsive behavior
- Over or under-reacting to bells, physical contact, doors slamming, sirens, lighting, sudden movements.
- Intense reactions to reminders of their traumatic events
*Services are provided by Experienced Licensed Therapists. We have therapists who are trained in trauma-focused CBT. We also have therapists who are certified in traumatic stress studies by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk.
Please contact Affinity Family Support Services PC
[p] 814-835-1700 | [f] 814-835-1701