Complex Trauma Flashcards
What is trauma?
Emotional wound or shock that creates substantial, lasting damage to the psychological dev of a person
What is complex trauma?
Children/ adolescent subjected to repetitive adverse experiences/ maltreatment
What age is PTSD diagnosed in the DSM 5?
6 years and younger
What are some complex trauma etiology?
Multiple exposure to traumatic events
Inconsistent or absent protective caregiving
Physical, sexual or emotional abuse
Trangenerational
What are risk factors for complex trauma?
Young or single parents
Individuals abused themselves as children
Adults with psychiatric disorders
Unrealistic expectations of child dev
Substance abusing families
“Over fussy” infants
Children with congenital anomalies
Acts of “disobedience”
Families with annual incomes below $15000
Transient caregivers living in the home
Unwanted children
Adopted/ foster children
What are the 7 domains of impairment?
1) attachment
2) biology
3) affect regulation
4) dissociation
5) behavioral regulation
6) cognition
7) self concept
What is secure attachment?
Normal child caregiver relationships
Provide safety/ protection during stressful situations
What is avoidant in insecure attachment patterns?
Chronic rejection/ failure to provide basic emotional/ physical support from caregivers
What is ambivalent in insecure attachment patterns?
Patterns of detachment/ neglect to excessive intrusiveness from parents
What is disorganized in insecure attachment patterns?
Repeated exposure to uncontrollable/ unpredictable stress; w/o protective caregiver
What are poor attachment outcomes?
Social isolation
Difficulty with perspective taking
Establishing/ maintain healthy relationships
Chronic feelings of distrust/ suspicion
What is biology?
Chronic stress alters brain to most often reposed to stress with flight, fight or freeze
“Stuck” in continuous hyperarousal state
Irregular sleep patterns
Challenges with coordination/ sensory modulation (SOR)
What is affect regulation?
Inability to distinguish/ interpret internal states of arousal; difficulty accurately identifying emotions
Result of exposure to inconsistent displays of affect/ behavior
Alexithymia
Children may avoid emotional situations
What is dissociation?
Loss in ability to process/ integrate info & experiences
Fails to respond to physical sensations
Involuntary repetitive behaviors may emerge
Disconnection b/n thought/ emotion
Suppression of painful emotions/ memories
What are behavioral regulation?
Difficulty adapting to significant stress
Difficulty arousal regulation/ modulation
Prolonged/ extreme emotional traumas
Disturbances in sleeping, eating, elimination
Poor impulse control
Difficulty understanding consequences
Head banging, body rocking, compulsive masturbation
What is cognition?
May display less cognitive flexibility/ problem solving skills
Difficulties with sustained attention
Lack of persistent curiosity
Delayed language dev
What is self concept?
Decrease sense of feeling worthy/ belonging
Early caregiver relationships significantly impacts sense of self dev
Feeling powerless, helpless, unlovable
Substantial degree of self blame
Increase resiliency factors = increase prognosis
How can you promote resilience?
Positive attachment to competent adult
Dev self regulations skills
Positive beliefs about oneself
What are some complex trauma medical management?
Interdisciplinary/ transdisciplinary intervention
Psychopharmacological intervention
OT
Psychotherapy
Family therapy
Play therapy
Community outreach
What are some complex trauma impact on occupational performance?
Establishing/ maintain peer relationships
Bathing
Toileting
Sexual activity
Personal hygiene
Sleep
Academic problems
Disinterest in employment
Decrease play exploration
Decrease constructive play/ symbolic play
Difficulty with social engagement
