Treatment FAQ

why ptsd and developmental trauma require vastly different treatment strategies

by Amy Braun Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

How is developmental trauma disorder different from PTSD?

What is the Main Difference Between these Types of Trauma? Developmental trauma refers to more than just the timing of adverse experiences in early childhood. When compared to features of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, developmental trauma typically occurs over time within the context of close relationships.

Why is treatment for PTSD more difficult than some other disorders?

Recent findings also show that a common neurological basis explains altered emotional responses in veterans with PTSD, and that fear learning caused by trauma is different from other types and may explain why it is more difficult to treat.Nov 11, 2007

Is developmental trauma the same as complex PTSD?

The term complex trauma — also known as Complex PTSD — has been proposed as a potential new diagnostic category, Developmental Trauma Disorder, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), 5th edition (van der Kolk, 2005; van der Kolk et al, 2009).

Which type of treatment is considered to be the most effective with PTSD?

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT):

CBT is a type of psychotherapy that has consistently been found to be the most effective treatment of PTSD both in the short term and the long term.
May 18, 2020

What are prevention suggestions and strategies pertaining to PTSD?

Ways to prevent PTSD include keeping civilian and military populations out of harm's way and completely eliminating emotional traumas associated with rape, violent crime, or severe accidents.Apr 1, 2006

Why is trauma so difficult to treat?

PTSD is hard to treat

PTSD happens when people experience something so frightening, their threat response floods the brain with stress hormones and the memory of the event is stored differently. Instead of feeling like a normal memory, trauma memories feel like they are still happening, right now in the present.
Feb 2, 2021

How do you cure developmental trauma?

7 Ways to Heal Your Childhood Trauma
  1. Acknowledge and recognize the trauma for what it is. ...
  2. Reclaim control. ...
  3. Seek support and don't isolate yourself. ...
  4. Take care of your health. ...
  5. Learn the true meaning of acceptance and letting go. ...
  6. Replace bad habits with good ones. ...
  7. Be patient with yourself.
Jul 17, 2009

How do you explain developmental trauma?

Developmental trauma is the result of seeming invisible childhood experiences of being mistreated or abused that have been repeated many times. These cumulative experiences could involve verbal abuse, neglect or manipulation by a parent.Feb 19, 2019

What causes developmental trauma?

It results from trauma experienced in a child's early development. Such trauma can arise from maltreatment, family violence, or a disruption in attachment to their primary caregiver(s). Complications during birth, or early medical interventions can also give rise to traumatic experiences.Jul 21, 2021

How effective is PTSD treatment?

Although SSRIs are associated with an overall response rate of approximately 60% in patients with PTSD, only 20% to 30% of patients achieve complete remission.

What is the goal of PTSD treatment?

There are three main goals for PTSD treatment: Ease the PTSD symptoms, making them less frequent and less intrusive or impactful on your life. Teach you how to manage the symptoms when they do occur. Restore a positive sense of self, your self-esteem.

What kind of trauma causes PTSD?

The most common events leading to the development of PTSD include: Combat exposure. Childhood physical abuse. Sexual violence.

Is developmental trauma only recognised by society?

For this reason, it is critical that complex developmental trauma is not only recognised by the wider society, but that those concerned with personal injury claims for this population understand the cause and effect of the condition and the various contributing factors.

What is a C-PTSD?

This type of trauma has been termed Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) or, when in childhood, developmental trauma. Isolated traumatic events generally lead to isolated psychological responses. These can include increased anxiety and emotional arousal, re-experiencing the event and avoidance or numbness. This is a typical diagnosis of PTSD.

What are the symptoms of isolated trauma?

These can include increased anxiety and emotional arousal, re-experiencing the event and avoidance or numbness. This is a typical diagnosis of PTSD. The complexity of C-PTSD is that it is multifaceted, with symptoms compounding those of PTSD.

Is C-PTSD a biological or experiential factor?

Therefore, C-PTSD is a combination of both biological and experiential factors, combining elements of PTSD and personality disorders.

Is C-PTSD a discrete diagnosis?

C-PTSD has only recently been added into the I CD-11 (2018) but was omitted as a discrete diagnosis in the DSM-5 due to its similarity in presentation to both PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Is there a silver lining for child trauma?

Contrary to common logic that may suggest that those who have endured traumatic experiences as a child are more resilient in later life, the unwelcome truth is that this is not the case. There is no ‘silver lining’ for child trauma victims without the implementation of appropriate, evidence-based therapeutic interventions. Instead, trauma is more akin to a filling bucket, which, with just one more stressful event poured in, could easily overflow. For this reason, it is critical that complex developmental trauma is not only recognised by the wider society, but that those concerned with personal injury claims for this population understand the cause and effect of the condition and the various contributing factors.

What is C-PTSD in the family court?

C-PTSD and the Family Courts. Central to traumatic stress is the inability to control internal states – emotions, thoughts and beliefs become disorganised. As a child, the reliance on guidance to respond is in line with the behaviour of their caregiver; the more disorganised the caregiver, the more disorganised the child.

The need for accurate diagnoses

The addition of PTSD to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd Ed.) in 1980 sent a clear message that a harrowing experience, such as participating in violent combat or being sexually assaulted, can profoundly affect human health and behavior.

Differentiating between diagnoses

One key finding of the first DTD field trial is that the disorder is distinct from PTSD, suggesting that it exerts different effects and requires a unique approach.

Effective trauma-informed treatments

The number one reason child psychologists want recognition for cPTSD and DTD is to design and deliver effective trauma-informed treatments to children and adolescents in need.

Opportunities to further improve outcomes

Ford, Spinazzola, van der Kolk, and their colleagues are still analyzing data from the DTD field trials to further explore each disorder’s symptoms and how they are related to—or distinct from—PTSD and other disorders.

Further reading

Psychological interventions for ICD-11 complex PTSD symptoms: Systematic review and meta-analysis Karatzias, T., et al., Psychological Medicine, 2019

Why do people with PTSD not seek treatment?

So, it makes sense that people with PTSD may want to avoid getting treatment. But there are other reasons people might not seek care right away. Research points out some examples: Believing you will get better on your own. Problems getting care, like finding a therapist, transportation, or cost.

Can you get help for PTSD?

The decision to get care for PTSD symptoms can be difficult. You are not alone if you feel nervous. It is not uncommon for people with mental health conditions like PTSD to want to avoid talking about it. But getting help for your symptoms is the best thing you can do. PTSD treatments can work.

What is the stigma of PTSD?

Stigma is when you feel judged by other people because of some personal quality or trait. You may feel stigma because of negative things people say about you, or because they treat you differently. An example of stigma related to PTSD is a belief that people with PTSD are dangerous or unstable, which is not true.

What are the negative labels of PTSD?

Negative labels or stereotypes that assume all people with PTSD are the same. Discrimination at work, at school, or finding housing because of your symptoms. Being denied chances to succeed because of a PTSD diagnosis. Because of concerns about stigma, you may try to hide the problem or not admit you need care.

Can PTSD be ashamed of?

You may start to feel that you deserve to be treated badly because of your symptoms. But PTSD is not something to be ashamed of. The best thing you can do for yourself is to take control and get help. Barriers Specific to Military Context.

Is PTSD something to be ashamed of?

But PTSD is not something to be ashamed of. The best thing you can do for yourself is to take control and get help. Barriers Specific to Military Context. When you are in the military, there are other things that may get in the way of seeking help.

Is it better to avoid PTSD or keep your job?

You may think that avoiding your PTSD is critical to keeping your job. But if your PTSD symptoms are getting in the way of doing your duties, it is better to deal with them before they hurt your military career. Getting help for PTSD is problem solving.

Can trauma cause PTSD?

When the effects of trauma do not go away or disrupt daily life, you may be experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). of people who experience a trauma will develop PTSD symptoms afterward.

What is the treatment for PTSD?

Several medications and therapeutic approaches have been shown effective in treatment. Let’s look at each of these treatment options in more detail: psychotherapy. neurological therapies.

How to get help for PTSD?

The National Center for PTSD provides a number of resources, including: 1 apps such as the PTSD Coach, PTSD Family Coach, Insomnia Coach, and Mindfulness Coach 2 video tutorials that can educate you in greater depth about symptoms and treatments 3 PTSD Treatment Decision Aid to help you decide which options suit your needs best 4 online programs to help you deal with stress, anger, parenting challenges, and sleep issues

Why is it so hard to recover from trauma?

What works for one person may not help someone else at all. This is because people respond to trauma differently, and the effects of trauma can be complicated. When you experience a traumatic event, your hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal systems release a surge ...

What happens when you experience a traumatic event?

When you experience a traumatic event, your hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal systems release a surge of hormones to prepare you to fight, flee, or freeze. In response, your heart rate speeds up, your breathing quickens, and your muscles tense.

What are the benefits of PTSD therapy?

Some potential benefits of therapy can include: reduced anxiety. reduction of depression symptoms. decreasing the chance of relapse of depression symptoms. improving skills needed for daily activities.

What is CPT therapy?

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is based on the idea that immediately following a trauma, you were probably not able to fully process what happened to you. In trying to understand the event and how it affected you, you might later come to conclusions that are not healthy.

How long does it take for a child to experience multiple adverse events?

The child or adolescent has experienced or witnessed multiple or prolonged adverse events over a period of at least one year beginning in childhood or early adolescence, including: Direct experience or witnessing of repeated and severe episodes of interpersonal violence; and.

What is vocational training?

Vocational (for youth involved in, seeking or referred for employment, volunteer work or job training): disinterest in work/vocation, inability to get or keep jobs, persistent conflict with co-workers or supervisors, under-employment in relation to abilities, failure to achieve expectable advancements.

What is developmental trauma?

Developmental Trauma describes trauma that has happened in early life or critical developmental periods. Trauma can also be passed down through the generations and cultures and is often referred to as intergenerational trauma. Developmental trauma may be described as intergenerational trauma, inherited trauma, cultural trauma, environmental trauma, ...

How does trauma affect children?

As children, our brains are still developing, and trauma becomes part of development shaping our physiology and brain circuitry (neural pathways). This means how we see ourselves, how we experience others, how we understand our emotions, and how we understand the world around us is all affected by Developmental Trauma.

What is the emotional response to trauma?

Often the primary emotional response is fear: for the life or safety of self or other. Developmental Trauma describes trauma that has happened in early life or critical developmental periods. Trauma can also be passed down through the generations and cultures and is often referred to as intergenerational trauma.

What is the umbrella term for trauma?

We understand trauma as the umbrella term used to describe deeply distressing or overwhelming events that have lasting impacts on our nervous system and the way we see the world. Often the primary emotional response is fear: for the life or safety of self or other. Developmental Trauma describes trauma that has happened in early life ...

What is developmental trauma?

Living with developmental trauma is a lifelong journey. Survivors who are able to integrate their trauma can expect, like everyone else, to experience movement throughout their lifetime between a sense of attunement, misattunement, and reattunement.

Is developmental trauma a lifelong process?

For developmental therapy this is even more true. Living with developmental trauma is a lifelong journey. Survivors who are able to integrate their trauma can expect, like everyone else, to experience movement throughout their lifetime between a sense of attunement, misattunement, and reattunement.

What is trauma integration?

Trauma integration in the context of developmental trauma aims to help survivors internalize a sense of safety, predictability, and connection to self in relationship to someone else, starting with the therapist. This work is done by: Strategic use of activities that facilitate self regulation.

Is trauma therapy long term?

Trauma therapy in general requires daily routines that facilitate long-term sustainability. Without these, we may see some progress, but it won’t be as long-lasting as when we address all of them at once. For developmental therapy this is even more true. Living with developmental trauma is a lifelong journey.

What is therapeutic activity?

For example, if assessment indicates gaps related to brainstem and midbrain functioning, therapeutic activities will include expressive arts, yoga, massage, etc.

Why is frequent attunement important?

Experiencing frequent attunement is a basic need, essential to support healthy development in particular brain development . However, even in the best of circumstances, parents are not able to anticipate all of a child’s needs, so an infant inevitably gets upset from time to time.

What are the elements of a therapeutic framework for creating secure attunement?

In my experience, elements of an effective therapeutic framework for creating secure attunement include: 1. Experiential psychoeducation. Educate the survivor and family members, in ways that fit their developmental capacity, about what happens when the child is triggered emotionally, afraid, and stressed.

The Need For Accurate Diagnoses

Image
The addition of PTSD to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd Ed.) in 1980 sent a clear message that a harrowing experience, such as participating in violent combat or being sexually assaulted, can profoundly affect human health and behavior. Since then, the field’s concept of trauma has evolved…
See more on apa.org

Differentiating Between Diagnoses

  • One key finding of the first DTD field trial is that the disorder is distinct from PTSD, suggesting that it exerts different effects and requires a unique approach. Van der Kolk, Spinazzola, and Ford showed that compared with children with PTSD, children who meet the criteria for DTD are more likely to experience panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, ADHD, and disruptive behavior di…
See more on apa.org

Effective Trauma-Informed Treatments

  • The number one reason child psychologists want recognition for cPTSD and DTD is to design and deliver effective trauma-informed treatments to children and adolescents in need. Blaustein, Spinazzola, and Ford helped craft a series of best practices for treating complex trauma among youth. These include establishing a sense of safety, teaching the pa...
See more on apa.org

Opportunities to Further Improve Outcomes

  • Ford, Spinazzola, van der Kolk, and their colleagues are still analyzing data from the DTD field trials to further explore each disorder’s symptoms and how they are related to—or distinct from—PTSD and other disorders. Layne and Ford are also examining children’s exposure histories to 19 different types of trauma—including an impaired caregiver, sexual abuse, and neglect—to u…
See more on apa.org

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