Family Anatomy » post-traumatic stress disorder

Partner Abuse, Pt. 4: How are witnesses affected?

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:27:38 +0000

For decades, researchers have been aware that child abuse has a severe, long-lasting negative impact on kids. Indirect victims of abuse – the child witnesses – also seem to experience a range of difficulties, including depression, anxiety, aggression, weak social skills, and school-related problems. As I looked over the research for our domestic violence articles this week, I found a disturbing statistic: multiple types of childhood trauma or abuse commonly co-occur, according to Teicher and his colleagues in a study published in the June 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. What are the outcomes for abuse witnesses? And what about kids who are exposed to multiple types of abuse?

It’s well-established that kids who witness severe violence against or harm to their parents can develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As Dr. Giuseppe wrote on Monday, one third of children who arrive in women’s shelters following domestic violence develop behavioural difficulties. Serious adjustment problems and PTSD have also been linked to witnessing domestic abuse, according to research by Kym Kilpatrick and her colleagues in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. In fact, in Kilpatrick’s small study, witnessing abuse had as strong an impact on young children as experiencing an abusive act! (...)
Read the rest of Partner Abuse, Pt. 4: How are witnesses affected? (379 words)

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Post tags: abuse, Children, domestic violence, Mental Health, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychology, research-based, Teens, trauma, violence
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

The Importance of Post-Trauma Treatment

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:28:14 +0000

Survivors of natural disasters, accidents, war, abuse, and crime often face a difficult road to recovery. Children and youth in particular, who are only beginning to learn strategies to cope with stress and worry, may develop chronic difficulties following a traumatic experience; we’ve been writing all week about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this week’s episode of The Family Anatomy Podcast, William Krill (author of Gentling: A Practical Guide to Treating PTSD in Abused Children) said that some children with whom he’s worked remained in treatment for over two years! Clearly, overcoming trauma isn’t easy, even with professional help. What about survivors who don’t have professional support?(...)
Read the rest of The Importance of Post-Trauma Treatment (424 words)

© Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: disaster, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychology, PTSD, recovery, research-based, teenagers, trauma, treatment
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

Reducing the Long-Term Impact of Traumatic Events

Dr. Giuseppe Spezzano C. Psych. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:00:57 +0000

PTSD results from traumatic events such as being raped and beaten, witnessing or experiencing serious injury or death in war, or feeling your life was threatened during a car accident.

In younger kids, the re-experiencing of the event may be a different phenomenon. That is, upsetting dreams about the event may quickly change to thoughts or nightmares about monsters or other anxiety provoking thoughts and experiences. In addition, unlike adults who tend to re-live the trauma through flashbacks, kids tend to re-live it through make believe (e.g., a child may smash his toy cars together after a car accident). Given that they cannot rely on their verbal explanatory or cognitive skills to the same extent as adults, children are also more likely to turn their psychological stress into physical symptoms such as tummy and headaches.(...)
Read the rest of Reducing the Long-Term Impact of Traumatic Events (363 words)

© Dr. Giuseppe Spezzano C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: post-traumatic stress disorder, psychology, PTSD, recovery, research-based, trauma, treatment
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

Anatomy of Gentling (Episode 86)

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:26:50 +0000

Doctors Brian and Giuseppe talk to William Krill, author of “Gentling: A practical guide to treating PTSD in abused children“, about post-traumatic stress and recovery.

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Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

© Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: post-traumatic stress disorder, psychology, PTSD, research-based, trauma, treatment
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 1: What Does It Really Mean?

Dr. Giuseppe Spezzano C. Psych. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:06 +0000

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been in the news with great frequency as of late. We’re told that up to 30% of the soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan experience it. We’re also told that the recent mass murders by a psychiatrist at a Fort Hood military base may have been in part due to his repeated exposure to the stories recounted to him by soldiers and that he may have suffered from vicarious trauma.

There has been a great deal written and said about PTSD. However, at the end of the day, is it simply an unusually stressful experience that makes you very upset for a long while? Although there is some truth to this, what the stressful situation is and what being “very upset” looks like is much more specific and requires the experience of a qualified professional to recognize.

There are many stressful situations in the course of a day that we all deal with in various ways. These experiences are a normal part of living. The stressors that result in a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are unusual because of their intensity and the fact that the person affected typically fears for their life. Experiences that qualify as extremely stressful could include witnessing a killing, being raped, badly beaten or mugged, or being in a potentially deadly car or plane accident. These experiences are clearly not the same as losing your job or being late to a meeting because your car will not start.(...)
Read the rest of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 1: What Does It Really Mean? (352 words)

© Dr. Giuseppe Spezzano C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: post-traumatic stress disorder, psychology, PTSD, research-based, trauma, treatment
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

Therapy with kids: What works?

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:17:10 +0000

A research review conducted by the Task Force on Community Preventative Services was published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Preventative Medicine. The authors investigated the effectiveness of various therapies in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents.

One therapeutic method stood out. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), which involves discussing and writing about thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, along with relaxation and other coping strategies, was the only therapy investigated with evidence of its effectiveness. The review concluded that individual or group-based CBT reduced PTSD symptoms, anxiety and depression in children and youth. There was insufficient evidence in support of the effectiveness of play therapy, art therapy, pharmacologic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, or psychological debriefing in reducing the symptoms associated with PTSD, anxiety, or depression.

You can read more here.

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© Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CBT, Children, post-traumatic stress disorder, Teens, therapy
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.