When your child experiences a traumatic event it turns their world and yours upside down. A traumatic event is a frightening, dangerous, or violent event that poses a threat (or a perceived threat) to a child’s life or bodily integrity. Witnessing a traumatic event can also be traumatic. This is particularly important for young children as their sense of safety depends on the perceived safety of the people in their lives to whom they feel close.
Some of the more common traumatic events that children experience are:
- Physical, sexual, or psychological abuse and neglect
- Natural disasters
- Sudden or violent loss of a loved one
- Serious accidents, life-threatening illness or other medical events
- Military family-related stressors (e.g., deployment, parental loss or injury)
- Family or community violence
- Drug or alcohol abuse by a family member
- Divorce in some circumstances
- Bullying
It’s important to know that symptoms of trauma sometimes take 3-6 months to appear in children. The most common symptoms are:
- Increased thoughts of death and safety
- Terror, helplessness or fear
- Heart pounding, vomiting, or loss of bowel or bladder control
- Problems with sleeping
- Problems with eating
- Frequent and intense anger
- Problems paying attention
Left untreated, children who have experienced trauma can be left with lifelong and debilitating issues. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Treatment is available that can help your child recover from trauma.
Judi Howard, LMHC is an expert in use of EMDR and The Safe and Sound Protocol to help children suffering from post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recover. These are forms of treatment that are proven to be effective in the treatment of childhood trauma through countless scientific studies. Many people offer EMDR without being properly trained in it’s application. Judi has the highest level of certification available in EMDR and has helped hundreds of children recover from trauma. If your child has experienced a traumatic event please get in touch with us today so that the road to healing can begin.