Out of Trauma Comes Strength

Trauma occurs in a variety of forms including abuse, violence, neglect, or witness to any of these events. In the past, some have viewed trauma as a deficit that needs to be repaired. While this healing approach has value, new research has garnered a great deal of attention in shifting this paradigm to a strengths-based methodology. One such representation is the trauma-informed positive education (TIPE) model. This chapter provides an overview of the TIPE model and its three domains (i.e., repairing regulatory abilities, repairing disrupted attachment, and increasing psychological resources); discusses relevant pedagogical practices including emotional intelligence, mindfulness, grit, and growth mindset; and gives practical examples for educators to implement.

The intersection of unresolved loss, trauma, and psychotic symptoms: a dyadic case illustration

Traumatic experiences affect the brain in a variety of ways, causing issues with memory and cognition, attention, affect regulation, self-esteem, and dissociation. Symptoms of PTSD are often experienced as breaks from reality (e.g., intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event; re-experiencing of the frightening moment). In the most general terms, a psychotic experience can be described as a “loss of contact with reality” (Kleiger & Khadivi, 2015). This paper presents a dyadic therapy case with a mother and her three-year-old son that illustrates the intersection of psychotic symptoms, unresolved loss, trauma, and disrupted attachment. The challenges of diagnosis and treatment for the parent and child are explored, and the flexible approach to intervention is described in detail.

Trauma-Exposed Infants and Toddlers: A Review of Impacts and Evidence-Based Interventions

Infants and toddlers are exposed to abuse and neglect at disproportionate rates compared to other children, setting a trajectory for disrupted developmental processes and increased vulnerability to future traumatic exposure. Social workers encounter trauma–exposed young children across a number of systems, including but not limited to early childcare, family physical and mental health, court, and child welfare. It benefits social workers to have a working understanding of current research related to the bio–psycho–social impact of trauma on infants and young children and an awareness of current, research-driven interventions that can support young, at–risk children and families. This article reviews trauma-impacted development throughout the first two years of life with a discussion of current research exploring attachment and brain development and then discusses caregiver–child based interventions that work to repair disrupted attachment patterns, repair impaired regulatory processes, and return the caregiver–child relationship to a healthy developmental path.