This post is primarily for professionals who are dealing with children who have had adverse childhood experiences at an early age and have experienced what is clinically characterized as Developmental Trauma.
It is an article written by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Shoshanah Lyons who writes a very nice synopsis using the work of our friend and mentor Dr. Bruce Perry and one of the patriarchs of trauma theory Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. This article properly represents the neuroscience of developmental trauma, how it can be healed and some of the important realities that professionals need to realize when dealing with a child experiencing this kind of trauma. I think it is a very helpful and thorough summary of what our process should be with children who have had significant adverse childhood experiences because of the negative impact to their brain development. Here is Dr. Lyons article as published in the Sentinel News.
It can be extremely frustrating to deal with a child who has developmental trauma. Some of the realities are so important to talk about as professionals or parents who are working through this issue with a child. Yet if we understand how to rebuild their brain from the bottom up as this article describes, we can see some significant progress and help them recover from a process that has been life-dominating for them and for their families.
I appreciate how Dr. Lyons has summarized some of the intricacies of the neuroscience and the process of treatment. As always, we owe a great deal of gratitude for the work of Dr. Perry and Dr. Van Der Kolk. We must remember that there is hope for recovery and healing for these children. We also must have good clinical knowledge and skill for this healing to be possible.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
