{"id":747,"date":"2021-07-19T00:47:27","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T00:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/?p=747"},"modified":"2021-09-30T05:56:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T05:56:21","slug":"why-therapy-for-childhood-trauma-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/why-therapy-for-childhood-trauma-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Therapy for Childhood Trauma Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-769\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Why Therapy for Childhood Trauma Matters\" width=\"473\" height=\"709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1-1200x1799.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4100645-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 473px) 85vw, 473px\" \/>Did you know that by age 16, over two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event so far in their life? This is according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the United States, and the numbers could even be more significant elsewhere in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right therapy is necessary in order to help children and teens find ways to heal and cope with their trauma, whether from family abuse, natural disasters, the death of a loved one, or social or community violence. This is important, as brain wellness in your adulthood can also suffer from unresolved childhood trauma.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How Trauma Affects the Brain<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Areas of the brain that are involved in stress response include the amygdala, hippocampus, as well as prefrontal cortex. Traumatic stress is linked to lasting changes in the said brain areas, as well as with increased cortisol and norepinephrine responses to subsequent sources of stress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe you\u2019re wondering: How does a single traumatic event affect the brain? For one, trauma can cause this important organ to remain in a state of hypervigilance. This suppresses your memory and impulse control, keeping you trapped in a constant state of extreme emotional reactivity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to the effects on thinking, initial reactions to trauma can include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exhaustion and fatigue<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Confusion<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anxiety<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sadness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agitation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Numbness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dissociation\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physical arousal, and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blunted effects<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most responses are deemed normal as they are mostly self-limited, socially acceptable, and affect most trauma survivors. However, when trauma is worsened and left unaddressed, it can affect the different ways the brain works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take memory, for example: trauma can shut down episodic memory and fragment the sequence of events in one\u2019s mind. The hippocampus creates and recalls episodic memory, and trauma can bar information such as images and sounds from various parts of the brain from combining to form a semantic memory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Addressing Childhood Trauma Properly<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Childhood trauma comes in varying sizes and forms, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physical and sexual abuse<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neglect and abandonment\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psychological and emotional abuse<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Serious accidents or life-threatening sickness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural disasters<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Racism behaviors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">War and the refugee experience<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Witnessing violence in the family\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of family members or guardians\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trauma affects age groups differently, although there may be similar impacts. Among preschoolers and elementary students, for instance, you may find a traumatized child having separation anxiety, fearfulness, more nightmares, no appetite, or increased aggression. Teens, on the other hand, can be irritable, withdraw from social circles and activities, depressed or having difficulty concentrating, or depressed. They may also engage in increased sexual activity or alcohol or drug use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are varying ways to tackle childhood trauma and help the sufferer. One of these is trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, an evidence-based practice that provides trauma-sensitive interventions with CBT techniques and family support. Here, family members and caregivers have a big role to play in treatment outcomes and success. This therapy usually lasts 12 to 15 sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Play and art therapy can also help in the healing process and assist in better cognition, self-esteem, self-awareness, stress reduction, and emotional resilience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, natural interventions like regular exercise and providing a brain-supporting diet are all important to increase the chances of successfully identifying and getting to the core of the trauma. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that by age 16, over two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event so far in their life? This is according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the United States, and the numbers could even be more significant elsewhere in the world.\u00a0 The right therapy is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Therapy for Childhood Trauma Matters - LumUltra<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lumultra.com\/blog\/why-therapy-for-childhood-trauma-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Therapy for Childhood Trauma Matters - LumUltra\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Did you know that by age 16, over two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event so far in their life? 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