Childhood Trauma M4 D

In this discussion, we will address the possibilities of posttraumatic growth. As you know, most of the attention of researchers, health care providers, and parents is focused on the long term negative impacts of trauma and how to help the child resolve them. However, there is growing research interest in the long term growth that can derive from trauma – often alongside the negative impacts.

Child trauma researcher, Eva Alisic and her team have asked those of us in the trauma field to “look beyond posttraumatic stress disorder” in children, to consider also the posttraumatic growth (PTG) and the child’s quality of life after trauma (Alisic, van der Schoot, van Ginkel, & Kleber, 2008). Sadly, there is still little research to date that documents PTG in children.

Before posting to the discussion, please read the short discussion sections in the two studies below that asks children about their growth – one after a natural disaster and the other after a car accident:

Cryder, C. H., Kilmer, R. P., Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2006). An exploratory study of posttraumatic growth in children following a natural disaster. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76, 65–69.

Salter, E., & Stallard, P. (2004). Posttraumatic growth in child survivors of a road traffic accident. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 335–340.

Then, read the article that considers posttraumatic growth – as well as the harm – that can influence our interventions with children:

Kilmer, R. P., Gil-Rivas, V., Griese, B., Hardy, S. J., Hafstad, G. S., & Alisic, E. (2014). Posttraumatic growth in children and youth: clinical implications of emerging research literature. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 506–518.

After you have completed the readings, please post your responses to the
following x questions:

What were the strongest areas of growth that children reported? Which areas were surprising to you?
What additional questions might you have liked to ask the children in these studies? Explain your answer, please.
How do you think taking PTG into account can change a counselor’s interventions with a child and family?
How and when would you imagine raising the issue of PTG with a child and family to be respectful of their experience of crisis?
Reference

Alisic, E., van der Schoot, T. A. W., van Ginkel, J. R., & Kleber, R. J. (2008).Looking beyond posttraumatic stress disorder in children: Posttraumatic stress reactions, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life in a general population sample. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 29, 1455–1461

Discussion Participation Tips

Your initial post should be a reflective response that answers all questions, is adequately detailed, and cites outside sources when necessary to support your post. Typically, a post should be at least 250 words to allows you to answer and ask follow up questions, provide supplemental information, and to share views and experiences that draw us into an in-depth and meaningful conversation.

ANSWER

Post-Traumatic Growth in Children

Post-Traumatic growth refers to the process by which people gain a different perspective from a stressful event. Studies on PTG have mostly been focused on adults, but very few studies have been done on PTG in children. According to the studies, some of the strongest areas of growth reported by the children were the realization that they were not invincible and that they could die at any time (Salter & Stallard, 2004). This prompted most of them to see life differently and live a more fulfilling life attending to their dreams. Changing their goals and living a positive life. What surprised me was that the children started viewing death differently. Their prior knowledge of death changed from something that happens to old people to something that can happen to anybody at any time.

One of the questions I would have liked to ask the children is how they perceived death before the traumatic event happened. This question is important because it helps one understand a child’s change in perspective. It can also help one tell whether the child is experiencing PTG or PTSD. Raising PTG in family therapy is important because it will help the child recognize that some things about how they viewed life has changed. It will also help the family members realize that although the child is the same, some aspects of their lives have changed helped them change. PTG can impact children, especially their siblings and their friends (Levine & Kline, 2006). some children change their circle after a traumatic event has happened in their life (Kilmer et al., 2014). This is usually a response to the new growth they have experienced. PTG can be brought up in therapy while talking about the child’s trauma. This helps balance the negatives and the positives that happened as a result of the traumatic event.

References

Kilmer, R. P., Gil-Rivas, V., Griese, B., Hardy, S. J., Hafstad, G. S., & Alisic, E. (2014). Post-traumatic growth in children and youth: Clinical implications of an emerging research literature. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 506–518. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000016

Levine, P. A., & Kline, M. (2006). Trauma through a child’s eyes: Awakening the ordinary miracle of healing. North Atlantic Books.

Salter, E., & Stallard, P. (2004). Post-traumatic growth in child survivors of a road traffic accident. Journal of Traumatic Stress: Official Publication of The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, 17(4), 335-340.