By: Dimitri Dionisatos, B.Sc. RP (Qualifying)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you ever look at your child\/adolescent and wonder what\u2019s going on with them? Does your child\/adolescent seem to only throw \u201cfits\u201d when reading or doing math?<\/p > Psychological trauma is the result of an experience or series of experiences that is perceived by an individual as emotionally or physically damaging or threatening, and that has long-term adverse effects on an individual\u2019s various domains of wellness, including their emotional, social, physical, and\/or spiritual well-being (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were to take a poll of what ten people on the street think trauma is, you would find that many of them would cite examples like being exposed to war, physical or sexual abuse, and life-threatening accidents. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) has reinforced the notion that an individual has only experienced trauma if they were exposed \u201cto actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence\u201d (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These can be classified as Big \u201dT\u201d Traumas. However, trauma can also result from divorce, infidelity, rejection by peers, or work termination, which may not sound as debilitating but these Small \u201ct\u201d Traumas also can have profound and lasting effects on an individual\u2019s well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, it is important to note that not everyone exposed to Small \u201ct\u201d Trauma or Big \u201cT\u201d Trauma events will go on to develop a mental health diagnosis or long-lasting adverse effects of the trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big \u201cT\u201d Trauma<\/strong> Small \u201ct\u201d Trauma<\/strong> These treatments can substantially reduce symptoms of trauma through various psychotherapeutic activities, such as the reprocessing of memories, thoughts, and beliefs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morrissey, M. (2013). EMDR as an integrative therapeutic approach for the treatment of separation anxiety disorder. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 7(4), 200-207.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2012). vSAMHSA\u2019s working definition of trauma and guidance for trauma-informed approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Dimitri Dionisatos, B.Sc. RP (Qualifying) Do you ever look at your child\/adolescent and wonder what’s going on with them? Does your child\/adolescent seem to only throw “fits” when reading or doing math?<\/p > Psychological trauma is the result of an experience or series of … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":13970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mental-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13968"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13975,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13968\/revisions\/13975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/appdock.ca\/qxplore2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A Big \u201cT\u201d trauma typically involves exposure to serious injury, an actual or threatened death, during a natural disaster, war or combat, serious accident, or sexual violence. These events can leave an individual feeling shocked, despondent, and\/or helpless. The literature examining the short-term and long-term effects of Big \u201cT\u201d traumas is clear \u2013 exposure can lead to flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance of potentially traumatic events, strong feelings of fear, guilt, horror, or shame, and hypervigilance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small \u201ct\u201d traumas are life experiences that can create long-lasting difficulties that may lead to a specific mental health diagnosis or contribute to additional symptoms (Leeds, 2016). While Small \u201ct\u201d traumas may seem less significant from an adult perspective, they can be particularly damaging and terrifying to a child (Morrisey, 2013). For example, not feeling loved as a child is linked with fear of survival because the child is dependent on their parents for their survival. Other examples of Small \u201ct\u201d trauma include being bullied, constant criticism from peers or parents, separation, or divorce, financial or work stress. These experiences can harm an individual\u2019s self-esteem and trust by altering an individual\u2019s beliefs about themselves, others, and the world. Furthermore, the effects of these Small \u201ct\u201d Traumas may compound over time, creating even more distress.
Treatment for Trauma<\/strong>
Some individuals are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of traumatic exposure than others. Certain factors, such as an anxious disposition and exposure to past trauma, have been correlated with an individual\u2019s vulnerability to future trauma. Investigating these factors need to be a component of planning and providing treatment and cultivating resilience.
Whether you have experienced Small \u201ct\u201d traumas, Big \u201ct\u201d traumas, or a combination of the two, there are effective psychotherapeutic treatments. Evidence-based treatments for trauma include exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working through any form of trauma can be exhausting and difficult, but with the help of a trained mental health professional, there is hope for relief of symptoms and regaining a high quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n