Trauma loss PTSD post traumatic stress disorder, children's symptoms, sensory midbrain

Children & Trauma / Loss / PTSD

(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

We offer a professional counseling / counselling framework to help work through trauma, loss and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder syndrome) in children, by means of a highly structured play therapy approach. To look at the issue and definition of trauma and children involves seeing them as survivors of either actual or vicarious traumatic events, either emotional, physical or sexual, sometimes in early childhood. The resulting effects of trauma may interfere with higher brain functions & can sometimes be mistaken for being ADD or ADHD.

The intervention program, treating and treatment of / for trauma includes working through the shock, and sometimes facilitating the grieving process, bereavement and ability to mourn. The types, stages, steps, levels and phases of the grief process are worked through when applicable. Relief, overcoming, recovery and the healing of grief involve facing and dealing with the unresolved pain and anger rather than getting caught in an ongoing lifestyle of just coping with it as best one can.

We will outline some of the reactions or symptoms of trauma in a symptom inventory checklist in the explanation section below.

Explanation

If a child is old enough to laugh, she or he is old enough to be traumatized. Divorce, serious accidents, abuse, witnessing violence, or natural disasters can all traumatize children. Trauma can also occur vicariously when children hear of others who have been injured or killed.

A traumatized child may experience some of the following symptoms: nightmares, afraid to sleep alone or be alone even for short periods of time, easily startled (terrorized) by sounds, sights, smells similar to those at the time of the event, hyper vigilant (frequently watching out for and anticipating danger), irritable, aggressive, forget recently acquired skills, withdrawal from friends, headaches, stomach problems, put themselves in life threatening situations, school behavior / behaviour problems, verbalize nothing scares them, pessimistic view of the future, loss of enjoyment in activities previously enjoyed (TLC, 1994).

Trauma memories are stored in the midbrain and may interfere with higher brain functions involved in learning, attention, retaining and recalling information. Sometimes trauma symptoms may be mistaken for ADD or ADHD, because the way in which it manifests may be similar to these attention disorders. Because trauma is stored at a sensory level, sensory interventions are important to reprocess the trauma memories. A highly structured play therapy approach can help children process traumatic experiences, form a narrative about the traumatic experience, and reintegrate the traumatic experience.

Our goal is to help your child sort out & work through any relevant past or present hurts (& the resulting influences on their life & relationships), & any communication, power struggle or intimacy issues that may be hindering them.

Phone counseling / counselling, Online audio / video, email or LiveType Chat Instant Messaging etherapy sessions are available for working through issues as an alternative to the standard Office appointments we also offer (see Online & Phone Counseling).

These are obviously not the best formats for play therapy, but where there are no local play therapists available & parents are still interested in trying to work in conjunction with a play therapist to try to help their child(ren) express & process their trauma / loss / PTSD, it is do-able. If possible, online audio video would be the best alternate medium for this. It must be understood though, that this is a somewhat more limited & limiting format than an office appointment for play therapy would be.

In our Resources section we have a number of links, books, articles, essays & seminar notes that may be of help as a supplement to counseling.

Context of our Value Base

Our counseling services are available to both Christians & non-Christians alike (as per our Mission Statement), & for both we integrate our spirituality only to the degree that people request & are comfortable with. We are respectful of others being in somewhat different places than we are in the life journeys we walk out, & are also aware that many have been hurt or offended religiously by others in their past.

We do not try to force our Christian value base or beliefs on others, although it can at times affect what goals we feel comfortable about being able to work on, because there are a handful of moral & spiritual issues where we will not be comfortable in counseling contrary to our beliefs. These issues generally do not tend to come up in most people's counseling though.

We come from a spiritual, biblical perspective so when requested we also function as pastoral counselors / counsellors in addition to being professional counselors, marriage & family therapists. We are very comfortable with prayer & the inclusion of scripture where this is requested & desired, yet even then it will be integrated only to the degree that people are comfortable with.

Who we are : MSW 30+ years counseling experience

Please feel free to book Online & Phone counseling appointments as an alternative to our Office appointments

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