Responses To Trauma, Neglect And Abuse

Course overview

This class presents some current issues surrounding problems in response to trauma, neglect and abuse such as PTSD as well as other related symptoms. We will consider neurological aspects of the response to trauma, neglect and abuse by reviewing some current literature on the neurobiological impacts. You will learn some of the current thinking about stress responses of dissociation, somatization, and affect dysregulation. There are remarkable differences in stress response between gender and age as well as risk factors that greatly impact the potentiality of co-morbid disorders and even the onset of PTSD. The DSM criteria will be described and discussed. Regarding the impact of violence on children, we will include a discussion about how states become traits, particularly with respect to the hyperarousal and dissociative responses to trauma. Participants will come away from this presentation with more skill in differentiating between PTSD and other disorders such as phobic or adjustment disorders.