Assessing And Treating Youth Exposed To Traumatic Stress

A cogent, caring, and comprehensive response to the reality that many children live lives of constant threat, fear, and confusion while lacking opportunities for positive social interactions, stimulation, and empowerment.

PTSD is a recently named psychiatric condition that unknown before the publication of DSM-III in 1980. The creation of this diagnosis was intensely controversial, and there continued to be considerable reluctance to apply the term to children. The 1985 landmark volume, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children, edited by Spencer Eth and Robert Pynoos, helped establish the validity of this condition during childhood. Now Spencer Eth has edited PTSD in Children and Adolescents, a work that brings the field of childhood trauma in to the new century by offering fresh insights on five major topic areas in child and adolescent PTSD: Techniques for comprehensive evaluation -- details recently developed diagnostic instruments and rating scales that measure the variety and severity of traumatic symptoms in children and adolescents. Forensic aspects of traumatized children -- surveys legally pertinent issues, including abuse, reliability of traumatic memories, and credibility of child victims. Juvenile offenders and incarcerated youth -- examines the role of trauma in the lives of juvenile offenders, noting that the victimization of delinquents must be specifically addressed in order for an integrated approach to treatment to achieve effective rehabilitation. Biological treatment strategies -- systematically reviews the important role of medications for PTSD in clinical practice, including such topics as biological dysregulation, target symptoms, and the inclusion of drugs into the biopsychosocial treatment plan. The relationship between exposure to trauma in childhood and the development of psychiatric disorders in adulthood -- presents current research on the long-term prognosis of traumatized children and adolescents by analyzing the association between early traumatic exposure, biological substrates, and subsequent symptomatic morbidity. Mental health practitioners and trainees, as well as attorneys, pediatricians, and school personnel, will find this thoroughly annotated volume an invaluable roadmap in their journey toward understanding PTSD and discovering more effective treatments for traumatized children and adolescents. With its eclectic perspective and interdisciplinary format, this exceptional reference will also enhance courses in developmental psychology, social work, and education.

Assessment of Trauma in Youths: Understanding issues of age, complexity, and associated variables is a collection of articles by well-known specialists in the field of childhood trauma. The articles describe developmental issues in addition to others that are important to the assessment of trauma-exposed youth, to the ongoing refinement of trauma-related diagnoses for children, and to understanding PTSD and more complicated reactions to trauma for young people. The book explores trauma in very young to middle childhood aged children, trauma in adolescents, childhood complicated trauma, and childhood complicated grief. It considers PTSD and Reactive Attachment Disorder as well as discussing disorders that are under continued study such as Developmental Trauma Disorder, Prolonged Grief Disorder, and Traumatic Grief. In the second half of the book, chapters look at the associated features of childhood traumatic response such as genetics and personality, cortisol, poly-victimization, and guilt and shame. Variables such as cortisol reactivity and guilt/shame may influence or follow traumas in children. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma.

This book serves as a practical guide for clinicians and other professionals working with children and adolescents exposed to trauma, offering an overview and rationale for a comprehensive approach to trauma-informed assessment, including key domains and techniques. Building on more than 2 decades of work in collaboration with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), the book provides strategies for conducting an effective trauma-informed assessment that can be used in practice to support the treatment planning and intervention process, family engagement and education, and collaboration and advocacy with other providers. As part of APA's Division 56 series, Concise Guides on Trauma Care, the book surveys a range of recommended tools and considerations for selecting and implementing those tools across stages of development and in relation to a child's sociocultural context. The authors also examine challenges that may arise in the context of trauma-informed assessment and suggest approaches to overcome those barriers.

This reader-friendly book masterfully explores the nature of traumatic stress and provides spot-on assessment tools for various trauma-related criteria. The second edition updates significant trauma related diagnoses, as well as new theories, research and therapeutic techniques. This collection of physiological and psychological techniques provides professions with a practical, eclectic approach to a variety of treatments. “High-Risk” indicators for PTSDChanges from DSM-IV-TR to DSM-5DSM-5 predictors for PTSDDissociation and treatmentsAttachment theory and neurobiology of broken attachment bondsNutritional supplement update for the prevention and treatment of PTSDCurrent psychopharmacological studies for PTSDThe relationship as therapy

This comprehensive, authoritative volume meets a key need for anyone providing treatment services or conducting research in the area of trauma and PTSD, including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and students in these fields. It is an invaluable text for courses in stress and trauma, abuse and victimization, or abnormal psychology, as well as clinical psychology practica.

This handbook presents the current evidence-based psychological treatments for trauma related disorders in childhood and adolescence and in addition provides clearly structured, up-to-date information on the basic principles of traumatic stress research and practice in that age group, covering epidemiology, developmental issues, pathogenetic models, diagnostics, and assessment. Each of the chapters on treatment, which form the core of the book, begins with a summary of the theoretical underpinnings of the approach, followed by a case presentation illustrating the treatment protocol session by session, an analysis of special challenges typically encountered in implementing this treatment, and an overview of the current evidence base for the treatment approach. A special section considers modern treatments in particular settings, such as schools, hospitals, and juvenile justice systems, and the concluding chapters provide an integrative discussion on how to treat traumatized children and adolescents and an outlook. The book will be invaluable for clinical child and adolescent psychologists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals working with traumatized children and adolescents.

Exposure to potentially traumatic events puts individuals at risk for developing a variety of psychological disorders; the complexities involved in treating them are numerous and have serious repercussions. How should diagnostic criteria be defined? How can we help a client who does not present with traditional PTSD symptoms? The mechanisms of human behavior need to be understood and treatment needs to be tested before we can move beyond traditional diagnostic criteria in designing and implementing treatment. No better guide than Retraumatization exists to fulfill these goals. The editors and contributors, all highly regarded experts, accomplish six objectives, to: define retraumatization outline the controversies related to it provide an overview of theoretical models present data related to the frequency of occurrence of different forms of trauma detail the most reliable strategies for assessment to provide an overview of treatments. Contained within is the most current information on prevention and treatment approaches for specific populations. All chapters are uniformly structured and address epidemiological data, clinical descriptions, assessment, diagnosis and prognosis, and prevention. It is an indispensible resource that expands readers’ knowledge and skills, and will encourage dialogue in a field that has many unanswered questions.