2. 3 types of trauma
Historical
Generally involves genocide. Examples:
Wounded knee massacre/Native American policies
Holocaust
Apartheid
Becomes intergenerational trauma
Inability to grieve appropriately, mistrust, loss, lack of
cultural identity
“Hybrid” trauma historical/collective such as forced
adoptions of 1950’s and 60’s; slavery
3. Collective
Trauma in which society or group of people
impacted.
Examples include:
Covid-19 *
George Floyd and others
Pittsburgh synagogue bombing
Boston marathon bombing
9/11
Hurricane Maria
2004 Tsunami
JFK assassination
* Certain elements necessary for trauma to occur
4. Individual
Trauma experiences include:
sexual, physical and emotional abuse
neglect
witnessing or experiencing violence
Institutional violence
a serious accident/medical trauma
natural disaster
acts of war( may also be collective)
5. Trauma
“A normal response to an abnormal event”
The DSM definition:
development of characteristic symptoms following
exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving
direct personal experience of an event that involves
actual or threatened death or serious injury, or other
threat to one's physical integrity; or witnessing an
event that involves death, injury, or a threat to the
physical integrity of another person; or learning about
unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat
of death or injury experienced by a family member or
other close associate .
6. Trauma responses
Three main types of symptoms:
Re-experiencing the traumatic event
Avoiding reminders of the trauma
Increased anxiety and emotional arousal
7. Re-experiencing the traumatic event
Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event
Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is
happening again)
Nightmares (either of the event or of other
frightening things)
Feelings of intense distress when reminded of
the trauma
Intense physical reactions to reminders of the
event (e.g. pounding heart, rapid breathing,
nausea, muscle tension, sweating)
8. Avoidance and numbing
Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or
feelings that remind you of the trauma
Inability to remember important aspects of the
trauma
Loss of interest in activities and life in general
Feeling detached from others and emotionally
numb
Sense of a limited future (you don’t expect to
live a normal life span, get married, have a
career)
9. Increased anxiety and emotional arousal
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Irritability or outbursts of anger
Difficulty concentrating
Hypervigilance (on constant “red alert”)
Feeling jumpy and easily startled
10. Children
For children symptoms may differ from adults.
Symptoms in children include:
Fear of being separated from parent
Regressive behaviors in areas of mastery (such as toilet
training)
Sleep problems and nightmares (non or ill defined
content)
Somber, compulsive play in which themes or aspects of
the trauma are repeated
11. New phobias and anxieties that seem unrelated to the
trauma (such as a fear of monsters)
Acting out the trauma through play, stories, or
drawings
Aches and pains with no apparent cause
Irritability and aggression
12. PTSD
The focus of PTSD is a single life-
threatening event or threat to integrity.
However, the symptoms of traumatic
stress also arise from an accumulation of
small incidents rather than one major
incident.
13. Repeated exposure to horrific scenes at
accidents or fires, such as those endured
by members of the emergency services
(e.g. bodies mutilated in car crashes, or
horribly burnt or disfigured by fire, etc.)
Breaking news of bereavement caused
by accident or violence, especially if
children are involved
Repeated violations such as in verbal
abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse
and sexual abuse
Regular intrusion and violation, both
physical and psychological, as in
bullying, stalking, harassment, domestic
violence, etc.
14. Repeated involvement in dealing
with serious crime, e.g. where
violence has been used and
especially where children are
hurt
15. Repeated violations such as in
verbal abuse, physical abuse,
emotional abuse and sexual abuse
Regular intrusion and violation, both
physical and psychological, as in
bullying, stalking, harassment,
domestic violence, etc.
