Childhood Trauma as a predictor of Adult Functionality

The verdict is in concerning whether trauma experienced in our childhood has lasting effects on how healthy we are as adults. Kaiser Permanente conducted the ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences Study) from 1995-97 on 17,000 of its HMO members. Trauma was defined by any type of emotional abuse, Mother treated violently, substance abuse in household, mental illness in household, parental separation or divorce, criminal household member or childhood neglect. Participants were given a score based on how many of these experiences they endorsed. Long story short, the greater the number of traumatic experiences and the higher the duration and frequency, the worse the person’s health and well-being outcomes were across their lifetime.

One implication of this study is that when children’s developing brains experience traumatic events they are more prone to experiencing what is known as an amygdala hijack. An amygdala hijack is an immediate and overwhelming emotional response that is out of proportion to the stimulus that is being experienced. This is basically because the amygdala has learned from past experiences to be hypersensitive to certain threats and is now responding in a self-protective capacity.

These findings change the face of psychotherapy. Previously trauma was viewed as resulting from extreme cases of combat, disaster, or catastrophic situation.  This study changes the definition of trauma to include instances that most adults experienced during their childhood, to varying degrees. Trauma has moved beyond the tradition definition of PTSD.

Consider these findings with the increasingly stressful lifestyle that most people are living and it stands to reason that more people are experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD and other more severe symptoms than ever before.  The treatment is not simple because each person has had different experiences and views their symptoms through a different lens. The role of psychotherapy is for the therapist to develop a relationship with the client that enables them to understand that client’s worldview. Next, as a team, the therapist and client formulate a treatment plan together that addresses the trauma and teaches the client coping skills to lower the overall stress level so that when the amygdala is hijacked the client is better able to recognize what is happening and take back control of their life.