Tag Archives: trauma

September Is Recovery Month: Telling Our Stories to Heal

When I was 5 years old, I changed my name to Susan Cinderella and invented a world where a cat was my mother and all the other grown-ups were animals, too. I loved climbing trees, wearing my brother’s too-big Levis overalls and running in soybean fields without shoes. I sniffed the roadside buttercups. I wanted […]

Trauma Expert: ‘Do Not Watch’ Beheading Videos

The beheading by terrorists of a third hostage over the weekend with threats to kill other captives prompted psychological experts to warn the public that viewing the ghastly videos can cause trauma. The slaying of British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines – which Prime Minister David Cameron called “evil” – was seen in a video […]

Understanding Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Traumatic Brain Injury

Neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury is a mental health condition that sometimes arises in the long-term aftermath of a physical injury that results in brain damage. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) classifies this condition along with other types of neurocognitive disorder in the reference text for mental health professionals called the Diagnostic and […]

Addiction, Trauma Experts Featured at Elements Behavioral Health Symposium

On April 25, Elements Behavioral Health will host a symposium in Fort Lauderdale exploring the relationship of complex trauma to intimacy, addictions and mood disorders. The esteemed panel of speakers includes international speaker, author and clinician Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S, award-winning author, trainer, psychologist and trauma specialist Christine Courtois, PhD, ABPP, and board-certified addiction psychiatrist […]

Watching News Coverage of Terrorist Attacks Can Be More Stressful Than Being a Victim, Study Finds

Extensive exposure to Boston Marathon bombing media coverage caused more acute stress in people watching on TV, online or listening to radio reports than in those experiencing the terrorist attack itself, researchers at UC Irvine have found. Even the study authors who specialize in researching trauma impacts said they were startled by their findings: People […]

Childhood Trauma Linked to Brain Changes and Addiction

It has long been known that trauma at a young age can make a person vulnerable to a number of mental illnesses as well as addiction. Recently, however, researchers have made advances into understanding exactly why this is and specifically how trauma is linked to depression and addiction. Traumatic events during childhood actually change the […]

Childhood Abuse or Neglect Can Lead to Elevated Stress Response Later in Life

If an individual was abused or neglected during childhood, he or she may have an elevated inflammatory response to stress later in life, according to a new study. The research was led by Linda Carpenter, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University who also treats patients with mood disorders at Butler Hospital.

Troubled Children Can Increase Parents’ Stress, Even as Adults

Addiction and mental illnesses have been called “family diseases” because these types of behavioral health problems affect the well-being of the entire household. Now, researchers have proven that children who have led poor lifestyles—such as substance abuse, chronic behavioral health issues, problems with the law, or financial troubles— well into adulthood still pose a major […]

How to Help a Loved One Overcome Trauma

Traumatic events occur every day to untold numbers of people. But no matter how widespread the trauma, what it comes right down to is how trauma affects the individual. Trauma could be the result of a natural disaster, terrorism, mass violence, or it could be closer to home and involve domestic violence or sexual abuse, […]

Babies Can Remember Traumatic Events for Years

Most people are under the impression that infants younger than six months old do not remember traumatic events that happen to them or to their loved ones; however, this has recently been disproved. Judy Siegel-Itzkovich of the Jerusalem Post reports that a professor of infant mental health announced to an audience of 300 at a […]

Barbara Brawerman Develops Trauma Recovery Program at Promises

Promises’ integrated approach to treating alcohol and drug addiction offers those with a history of trauma or abuse an effective therapeutic approach to reduce future relapse triggers. Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Barbara Brawerman, Psy.D, MFT, has teamed up with Promises Treatment Centers to develop a trauma recovery program that utilizes EMDR, an innovative method of psychotherapy […]