Hamburg - Traumatic experiences that are bad for grownups are often catastrophic for children.
'Unlike adults, they have have not developed a value structure,' said Friedrich Haux of the a trauma clinic in Germany. Adults know, for example, that assaults and rapes are bad things. When children experience a bad event, they can't classify it and can barely speak about it. The trauma
is then cemented in a child's memory and in worst cases the child keeps it for life.
The word trauma is related to the word wound. A traumatized individual remains psychologically wounded for life. Psychotherapist Sabine Ahrens-Eipper would like to spare young people from going through this experience. She and her colleagues have founded a trauma project in Halle which is the first of its kind in Germany.
People between the ages of 3 and 26 who have been beaten, raped or assaulted or who have had an experience such as finding a corpse or witnessing a terrible accident are treated there. The project offers appointments on short notice, therapists make house calls or visits to schools and they work with governmental agencies and paediatricians. The project already has successfully treated patients.
'Normally, the wait for an appointment with a psychotherapist is long,' said Ahrens-Eipper. It can take up to a year just to get the first consultation. That's too difficult for traumatized children and youths who are treated by the project, which is supported by Germany's public health insurance. The trauma can deepen while the patient waits for an appointment and that makes treating it all the more difficult.
In any case, young people are much more difficult to treat than adults. The younger they are the more complicated the therapy is. That is linked to a child's untrained structure of values. Children can neither refer to earlier experiences nor rationally grasp events. The most difficult traumas to treat are those that arise within a relationship with a trusted person, such as a teacher or parent.
'This is very, very difficult to bear because it is so unnatural,' said Ahrens-Eipper. Parents protect their children and give them a foundation for their lives. When children are abused, this is destroyed or it becomes impossible for the foundation to form.
'These children often grow into adults without orientation and a feeling of security,' said Karin Wagner of a trauma and victims centre in Frankfurt. Illness often awaits these individuals along the path of their life and the danger of substance abuse is enormous.
'It's like throwing dirt on a pile of garbage. From the outside nothing unusual is visible, but the inside stinks,' said Haux, recalling a patient with agonizing memories of World War Two that continually surfaced even after sixty years.
A trauma that is not addressed becomes ever more noticeable as a person ages. The good news is trauma can be treated even after a long time, which is a comfort to people with these difficulties, said Ahrens-Eipper.
Among her patients are children who have experienced living hell in their households. For example a 6-year-old girl who was tormented by her parents and a 4-year-old boy who was repeatedly beaten by his father.
The problems are not always restricted to low-income families, but poverty is among the risk factors.
The initial goal of therapy is to establish mutual trust and to give the young person a sense of security. The parents - whether biological or foster - are very important.
'The more stable they are the more able the children are to process their trauma,' said Wagner.
The therapy for little ones includes games. Some children act out their traumatic experiences countless times. Or they pretend to travel with a toy boat to various islands, for example the island of dreams, where the nasty dreams should stay.
There is also therapy for older children and teenagers. It typically involves visiting the place where they suffered the trauma, or they practice being able to look the people who mistreated them in the eye.
The symptoms of trauma in a child vary. Sometimes children who have experienced trauma fall behind in developmental stages. They revert to early behaviours such as suckling or bed wetting. Some suddenly have a fear of the dark or inability to sleep
. While some children become hyperactive, others regularly freeze in place.
Boys more commonly express themselves through aggression. They may hit other children or bully them. Girls are more likely to direct their feelings inward, injuring themselves physically or becoming anorexic.
source: monstersandcritics
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