According to the traumagenic dynamics model (Finkelhor and Browne), severe and protracted childhood interpersonal childhood trauma (interpersonal trauma refers to types of trauma that occur between the child and significant others e,g, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and witnessing domestic violence) can give rise to pervasive feelings of betrayal, powerlessness, stigmatization and traumatic […]
Although there is now a vast amount of research that has been conducted on the link between childhood trauma and the later development of non-psychotic disorders, the amount of research that has been conducted on the link between childhood trauma and the later development of psychotic conditions has been rather less plentiful; however, increasingly, […]
‘SPLITTING’ : This is an unconscious defense mechanism that involves us seeing things in extreme and exaggerated ways, either as ALL GOOD or ALL BAD; this unconscious strategy is often seen in people suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD). For example, those suffering from this disorder frequently vacillate between, at times, perceiving a friend or […]
The Link Between Childhood Trauma, Psychopathology And Sexual Orientation Childhood Trauma And Sexual Orientation : A study, based on statistics and information derived from the National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent Health (2001-2002) examined the link between sexual orientation and history of childhood maltreatment. This research involved analysis relating to 13,962 participants that comprised young people […]
The Trauma Model Of Mental Disorders : According to the trauma model of mental disorders (also sometimes referred to as the trauma model of psychopathology), many professionals involved with the treatment of psychiatric disorders (such as psychiatrists) have been excessively preoccupied with the medical model of mental disorders (the medical model stresses the importance […]
Sub-Types Of Childhood Trauma : As we have seen from other articles I have published on this site, childhood trauma can be split into 4 main subtypes: emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. In this article, I briefly describe some of the main research findings in regard to the association between childhood […]
Because there is considerable overlap in symptoms between those suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) and those suffering from complex posttraumatic disorder (complex PTSD), those with the latter condition can be misdiagnosed as suffering from the former condition. In order to help clarify the differences between the two conditions and help show how they are […]
Do you ever feel you have entered a state of ’emotional shutdown’? How we were treated as children by our parents/primary carers will inevitably, of course, have given rise to powerful emotions. For those who experienced a stable and affectionate upbringing, most of these emotions will be positive, the most obvious being love. However, […]
The OBJECTS RELATIONS THEORY of borderline personality disorder was proposed by Kohut at the beginning of the 1970s and is a modern psychoanalytic theory. Object Relations Theory states that BPD can be traced back to an individual’s early (from the age of approximately 18 months to 36 months) dysfunctional relationship with his/her mother. What Is […]
Above: Environmental factors which increase the risk of developing mental illness. Childhood adverse experiences, especially when repetitive and chronic, are frequently particularly damaging. We have seen that those of us who suffered significant childhood trauma are far more likely than those who were fortunate enough to experience a relatively stable upbringing […]
If, as adults, we find we have poor impulse control, this may be, in large part, due to the legacy of a disturbed and traumatic childhood. For example, those who have suffered severe and chronic childhood trauma are more likely to suffer from conditions such as borderline personality disorder (BPD) and anti-social personality disorder […]
Three critical brain regions that may be adversely affected by significant and chronic childhood trauma are : 1) The thalamus 2) The amygdala 3) The hippocampus Below, I will briefly describe the main functions of each of these three crucial regions of the brain, together with providing a summary of the damage they may sustain […]
We have already seen from other articles published on this site that those of us who suffered severe childhood trauma are at a much-increased risk of developing borderline personality disorder (BPD) as adults than average. We have also examined the symptoms of BPD in other posts so there is no need to repeat that here. […]
We have seen in other articles published on this site that if we experience significant trauma during our childhood we are at higher risk than average of developing psychological problems (such as an impaired ability to cope with stress, complex post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder) in adulthood, which, in the absence of appropriate […]
