Trauma
Domestic Violence
Therapy
Foster Care
Sherman's Symptoms
100
What is trauma?
The negative and lasting impact of directly witnessing, experiencing, or learning about the actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence of a loved one. AKA A really terrible and scary thing happened where I thought I could be seriously hurt or someone I loved could have been seriously hurt or died.
100
What is domestic violence?
When an adult family member is hurting another family member, with pushes, shoves, hits, slaps, punches, or uses objects. It can also be with name calling and making threats. It is very scary for kids to see and it is never the child's fault there is fighting.
100
What are we going to be learning about in therapy?
How to move forward from our trauma and learn tools to help us control our feelings and learn safe and healthy ways to feel better.
100
What is foster care?
Sometimes kids can't live with their moms or dads so they need to live somewhere else for different reasons. Sometimes parents hurt them, or they die, they might have to be in jail, and sometimes parents have a hard time take care of them. That's when they go to foster care. It's not the kid's fault. All kids need a grown up to take care of them!
100
Criteria 1-intrusion symptoms
recurrent, involuntary distressing memories that come to mind when we don't want them to, trauma-related dreams or nightmares, flashbacks or dissociation ("checked out"), physical body responses when triggered, and/or intense and prolonged reactions to triggers
200
What are triggers?
An internal or external cue that reminds children of their original trauma experience. They may be a person, place, thing, smell, memory, conversation, or even body language. Some are easy to figure out (fire alarm went off), and some are hard (lasagna for dinner)!
200
How "common" is domestic violence?
3 million kids see this kind of violence in their homes each year. This means there are lots of children that see or hear adult family members hurting one another.
200
Daily Double: Try to make us laugh by telling your best joke, doing something silly, or making a funny face!
200
How many kids are in foster care?
There are more than 12,000 children in North Carolina living with foster families!
200
Criteria 2-avoidance
effort to avoid trauma-related thoughts, feelings, or memories and external reminders such as people, places, and things associated with the trauma
300
What do kids feel when they've experienced trauma?
lots of BIG feelings like anger, sadness, confusion, shame, guilt, frustration, disappointment, just to name a few. All feelings are normal!
300
Who experiences domestic violence?
Anyone can, it doesn't matter how much money someone makes, what they believe in, what kind of clothes they were or where they live.
300
How can we start trying to manage our big feelings now?
Relaxation strategies! (Safe place, Light Stream, Breathing Colors, Container, Legos, Drawing)
300
Are all foster parents the same?
Some kids really like their foster parents, some have troubles that need to be worked out. Some kids look like their foster parents, and some don't. Some kids need to learn new traditions and rules. Some kids are excited for foster parents to meet their friends and school staff, while others might not. The foster parents job is to keep kids safe and take care of them.
300
Daily Double: If you could be an animal for the whole day, what animal would you choose?
That sounds awesome ☺
400
Tell us about Amy the Amygdala
The amygala is the part of our brain that controls emotions. It's job is to keep us safe and protect us from danger. "Amy" sends fear signals to my body so I run, freeze, or fight the "danger." When we experience trauma, Amy can think that little things can be scary and cause a false alarm.
400
Who are your five? (school/work/home)
They sound supportive and loving!
400
What is it called when a parent or caregiver harms a child due to being angry, as a punishment, or another reason?
physical abuse
400
What is the best part of your day?
Love that!
400
Criteria 3-negative alterations
negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world, persistent, distorted thoughts about the cause of trauma and consequences of the trauma (shame/guilt/blame), negative mood, difficulty feeling positive emotions, and feeling detached or trouble forming positive and healthy relationships
500
Daily Double: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Cool! You'd make a great superhero ☻
500
What are healthy and appropriate ways to work out disagreements or arguments?
That is a good strategy!
500
What are some reasons kids may not immediately tell they have been abused?
Fear of what will happen, fear of not being believed, fear that guardians will be angry and react, fear of breaking up family, fear of getting in trouble...
500
Is there something wrong with how I feel or what I think?
It can be hard not knowing answers to questions. It is normal to have big feelings about who you live with or what you cannot make decisions on. A kid's job is to be a kid, go to school, play, and grow! It is normal to feel angry, scared, disappointed, worried, and also it is normal to feel happy, care for, and love the people you spend time with! There is nothing wrong with how you feel or what you think...but it is important to talk about them so we can feel better!
500
Criteria 4-hypervigilance
arousal and reactivity such as irritable behavior or "unexplained" anger outbursts, reckless/self-destructive behavior, exaggerated startle response, concentration problems, sleep difficulties, and always looking over your shoulder or feeling "on guard"