Childhood trauma is one of the leading causes of dysfunctional adults. This is because it has a serious impact on the growth and development of a child and if it is not addressed with the urgency it deserves, the child may grow into an individual with serious personal and social challenges.

Like is the case with other forms of trauma, therapy is appears to be one of the most realistic solutions for dealing with the problem and in this article, we shall explain how therapy can be used to help children get over childhood trauma.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a form of therapy that aims to solve childhood trauma by assisting the individual to focus on the positive side as opposed to the negative ones. In this kind of therapy, the therapist will listen carefully to the ordeal and then try to prescribe solutions that seem to tune the mind of the sufferer away from destructive behavior patterns. In order to succeed, the therapy focuses on the beauty of life in the present as opposed to its sham in the past, so that the person can appreciate that in spite of whatever trauma they suffered, there is still so much positivity in life.

Psychotherapy

Many people continue to suffer from childhood trauma since they do not know or have someone to talk to them. The modern fast-paced life makes it nearly impossible for parents, friends or even work colleagues to spare time to listen to each other’s problems, and this is where psychotherapy comes in. In this form of therapy, the therapist listens to the entire ordeal the person went through with a view to understanding the exact areas that might be the cause of their trauma. The goal is that the therapist should try to address the trauma by fostering the notion that “the sufferer is not alone in it’’. It is for this reason that they will allow the individual to narrate the entire incident and then in a very objective manner, offer their counseling from the standpoint of someone who was actually there.

Hypnotherapy

Though there is little scientific backing to it, cases abound where hypnotherapy actually worked as a remedy for those undergoing childhood trauma. This form of therapy involves the recreation of a person’s subconscious mind so that they can adapt to new feelings, changes, behaviors and attitudes. In a nut shell, hypnotherapy seeks to erase the entire event that caused the childhood trauma and replace it with new realities and ways of thinking. Here is a video showing you how that works.

Family Therapy

Family therapy is often prescribed in cases of relationship issues but it is also a perfect remedy for childhood trauma. The therapy aims to dig into the history of the family in order to understand whether the causes of the trauma were spontaneous or family-related. It is from these premises that the therapist will know what the best course of action is when dealing with the patient.

There is a common perception that children are resilient and that whatever happens to them in their childhood, they will always have away of bouncing back from it. However, this is only true in part because the truth of the matter is, there are those events that happen in the life of a child which may set them back forever. A child that suffers childhood trauma will almost always end up a dysfunctional adult who constantly exhibits symptoms of depression if not properly attended to. Are you wondering how childhood trauma can lead to adult depression? Read on to find out.

Subjective Thinking

First, childhood trauma is one of the major causes of subjective thinking. This means the individual is virtually unable to conceptualize anything from a rational standpoint and the effect is that their minds are paralyzed as they cannot think beyond themselves. They keep reenacting events that caused them trauma and progress is next to impossible as these thoughts hold them back from accomplishing anything. The end result is depression and on a long enough timeline, we may be dealing with a totally dysfunctional person.

Anxiety and Failed Relationships

Secondly, there is a lot of research that links childhood trauma to certain neuro-spectrum problems like anxiety and relationship issues. The inability of the individual to manage their anxiety means they are always anticipating the worst. Anxiety, as we know it, has a way of degenerating into depression, and this is why we have so many adults who do not only feel despondent but are also very inefficient at initiating and maintaining social ties. To them, their childhood ghosts still pretty much dictates every initiative they take and however positive the outlook may appear to everyone else, they simply do not see anything good that can come off life to neutralize or make for their childhood ordeal.

Physical Damage to Your Brain

Now, more interestingly, it is coming to be understood that early childhood trauma has a damaging effect on the brain, with evidence pointing out to the possibility that it could adversely affect the functionality and size of the brain. These effects often target the hippocampus and the corpus calosum, not to mention they significantly alter neurobiological mechanisms. So, where is the connection with depression? It should be noted that by affecting the brain cells and changing these neurobiological mechanisms, the individual’s ability to mediate stress response is greatly hampered, with the result that depression begins to build.

Last but not least, childhood trauma has a way of holding an individual hostage. Progress is greatly impeded as the person is unable to let the past go. As they grow into adults, they cannot enjoy their present achievements because the past is holding them back. This occurs because many people who suffer childhood trauma may not be skilled in reclaiming their lives regardless of whatever interventions they seek. The concept of engaging in the past literally means they are living two lives whose eras present conflicting episodes. This is the point where depression starts as the person is unable to decide which one between these two lives is the best for them at the moment.