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6.1: Introduction and Learning Objectives

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    Chapter 6: Other Types of Traumas

    Events which happen in a child’s life, which the child perceives as threatening or harmful, may leave the child feeling overwhelmed.These occurrences may be considered traumatic. Trauma certainly may arise from abusive and neglectful situations, but may also come out of societal events. This chapter will explore what trauma is, how it affects individuals and groups of people, and how the brain reacts to trauma. This chapter will also explore various types of stress, and how stress can be both beneficial and harmful to a developing child. Finally, this chapter will explore how childhood trauma can impact the person later in life, how secondary trauma impacts people and ways that society can act to help children and adults overcome trauma.

    Learning Objectives

    By the completion of this chapter, students should be able to:

    • Describe what trauma is and how it affects a person.
    • Explain what generational trauma is and give examples.
    • Describe examples of traumatic events.
    • Explain the difference between good and bad stress.
    • Explain how the brain reacts to trauma and how childhood trauma can impact adult life.
    • Describe secondary trauma and whom it may impact.
    • Discuss hope and how it plays a part in overcoming trauma in one's life.

    What Is Considered Trauma?

    Trauma is defined as:

    1. Exposure to an event or series of events that are perceived to threaten/harm the physical or emotional integrity of the individual or someone close to them;
    1. Trauma overwhelms the person's individual and collective ability to respond; AND
    1. Trauma leads to adaptations that create significant difficulty in functioning.

    In order to be considered "TRAUMA", an incident must meet all three of these descriptions.


    6.1: Introduction and Learning Objectives is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.