Complex Childhood Trauma Across the Lifespan: Disruptions, Adaptations, and Opportunities for Recovery
Complex Childhood Trauma Across the Lifespan: Disruptions, Adaptations, and Opportunities for Recovery
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Issue Date
2025-06-24
Authors
Casoria, Antonio
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Abstract
This capstone project explores how one's experience of complex childhood trauma risks profound disruptions to their brain development, attachment formation, emotional regulation capacities, and interpersonal relationships. Complex childhood trauma negatively impacts certain domains of the brain, leading to deeply embedded challenges for a survivor, including impulsivity, hypervigilance, and emotional dysregulation as notable examples (McLaughlin et al., 2019; Teicher & Samson, 2016). Furthermore, complex childhood trauma increases the likelihood for psychological disorders to emerge later in life due to the neurobiological and developmental disruptions caused by its pervasive, reoccurring nature (Danese & McEwen, 2012; McLaughlin et al., 2019; Teicher & Samson, 2016). However, healing from this life experience is possible, as supportive relationships, co-regulation techniques, and trauma-informed therapies can serve to reduce these negative impacts and rewire unhelpful, maladaptive patterns of living (Calhoun et al., 2022; Frederick et al., 2023). This capstone also includes a three-day workshop for mental health practitioners, integrating and blending knowledge, techniques, and self-care to help bridge the space between theory and application.
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Keywords
adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) , attachment theory , complex childhood trauma , emotional dysregulation , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)