The Emotional Fallout of Trauma


The Emotional Fallout of Trauma

Recently, the State of Illinois was chosen as one of 10 states to participate in a Zero to Three Policy Center meeting sponsored by the Zero to Three Mental Health program.

The meeting brought together leaders who came to discuss how the process for diagnosing and treating mental health problems in very young children could be improved. Other discussions centered around how to provide greater access to mental health services for the young child.

Cindy Oser, director of Infant Mental Health At Zero to Three said, many times, a child's mental health problems are overlooked as something that they will eventually grow out of. But according to her, children do not easily overcome mental health challenges if left untreated.

“Most people don’t even think about very young children having mental health problems. Many of the behavioral (issues) that we see when young children grow older are issues that first started in the early stages of their lives. A child's brain starts to develop during those critical years of 0-3. So, if we can identify problems and risk factors in those first couple years of life--long before the problems gets embedded in the child, it is much more cost effective to provide treatment during the early stage of their lives. The more we can identify mental health problems, the more services we can provide to help (them)."

“Illinois was selected because the state has done a lot of work in this area already,” Oser said.

She added that 25 states applied for the 10 available slots; however the process of elimination included a rigorous round of questions that team members had to provide regarding infant mental health policy.

Oser explained that participating teams that were mostly comprised of policymakers had to propose why the Zero to Three Policy meeting would be helpful for their state. Team members had to explain how they could advance their policy in infant mental health.

Oser said social service teams such as the Department of Human Services from various states had a chance to talk to experts in the area of infant mental health. In the process of the dialogue, the teams discovered how other states were successful in moving their infant mental health policies forward.

The teams also shared information centered on Medicaid policies, written policy language that deals with infant mental health, along with tools and techniques to identify mental health issues.

Oser explained that parents play a major role in maintaining a child’s resilience when they face trauma. She said a child's ability to bounce back after a traumatic event is critical. According to Oser, when a parent is addicted to drugs, the child doesn’t have that relationship to depend on the parent, because the parent has a relationship with the drug.

"This leaves the child feeling that there is no predictability with the parent and there is no one to depend on to provide the kind of experience to feed the child’s brain. Therefore, the child’s development might be stifled. If this kind of relationship is extreme, they might be in an unsafe environment. The attention is not on the child, the attention on is on the drug,” Oser said.

Many mental disorders happen due to the onset of a traumatic event that the infant or toddler has witnessed, she said.

"Mental disorders are not common in young children, but are serious when they happen. A traumatic event such as witnessing their mom or dad being beaten, witnessing a murder, experiencing a natural disaster, or having to go to a shelter can be very devastating to a child.

“Sometimes these events go on day after day. We call this 'toxic stress.' The mental health problem that occurs after that is called post-traumatic stress disorder--similar to adult posttraumatic stress,” she said.

Citing loss and grief as causes of depression in young children, Oser added, "Severe anxiety, attachment issues, such as having to leave a home environment causes post-traumatic stress in young children."

The role of a care giver is to provide a safe, secure and loving relationship with the child. When a child’s behavior has changed, Oser advises that the caregiver or parent should monitor the child’s eating and sleeping patterns.

She added that when children exhibit hyperactivity, have problems calming down, or fight other children, she suggests that the child be evaluated for behavioral problems. If the child is in daycare, the parent or caregiver should ask the daycare provider questions about the child’s behavior, adding, the caregiver is the child’s first line of defense, Oser said.

The Zero to Three initiatives is a high priority for the State of Illinois.

Right now, the state is trying to figure out how to expand access, including providing additional funding for the issue of mental health and young children, Oser said. Receiving treatment as early as possible is critical, she added.

"If children with mental health problems aren’t treated, it’s going to affect their ability to learn. They will have a difficult time getting along with their peers and have a hard time making friends with other children.

"Their physical growth and development are also affected,” she said.

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