Trauma Terms

Question 1

Acute Trauma

Answer 1

A one-time event that happens under a limited amount of time. This could include sexual or physical assault, going through a natural disaster, or possibly a car wreck. Examples include medical trauma, hate crimes, physical or sexual assault.

Question 2

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Answer 2

Potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. ACEs can include violence, abuse, and growing up in a family with mental health or substance use problems

Question 3

Chronic Trauma

Answer 3

is where an event may happen over and over again or it may be a multiple layering of events. For example, chronic trauma might apply in cases of ongoing abuse, neglect, domestic violence, human trafficking, or it might be that someone has multiple events happen to them. For example, they have cancer, they’re in a tornado, and then they are in a car wreck— different types of trauma layering one on the other.

Question 3

Adverse Community Experiences

Answer 3

Traumas that are experienced by entire communities, as opposed to individuals

Question 4

Complex Trauma

Answer 4

is a lot like chronic trauma, except that it happens at the inactions or actions of the caregiver, the person that a child should be able to trust. This trauma generally starts in the early years, 0–6, even though it can go beyond that, that’s where we generally see it starting. The importance of understanding complex trauma is because it doesn’t end when the trauma ends, it doesn’t end when the abuse ends, it doesn’t end when the domestic violence or assault ends, or the neglect ends. That’s really important to understand.

Question 5

Intergenerational Trauma

Answer 5

a traumatic event that began years prior to the current generation and has impacted the ways in which individuals within a family understand, cope with, and heal from trauma

Question 6

Medical Trauma

Answer 6

can include symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in response to medical experiences such as “pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures, and invasive or frightening treatment experiences”

Question 7

Post-Traumatic Growth

Answer 7

refers to the process of individuals who have experienced trauma gaining “positive change and growth” through the healing process of coping with the trauma. It is important to note that post traumatic growth is not caused by trauma, but by the healing process that the individual takes part in

Question 8

Race-Based Trauma

Answer 8

Racial and ethnic minority individuals may experience racial discrimination as a psychological trauma, as it may elicit a response comparable to post-traumatic stress. Examples include macroaggressions, microaggressions, hate crimes

Question 9

Traumatic Grief

Answer 9

a response to death and/or grief that is similar to other reactions to trauma. Individuals may ruminate on the details of the death, have difficulty with memory and development, and experience emotional and physical arousal symptoms

Question 10

Resilience

Answer 10

the ability to bounce back after challenges and tough times. Resilient children can recover from setbacks and get back to living life. Resilience develops when children experience challenges and learn to deal with them positively.

Question 11

Physical Trauma

Answer 11

Any harm or injury to the body. Trauma caused through experiencing pain, if the injury was sudden or caused by an act of violence, or if there is long term bodily damage.

Question 12

Psychological Trauma

Answer 12

Any harm done to the psyche or emotional self. When someone is made to feel small, and their sense of self is threatened.

Question 13

Trigger

Answer 13

Anything that resembles, symbolizes, or is associated with the traumatic event. Common triggers include: smells, sounds, objects, movements, anniversaries, or significant life events. When we are triggered, it means we have experienced something associated with the traumatic event that sets off our memory of the experience.

Question 14

Affect/Emotion Regulation

Answer 14

A person’s capacity to adjust the intensity of their energy and emotions

Question 15

Dissociation

Answer 15

A mental process that can happen to children and teens where they disconnect from their thoughts, feelings, memories, or sense of identity

Question 16

Window of Tolerance

Answer 16

The range of specific emotions, affective intensity or physiological arousal a given person can tolerate before becoming dysregulated and hyperaroused or hypoaroused