Early trauma is the common thread
Early trauma is an incredibly complex subject and yet it is the common thread that runs through so much of our work. Adverse Child Experience (ACE) studies have highlighted the links between addiction and neglect, abuse and violence, yet how often do we use this knowledge to develop our responses? Dr Suzanne Zeedyk (interview, p6) said in a recent online event by Favor UK that ‘we’re not curious enough about the scars people carry, and that feeds denial’.
The research, expertise and personal experience in this month’s issue demonstrate how early trauma manifests in different contexts. Women who survive childhood abuse are likely to experience sexual assault and domestic abuse, says Janie Pamment (p8), and working in a trauma-informed way can play a key part in helping them to free themselves from cycles of abuse.
The context of multiple deprivation and disadvantage is important, whether looking at alcohol-related domestic violence (p15) or understanding how we can introduce ‘recovery capital’ to people in prison (p13).
Please let us know if you have work we can share; we’re building a valuable resource on early trauma on the DDN website.
Read the March issue as an online magazine or download the PDF
Claire Brown, editor
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