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Previous Issues Volume 4, Issue 2 - 2019
Trauma Affecting School-Aged Children in the San Francisco Bay Area
Pollie Bith-Melander*, Sharon May, Lemny Perez, Timothy Nguyen, Amber Huynh
Department of Social Work, California State University at Stanislaus, USA
Corresponding author: Pollie Bith-Melander*, PhD, MSW, ACSW, PPSC, Department of Social Work, California State University at Stanislaus, USA.
Received Date: Oct 21, 2019
Published Date: Nov 12, 2019
Copyright © 2019 Bith-Melander P, et al.
Citation: Bith-Melander P. (2019). Trauma Affecting School-Aged Children in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mathews J Psychiatry Ment Health. (4)1: 25.
ABSTRACT
This research study focused on trauma affecting children and youth in an urban school environment. The objective of this the research was to gain a deeper understanding of the current challenges and barriers relating to assessments and treatments of children with a history of trauma. This research reviewed a representative sample of qualitative observations made by clinicians who worked with children in urban school districts in the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. In addition, we assessed secondary information of hand-written notes from past clinicians who previously worked in these same schools. Reflexivity (researcher’s views/experiences) methods were used and framed within an evolutionary perspective, specifically the concept of the flight-freeze response to violence; this perspective offers us insight into how we as human beings react and respond to threats and violence in our lives. We concluded that among our sample, a significant portion of school children have had past trauma and clinical symptoms relating to those past traumatic experiences, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Screening for trauma is critical for matters relating to the development of effective and appropriate interventions. We believe that conducting past family histories, and specifically conducting assessments of any history of past trauma, may help assist in being able to administer more effective treatments.
Keywords: Trauma; Child traumatic stress; ADHD; PTSD; Psychosis; Anger
