Childhood trauma, neural development, and spiritual healing pathways

Childhood Trauma / Development / Spirituality

How can childhood trauma affect neural development? According to Professor Allan Schore, writing in the peer-reviewed Infant Mental Health Journal, there are "negative impacts" vis-a-vis the child's brain development and infant mental health when the child is subjected to "infant trauma" (Schore, 2001). The professor references John Bowlby's findings that an infant's "environment of adaptiveness" is "vital" to the survival of that child, and that trauma can negatively impact the "maturation of the control system" in the infant's brain (Schore, 203).

Schore cites medical / psychological / biological research that proves that trauma is not limited to physical abuse of an infant. Indeed, he writes that "…repetitive, sustained emotional abuse is at the core of childhood trauma," and when there is neglect or maltreatment on the part of the adult, that leads to compromised "cognitive development" (Schore, 205). Because there is a growth spurt in the development of the brain in the third trimester, Schore explains that "environmental or psychosocial stressors" experienced by the mother during that pivotal period can result in "…changes in gene expression in the fetal brain that are retained when it reaches adulthood" (206).

Moreover, when and if the mother's level of "maternal corticotrophin-releasing hormone" becomes too high, that can "negatively affect fetal brain development"; this in turn can produce what Schore terms "…an enduring neurophysiological vulnerability" (206).

TWO: Discuss how spiritual development can counter the effects of trauma. Oliver Morgan writes in the Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling that spirituality can help a person recover from trauma. Whether it is from "personal enlightenment, compassion, or the process of healing others," spirituality helps a person through the process of recovery from trauma (Morgan, 2009). The three great spiritual virtues should all be linked to a healing process for children that have suffered trauma, Morgan insists: "Faith (a sense of trust and meaning), hope (resilience in the face of despair), and love (renewed connections and community)" (Morgan, 12).

Professor Jane Bone, who uses spirituality in her teaching curriculum, explains that "caring and effective teachers" are often thinking about "everyday spirituality" which embraces "spiritual withness, spiritual in-betweenness and the spiritual elsewhere" (Bone, 2008). In the spaces mentioned above there is "room for healing and recovery from a range of traumatic events, adversity, abuse and grief" (Bone, 274).

THREE: What elements influence how much trauma will impact a child? In the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website a study is referenced (which involved Emory University School of Medicine) that any level of childhood trauma is "a significant risk factor for the development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)" (CDC.gov). In fact instances of sexual abuse, low levels of cortisol, and any amount of emotional mistreatment are linked to a "six-fold increased risk for CFS"; moreover, preventing any child maltreatment before it begins is the key to having a child that is healthy and strong (CDC.gov).

FOUR: Detail the prevalence of types of trauma from other cultures. The Netherlands Study of Depression collected data from 1,209 adults in Holland. The research involved the collection of longitudinal data related to childhood life events and trauma for these adults. It turned out that 57.8% reported childhood trauma at some level. Those adults who were found to have "emotional neglect, psychological and physical abuse, but not sexual abuse," were said to suffer from "both depressive and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorder…" (Hovens, et al., 2012).