Treating Trauma in Children

Effects of Trauma

Part 1

• Brief overview of the article and its findings

The article is a review of research done focusing on attachment theory. Considering there have been numerous studies covering attachment theory, there was a need to determine its efficacy in terms of familial predictors and intrapersonal and relational outcomes (Sutton, 2019). The review presents literature on the impact of attachment on youths and adults. Using established patterns of findings, the authors could predict outcomes for youth or adults based on their attachment during their formative years. The article focuses on family violence, parental depression, parental divorce, and changes in attachment style over time. The impact of attachment on romantic relationships has been analyzed too. The review discovered there are patterns people develop based on their attachment to their parents. Children with a positive attachment to their parents or primary caregiver tend to have positive relationships as they grow. Interestingly, it was discovered that parental divorce is not correlated to later romantic relationship problems or offspring divorce.

The findings denote that attachment plays a crucial role in a person’s life. Romantic relationships are affected by the child’s attachment to their primary caregiver. Secure individuals feel comfortable with intimacy, and they can trust their partner. However, avoidant individuals fear intimacy and avoid relationships. Anxious individuals will obsess over their relationship and expect to receive a higher level of closeness and reciprocity. The review uncovers that warm and responsive parenting styles tend to have a positive effect on future romantic relationships (Sutton, 2019). Understanding the impact of attachment is vital as it ensures that parents can be taught how to interact with their children and the benefits the children will receive later in life. The article’s findings indicate that it is possible to teach people with insecurities due to their attachment how to overcome them and learn how to express their emotions. Insecure attachment negatively impacts offspring as they perceive their parents as unavailable, leading to insecurity in later romantic relationships.

• Your reaction to the article

The article produced mixed reactions because it had always been thought that children of divorced parents tend to divorce when they get married. However, learning that the underlying issue is attachment, not parental divorce, is encouraging. Therefore, we should modify our beliefs on the causes of divorce or problems with romantic relationships to include attachment. The review incorporated numerous studies, demonstrating the same findings regarding relationships when attachment is the primary consideration. From the review, we understand the importance of attachment compared to other factors, as with parental divorce. I was shocked to learn that attachment has a more considerable impact on predicting the outcomes of stability and relationships than any other factor. Parental depression greatly impacts the development of avoidant attachment for offspring. Maternal depression confers a higher risk than paternal depression, indicating the importance of a mother-child relationship. Children raised by a depressed primary caregiver tend to be insecure and insensitive to the needs of others, making it hard for them to form lasting bonds (Sutton, 2019).

With the information provided in the review, I have increased my understanding of specific clients and why they tend to seem aloof or uninterested in treatment. We can use the information from the review to improve the services offered to clients by tailoring them to address the underlying issue and not the presenting problem. Once we are aware there might be other reasons why a client might be unwilling to accept their problem. We should begin modifying our treatment approach to cater to their avoidant behavior. The author's recommendations are concrete and can be applied to practice. We should understand the need to modify the approach to suit an individual client instead of relying on a one size fits all approach.

• How the article compares or contrasts with we have learned (Erikson’s theory of development and Object Relation Theory) so far in this course

The article is similar to object relations theory in that both focus on the importance of relationships during a child's formative years. Object relations theory understands the importance of the first relationship a person forms with their mother, which is in the relationship they tend to build attachment (Ghafouri et al., 2020). When there is no positive attachment between the mother and the child, the individual will have trouble forming lasting relationships later in life. Attachment and object relations theories are similar as they focus on building positive relationships and how they will affect the individual as they interact and relate with others. A problem in attachment during the early years of a child will lead to issues with developing healthy relationships later in life. Object relations theory focuses on the initial interaction with the objects in the child’s life. However, attachment theory recognizes the possibility of rectifying the issues later in the individual’s life.

Erikson’s theory of development comprises eight stages that denote how a person progresses in life as they build upon each stage (Darling-Fisher, 2019). The first stage is the trust vs. mistrust stage, where a child learns to trust or mistrust individuals. The first stage is similar to the attachment a child gets from their primary caregiver that determines how they will relate to others (Keller, 2018). The child will likely struggle to trust people without positive attachment. However, with positive attachment, the child finds it easy to trust individuals since they have learned people are good and they mean well. The initial attachment a child receives determines how they will progress in their life. Like Erikson’s theory of development, a child progresses from one stage to the next with what they have learned from the previous stage. Therefore, they will grow and mature with the lessons they learn as they develop.

Part 2

a. How does your site incorporate principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and culturally informed and ethical approaches to evaluating clinical practice and program outcomes? What changes have been made based on data collection?

All clinical practices have to be evaluated after a given period between six to twelve months. The idea is to ensure that all practices use the latest technologies and methodologies uncovered through research. When evaluating clinical practice, critical thinking is required at all times. The use of qualitative and quantitative research methods is necessary when analyzing program outcomes. We cannot be sure about the program's efficacy without proper analysis (McNeill & Nicholas, 2019). Therefore, all social workers must think critically about program outcomes before making recommendations for changes. Social workers must keep abreast with the latest strategies for performing their duties. The site understands that we should incorporate strategies from different disciplines. Practice evaluation is beneficial not only to the clients but to the agency too. Therefore, social workers should understand how research findings are translated into effective practice. Through such an approach, social workers can be sure they are incorporating the latest research when offering services.

The changes made based on data collection improve culturally sensitive clinical practices. While the agency aimed to offer culturally sensitive services, there was a disconnect between the services and the target clientele. Through data collection, the agency uncovered where it was failing when it came to offering its services. For example, there was a request to increase the allocated time so clients could have enough time to express their issues. Before, clients were rushed to speak, and most had language difficulties based on their culture or origin. Data collection allowed the site to receive feedback from clients on areas that need improvements. Data collection happens in different ways, like feedback forms, observations, or interviews. Another change made through data collection was increased sensitivity to different cultures through cultural training. To be a culturally informed social worker, one must understand the difference between cultures and the biases we hold. Through data collection, social workers were exposed to their biases and encouraged to make changes when offering services to diverse clients.

b. How can you translate research findings into effective decision-making in practice and program contexts?

Different models can be used for implementing research findings into practice. All models share specific steps, and these are the steps we would use to translate research findings into practical decision-making. The first step is selecting a topic or practice. Before starting any research, one needs to know what they are researching. At this point, we must first identify a topic to research and uncover findings that would benefit our practice or program. The second step is finding and critiquing the evidence we find. There will be numerous results regarding any topic, and we should sift through the evidence to find those beneficial to our topic (McNeill & Nicholas, 2019). It is also vital to incorporate findings that critique other studies. Critiquing begins when we evaluate each study and determine its findings. Then we analyze the findings and establish their applicability to our case. We should compare the results to the other studies for efficacy. The third step is adapting the evidence for use in a program. Once we determine the effective research findings, we can begin implementing them in a particular program as a trial to determine its effectiveness.