Childhood trauma in adults manifests in different ways. Childhood trauma can be sparked in many ways including physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, or even events like losing a parent or close family member. These influential events can lead to physical, mental, and social struggles throughout one’s entire adult life. How trauma affects an individual into adulthood depends on the environment in which they were raised and how they have learned to cope. 

What Can Cause Childhood Trauma?

Some of the main causes of childhood trauma are abuse, violence, neglect, and/or the death of a parent or loved one.

There are three main forms of abuse that can cause childhood trauma in adults, including physical, sexual, and emotional. This abuse exists on a spectrum, but all forms of abuse are enough to cause childhood trauma.

Violence can come in the form of experiencing first hand or witnessing it. This can be caused by domestic violence between two parents, gang violence, or even violence between siblings or extended family members.

Neglect can happen in many ways, and is often easy for the perpetrator to hide. Neglect can occur through physical neglect in which a caregiver does not look after a child’s basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and supervision. 

Not showing a child affection, reassurance, and comfort defines emotional neglect, which is another source of trauma. This is harder to detect, because many bystanders may interpret it as an “independent child,” when in reality the caregiver is refusing to emotionally support the child. 

The final main form of neglect is medical neglect. This is when a caregiver does not allow a child to receive the medical care they need. Medical neglect is particularly dangerous because developing minds and bodies are vulnerable to more conditions and diseases. Medical neglect can cause children to have developmental delays that last into adulthood.

The death of a loved one can also cause childhood trauma in adults. This is more complex, because in this case no one is at “fault,” and everyone surrounding the child may also be traumatized from the event. Nonetheless, the death of a loved one can cause childhood trauma.

Signs of Repressed Childhood Trauma in Adults

Signs of childhood trauma in adults may be hard to spot, especially if the individual has learned how to mask their symptoms. Trauma may also cause mental health conditions that have similar signs and symptoms – making it hard to know what is caused by what. 

Common signs of childhood trauma in adults include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Dissociative episodes
• Low self-esteem or self-worth
• Trouble managing anger
• Hypervigilance or paranoia 

These symptoms may appear starting at childhood or well beyond childhood, decades later. Trauma makes the brain act differently, just as every person is different. What may cause anxiety and hyper-vigilance in one person may cause depression and anger issues in another. Some may even experience all symptoms at some point in time.

Treatment for Childhood Trauma in Adults

If you or someone you love is showing signs of childhood trauma as an adult, it’s important to know the treatment options. At Alter Behavioral Health, we offer a variety of trauma informed recovery programs that are aimed at helping individuals navigate their past traumas. 

We use many different modalities to treat different individual’s needs and traumas. Some of the modalities we use include:

• Attachment-Based Therapy
• Brainspotting
• Client-Centered Approach
• Exposure Therapy
• Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Mindfulness and Relaxation Skills
• Narrative Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Our programs can be integrated into all different levels of care. This includes crisis stabilization & intervention, residential mental health treatment, partial hospitalization programs, and intensive outpatient treatment. Our goal is to help clients experiencing childhood trauma as adults get to a place where they can heal and feel safe and secure in their life. 

Find Treatment for Childhood Trauma in Adults

Finding a treatment program for childhood trauma in adults can be tricky. Sometimes there are underlying co-occurring mental health conditions that impact the severity of trauma. Each client that comes to Alter Behavioral Health is met with open arms and welcomed with compassion and support. We offer treatment for individuals across the United States and accept a wide variety of insurance plans. Not sure if Alter is right for your needs? Give our admissions team a call and learn more. 

About Alter

Alter is a behavioral healthcare provider that specializes in evidence-based clinical treatment approaches. We provide a wide range of programs for adults and families experiencing mental health conditions including  schizophrenia, depression, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, substance abuse, and more. This is done through client-centered care for a full-continuum of treatment. We serve the entire U.S. population from our revolutionary locations throughout sunny Southern California. Whether an individual needs 24/7 care or wants an outpatient program – we are there to guide every step of the journey. For more information, give us a call at (877) 613-9776 or visit our website at alterbehavioralhealth.com.