Trauma and the Internationally Adopted Child

Mary Beth Williams, Ph.D., LCSW, CTS, treats trauma survivors in private practice at Trauma Recovery Education and Counseling Center in Warrenton, VA. She has been a board member of The International Society for Trauma and Stress Studies and is President of the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists. Dr. Williams is a former school social worker who worked extensively with special education programs, and an adoptive parent of four children, two from the United States and two from Kazakhstan.

Introduction. Risk Factors in International Adoption - Traumatic History External to the Environment not Included. Children of Trauma. Trauma's Impact on the Child's Brain, Psychological Needs, Coping Skills, Ability to Modulate Emotion, and other Psychological Processes. Attachment and the Adopted Child. Trauma's Further Impact: Attachment Difficulties or Attachment Disorder? Impact of Trauma on the Adopted Child's Educational Abilities. Beginning Thoughts: Helping Adoptive Parents Cope. Treating Attachment Difficulties. Child Rearing of the Traumatized Adopted Child. References. Appendix I: Bibliography of Materials to Help Caregivers, Providers, and Parents. Appendix II: Resources. Appendix III: Trauma Related Instruments to Assess Children. Appendix IV: The Language of Special Education. Appendix V: Internationl Adoption Trauma Questionnaire.