Understanding and Assessing Trauma in Children and Adolescents

Kathleen Nader, D.S.W., is Director of the Two Suns Childhood Trauma Program in Ceder Park, Texas, and an internationally recognized expert on child trauma and posttraumatic stress.

Part I: Understanding Trauma in Youths and the Issues Related to its Assessment. The Effects of Extreme Stress: Traumatic Reactions in Children and Adolexcents. The Neurobiology of Childhood Trauma. The Complexity of Associations. The Nature of Assessment. Risk and Resilience Factors: Trauma's Mediator, Moderator, or Outcome Variables. Part II: Aspects of the Youth and His or Her Environment: Their Assessment and/or Influence on the Assessment of Trauma. The Nature of the Child. Culture and Family Background. Attachment. Part III: Methods and Measures for Assessing Trauma in Youths. Interviewing Youths Following Traumatic Events. The Nature of the Event: Assessing Exposure Levels and Complicated Reactions. Self-reports of Trauma Symptoms: School Age Children and Adolescents. The Use of Projective Tests in the Evaluation of Childhood Trauma. Adult Reports: Parent, Teacher, and Clinician Reports of Trauma. Part IV: Assessing Additional Trauma Symptoms. The Integration of Information Following Traumas: Understanding and Assessing Information Processing and Dissociation. The Assessment of Post-trauma Comorbidity and Behavioral Symptoms. Part V: Pulling it All Together. Writing Reports Regarding Traumatized Youths. An Afterword: Some Conclusions About Assessing Trauma in Youths.