TPC-Journal-V5-Issue2

226 stressors such as accidental burns or falls resulting in hospitalization or death (Grossman, 2000). It is common for children to experience more than one traumatic event (APA Presidential Task Force on PTSD and Trauma in Children and Adolescents, 2008). Young children birth to age 5 are especially vulnerable to adverse effects of trauma due to rapid developmental growth, dependence on caregivers and limited coping skills. However, despite decades of statistical data, counselors generally have limited knowledge of the impact of traumatic events on younger children in comparison to older children and adolescents (De Young, Kenardy, & Cobham, 2011). Reasons for this disparity in knowledge include a historical resistance to the notion that early childhood mental health is important and concerns about diagnosing young children with mental disorders. Research in early childhood mental health has developed rapidly over the past 20 years. Practitioners and researchers who work with this population continue to contribute to the understanding of trauma and early childhood mental health. However, the broader counselor population seems less informed which hinders referrals for this vulnerable population of young children. For example, a counselor may work with a victim of domestic violence who has young children. However, due to the counselor’s limited knowledge of early childhood trauma and the impact of domestic violence, the counselor may not consider support services for the children. The present article examines the history and diagnostic validity of trauma-related mental illnesses in young children, the symptoms of trauma in early childhood, the longitudinal impact of early childhood trauma, the protective and risk factors associated with trauma in early childhood, and current and emerging treatments for this vulnerable population. Mental Health, Trauma and Young Children: A Historical Perspective Historically, researchers have spent little time and energy researching the effects of trauma exposure in early childhood. A widely held misconception has been that infants and young children lack the perception, cognition and social maturity to remember or understand traumatic events (Zeanah & Zeanah, 2009). Additionally, mental health counselors have been hesitant to diagnose trauma-related mental illness as a result of the associated stigmas that plague young children. In some cases when a child is diagnosed with mental illness, society focuses on the diagnosis and not the child. Today it is widely accepted that children have the capacity to perceive and remember traumatic events. From birth, the tactile and auditory senses of a child are similar to those of an adult, which suggests that a child can experience stressful events (De Young et al., 2011). At 3 months of age, a child’s visual sensory development increases exponentially. A study by Gaensbauer (2002) suggested that infants as young as 7 months of age can remember and reenact traumatic events for up to 7 years. By 18 months of age, children begin to develop autobiographical memory; however, it is unlikely that memories from before that age can be recalled verbally (Howe, Toth, & Cicchetti, 2006). Researchers have demonstrated that infants and young children have the perceptual ability and memory to be impacted by traumatic events (De Young et al., 2011; Howe et al., 2006). While research findings have confirmed that traumatic events can impact children, clinicians without proper training in early childhood mental health may have difficulty diagnosing trauma-related mental illness in childhood. Children younger than 5 years of age typically experience rapid developmental changes that often are misinterpreted or not fully accounted for which hinders proper diagnosis and intervention (Zero to Three, 2005). Given time and insurance reimbursement constraints, there can be difficulties observing children’s behaviors across settings (Carter, Briggs-Gowan, & Davis, 2004). Although verbal skills develop rapidly in early childhood, children may lack the communication skills necessary to accurately express their thoughts,