TPC-Journal-V5-Issue2

198 traumatic impact of this life-shortening disease on the child or adolescent with CF and caregivers. Storlie and Baltrinic offer suggestions for compassionate counseling as well as for avoiding compassion fatigue. In a personal account of rearing a child with spina bifida, Richmond-Frank expresses both the successes and shortcomings that she has experienced over nearly 3 decades. The author provides a thorough account of her experience as a parent of a child with special needs, as well as what she has to teach others who may be working with a child with special needs. As a professional counselor, as well as a parent of a special-needs child, Richmond-Frank provides readers with specific and realistic suggestions. She shares that a systemic, strengths-based counseling model respects the inherent worth of the child with a disability by not presuming that he or she is the identified patient. Conclusion From the special issue editor’s point of view, issues that are prolonged, intense and cumulative, and vary over developmental periods should be conceptualized through lenses that address the complexity of intermingled systems. By failing to see this complexity and all of its aspects, we fail to fully address the complexity of children with special needs and circumstances. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The author reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Walker, J., Whitfield, C. L., Bremner, J. D., Perry, B. D., . . . Giles, W. H. (2006). The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences , 256 , 174–186. doi:10.1007/s00406- 005-06244 Cook, A., Spinazzola, J., Ford, J., Lanktree, C., Blaustein, M., Cloitre, M., . . . van der Kolk, B. (2005). Complex trauma in children and adolescents. Psychiatric Annals , 35 , 390–398. Copeland, W., Keeler, G., Angold, A., & Costello, J. (2007). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry , 64 , 577–584. Courtois, C. A. (n.d.). Understanding complex trauma, complex reactions, and treatment approaches. Retrieved from http://www.giftfromwithin.org/html/cptsd-understanding-treatment.html D’Andrea, W. D., Ford, J., Stolbach, B., Spinazzola, J., & van der Kolk, B. A. (2012). Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: Why we need a developmentally appropriate trauma diagnosis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 82 , 187–200. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2012.01154.x Edwards, V. J., Anda, R. F., Dube, S. R., Dong, M., Chapman, D. F., & Felitti, V. J. (2005). The wide-ranging health consequences of adverse childhood experiences. In K. A. Kendall-Tackett & S. M. Giacomoni (Eds.), Child victimization: Maltreatment, bullying, and dating violence prevention and intervention (pp. 8-1–8-12). Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute. Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R. K., & Turner, H. A. (2007). Poly-victimization: A neglect component in child victimization. Child Abuse and Neglect , 31 , 7–26. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.06.008 Ford, J. D., & Courtois, C. A. (2009). Defining and understanding complex trauma and complex traumatic stress disorders. In C. A. Courtois & J. D. Ford (Eds.), Treating complex traumatic stress disorders: An evidence-based