The Psychobiology of Trauma and Child Maltreatment
Doni Whitsett, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
Abstract
The
exploding field of Neurobiology has provided a new dimension to our
understanding of child neglect and abuse. The effects of early stress on the
developing brain and nervous system is now well-documented in the literature.
Many of the symptoms experienced by former cult members and observed by
clinicians can now be conceptualized as a sub-optimal stress response resulting
in affect dysregulation in its various forms. Due to the inadequate and often
abusive parenting practices to which members were often exposed it is not
surprising that symptoms such as anxiety, depression, rage, dissociation,
emotional constriction, and substance abuse/dependence might occur. This
article seeks to explain how these symptoms develop and what might be done to
repair the harm.
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