Intervening with Severely and Chronically Neglected Children and their Families: The Contribution of Trauma‐Informed Approaches

Abstract

Many clinicians and researchers have proposed considering child abuse and neglect from a traumatic stress perspective to better understand how they so profoundly impact child development. According to this perspective, child maltreatment (both child abuse and neglect) is viewed as a chronic interpersonal trauma which may severely interfere with normal developmental processes, often resulting in long‐lasting behavioural, emotional and psychophysiological dysregulations. In this paper, we summarise theoretical and empirical literature addressing the traumatic nature of child neglect, with a specific focus on short‐term consequences of neglect in childhood. We then give an overview of some key intervention elements stemming from trauma‐informed approaches with traumatised children and their families.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ‘We summarise theoretical and empirical literature addressing the traumatic nature of child neglect’ Key Practitioner Messages Child neglect is viewed as a chronic interpersonal trauma which may severely interfere with normal developmental processes, often resulting in long‐lasting behavioural, emotional and psychophysiological dysregulations. Key intervention guidelines stemming from trauma‐informed approaches include: A detailed assessment of the child's trauma history and characteristics Providing a safe environment for the child Helping the child build feelings of emotional security Improving parental sensitivity Developing child emotional self‐regulation Offering emotional therapeutic support to the parent.