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34 Child L. Prac. 1 (2015)

handle is hein.journals/chilawpt34 and id is 1 raw text is: TRyktM INPAIPC Supporting the Mental Health of Trauma-Exposed Children in the Child Welfare System by Lisa Conradi .T ou are an attorney working in the dependency court system .11- representing an adolescent with severe behavior problems. You are doing your best to help this adolescent, but she continues to be oppositional, blowing out of placements repeatedly. You are concerned she will cross into the juvenile delinquency system. The adolescent has experienced significant abuse and neglect and you wonder if those experiences could be related to her current behavior? What mental health interventions could help stabilize and put her on a healthy developmental path'? The prevalence of potentially traumatic events in court-involved children and adolescents is high (see the first article in this series, Under- standing Trauma and Its Impact on Child Clients, in the September 2014 CLP for definitions of types of tramna and information on its prevalence in court-involved children and adoles- cents). As a result, they may display challenging behav iors and reactions that may be related to the trauma they have experienced. Therefore, it is critical that court professionals understand the impact of trauma on the child's reactions, behaviors, and relationships. This article highlights these behaviors and how they impact relationships and functioning. Know how a child's trauma history influences behavior. Trauma-exposed children may exhibit a range of complex emotional and behavioral responses to events they have experienced. When working with a child or adolescent who has expe- rienced trauna, it is important to be sensitive to the ways in which a child's trauma history affects the child's current behavior. The behavior of a child exposed to trauma can reflect his efforts to adapt to overwhelming stress and may be difficult to identify and manage. For example, a child may reenact aspects of his trauma (e.g., aggression, self-injurious behaviors, or sexualized behaviors) in response to a reminder of a previous traumatic event, or as an attempt to gain mastery or control over her experiences. Be aware of the child's trauma triggers. A trauna reminder is any person, place, situation, sensation, feeling, or thing that reminds a child of a previously experienced traumatic event. When faced with these remind- ers, a child may re-experience the intense and disturbing feelings tied to the original trauma. These trauma reminders can lead to behaviors that seem out of place in the current situation but were appropriate-and perhaps e% en helpful-at the time of the original traumatic event. For example, a child may be triggered by events as conscious as seeing a person or place connected to the trauma. or as subconscious as certain smells, lights, or sounds that are reminiscent of the trauma. (Sidebar I highlights trau- matic responses by age.) (Wont' on p 6.) Wfiaf's hnside:, 2 CASE LAW UPDATE 14 SPOTLIGHT: IMMIGRATION The Reuniting Immigrant Fanilies Act 15 HEALTH MATTERS New Guidelines for Vision Screening in Preschoolers 16 RESEARCH IN BRIEF Do Fatherhood Programs Work? Four Programs to Watch Internet: http://wwwv~.childlaw practice.org

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