HRI Blog

By Rachel S. Hutto, MS, Ed.S, LPC

There are many definitions of trauma that are used by counselors. Some are super technical and others a bit more understandable. All have their value. The definition that often makes the most sense to me and to the families and children I work with is – anything that is TOO MUCH! TOO FAST! When we have experiences that are too much too fast our body’s natural survival response system gets overwhelmed often leaving us stuck with uncomfortable or even seriously problematic symptoms. Some common challenges children healing from trauma are dealing with are: disrupted sleep, being scared easily and worrying often, hyperactivity, difficulty focusing, challenges following directions, not wanting to leave a safe adult for normal childhood activities such as playing with friends and going to school, and stomach aches or other health concerns.

Domestic violence situations are full of too much too fast experiences; the rage that comes out of “nowhere”, the yelling that wakes us from sleep, the startling siren sounds and blinding lights of the ambulance taking a parent away, the stunning silence when the fight is over, the waking in the morning to find you are home alone with no one to feed you breakfast.

Helping children heal from trauma requires the involvement of a safe adult. With that relationship securely in place (and assuming the family is no longer involved with the domestic violence situation), children are able to do amazingly resilient in counseling. Resilience can be thought of the ability to bounce back in the face of challenges.

I often start the counseling process with both education about the impact of trauma on a child and helping everyone involved in developing skills for self-regulation. I have found it really helpful for families to understand that we are created with a triune brain. This basically means we have three primary parts to our brain. All the parts have very important and connected purposes. The top front of our brain (neocortex) is what allows us to think and make decisions. The emotional brain (limbic system) is how we feel sad, happy, proud, mad, etc. The base of our brain and the spinal cord (reptilian brain) is where we have our stress response system. So, when something stressful happens (AKA too much too fast!) this part of us tells our body to go into fight, flight or freeze responses so that we can survive. Pretty amazing actually; we are designed to survive! Sometimes these normal and necessary survival responses don’t turn off after the traumatic experience is over. This doesn’t mean that anything is wrong, it just means the event was too much too fast! This is why kids can become “stuck on” in patterns of behaviors that are aggressive (fight), anxious (flight) or withdrawn (freeze) after a trauma, for example. Good news! Because fight, flight and freeze behaviors are needed and expected responses, this means children can use self-regulation skills to get unstuck and heal from the trauma.

Self-regulation skills look different for every child and family. Generally, though, they are skills for moving a child from being stuck and overwhelmed to being unstuck and underwhelmed. So, it may look like learning specialized ways of breathing, contained expressions of anger by acting out fight impulses, or bouncing on trampolines to move from freeze into mobility.

Remember everyone already has the natural capacity for resilience! Too much! Too fast! Does not have to mean too much for forever.

Rachel Hutto, MS, Ed.S, LPC, is a professional counselor and owner of Be Still Counseling, PLLC where she specializes in trauma healing and somatic psychotherapy. You can learn more at www.bestillpllc.com.

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Traumatic experiences are a big deal…but Big Bird’s got a big spirit, a big heart, and big dreams!

By Kama Einhorn, Senior Content Manager for Sesame Workshop’s U.S. Social Impact Group

As a child, I lit up when Big Bird appeared on my living room screen. His sunny, comforting, vulnerable presence struck something deep in my four-year-old brain. Ten years later, I watched his reaction to Mr. Hooper’s death in a poignant and ground-breaking episode. And decades later, I became a content creator for Sesame Street, where it has been an honor to write much of the content for our new “traumatic experiences” initiative.

Sesame Street has always used the power of the Muppets to help kids and families cope with tough topics. Sadly, we’ve got our work cut out for us, because we now know that almost 25% of all kids in the U.S. endure more than one traumatic experience, and that those experiences have serious lifelong effects. That’s one in four of my family, friends, and co-workers.

So, with guidance from expert advisers, we’ve developed a new set of resources to support kids and families who are coping with the effects of traumatic experiences. These groundbreaking resources are part of a larger suite of materials called Sesame Street in Communities, which offers resources on topics ranging from healthy habits and school readiness to tough issues like grief or hunger.

 What helps?

• Nurturing connections between kids and adults to promote healing through relationships;
• Building coping and resilience skills in both kids and adults;
• Inspiring caring adults to provide support and guidance.

Children are remarkably resilient, and there are many ways to lessen the impact of traumatic experiences. But the single most important factor is the consistent presence of one or more caring adults. These adults ultimately hold great power in their hands.

The Resources

All the materials can be used with all kids, because anyone can build resilience for challenges big and small. (The resources can also engage and help adults!) The strategies are research-based and include teaching children to breathe deeply, imagine a safe place, and talk about their feelings.

On the site, you’ll find videos in which Muppets (especially Big Bird!) model coping strategies such as giving themselves hugs, practicing breathing and calming strategies, building a blanket fort to feel secure, punching a pillow to let anger out safely, and more. You’ll also find an interactive game, printable pages such as adult-child collaborative coloring sheets and yoga activities, and articles for grown-ups with ways to:

• Help create a sense of safety and security, both physical and emotional.
• Help build trusting and secure relationships.
• Help kids label their feelings, express themselves, and relax.

It’s in Our Hands

We’re all in this together and we can’t do it alone. The more you know about the effects of traumatic experiences in children, the more difference you can make. These resources can offer support as you heal and look to the future with hope.

As Senior Content Manager for Sesame Workshop’s U.S. Social Impact group, Kama Einhorn develops multimedia outreach materials for children, parents, and providers. Prior to joining the Workshop, she wrote and edited early childhood teaching resources for Scholastic. She holds a master’s degree in education from University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. in American Studies from Brandeis University.