Working Clinically with Developmental Trauma in Children and Adolescents

Many children who experience chronic adversity do not meet posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) criteria that focus on acute, life-threatening events. Developmental trauma disorder (DTD) has been proposed as an alternative diagnosis to capture the complex emotional, relational, and physiological challenges experienced by children who are exposed to chronic interpersonal trauma and ongoing adversity. Trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) and play therapy can be used when working with children impacted by chronic interpersonal trauma.