My name is Haley Callahan, and I specialize in treating adult survivors of childhood trauma. The term “childhood trauma” can be very broad but also misunderstood. Because of that, I
wanted to take some time to provide a few examples, how it might show up in your adult life, and what treatment could look like.

Childhood Trauma Examples

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse – I like to portray this type of abuse as the phrase “death by a thousand cuts.” Because there are no outward marks or damages, people often believe that it “doesn’t count.” However, hurtful comments and behaviors (a caregiver utilizing the silent treatment/withholding affection as punishment, statements like “you’re so stupid,” etc.) add up and begin to take their toll.
• Caregiver neglect – This is another form of trauma that a lot of people believe “doesn’t count.” This is when a caregiver might be physically present in your life, but you find that you are often left alone, to parent yourself, or maybe don’t even have anyone to go to with your emotional needs. It often results in a sense of loneliness and “suffering in silence.”
• Medical Trauma
• Bullying

How Childhood Trauma Might Show Up in Adulthood

• People-pleasing – saying yes to everything, even though deep down, you desperately
  want to say no.
• Anxiety/panic
• Depression
• Anger
• Hypervigilance -always scanning for threats. This can be through scanning the environment, but it also could be through scanning other people’s moods/behaviors
  (“are they mad at me – their tone seemed weird?”)
• Feelings of loneliness
• Low sense of self-worth/self-deprecating thoughts
• Relationships – if our primary experience of love growing up was rooted in abuse/trauma, we are more vulnerable to repeat those patterns in other relationships, such as friendships and romantic relationships
• Parenting styles

What Trauma Therapy Could Look Like

• Grieving what was stolen from you during childhood
• Creating, setting, and upholding boundaries so that, eventually, saying no feels easier
• If you are still in contact with the abuser and wish to maintain that contact, we can work on establishing communication styles that can honor your wishes while also trying to keep you as safe as possible
• Challenging your critical thoughts that prevent you from recognizing and truly believing your worth
• Understanding what “healthy” and “unhealthy” relationships look like
• Various grounding techniques to utilize when feeling overwhelmed and aiding in becoming less hypervigilant

Again, these are very short lists of traumas, symptoms, and what the therapy process could look like. If any of these resonate with you, or if you have questions about this process, I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation in which we can talk about your story in more depth. If you are interested, you can schedule this consultation on our website or call the office at 256-801-8937.