Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trauma-Related Physiological and Neurobiological Changes: Implications for Ethical Treatment

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Professional's Guide to Trauma-informed Decision Making

  • 29 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter will examine the physiological changes within the body and brain, jointly and separately, resulting from the trauma an individual experiences and how it may impact ethically informed supervision decisions. The biological shifts are broken down into digestible moments as they pertain to the behavioral expressions being witnessed by the provider. Changes are discussed from a biological perspective and then through a case study. The case study contrasts theory and realistic implementation to support the connection between learning and implementing. Ethical implications are noted along the way, as well as possible navigational options at each point. Mitigating the impacts of already incurred trauma with ethical decisions in care is highlighted as a path to healing the nervous system’s threat detection and safety-seeking processes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • AMHCA Code of Ethics – American Mental Health Counselors Association. (n.d.). Higher Logic, LLC. https://www.amhca.org/events/publications/ethics

  • Blankenstein, N. E., Telzer, E. H., Do, T. K., Van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K., & Crone, E. A. (2019). Behavioral and neural pathways supporting the development of prosocial and risk-taking behavior across adolescence. Child Development, 91(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13292

  • Dana, D. A., & Porges, S. W. (2018). Polyvagal theory in therapy: Engaging the rhythm of regulation. National Geographic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dye, H. A. (2018). The impact and long-term effects of childhood trauma. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 28(3), 381–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2018.1435328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, V. J., Holden, G. W., Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2003). Relationship between multiple forms of childhood maltreatment and adult mental health in community respondents: Results from the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(8), 1453–1460. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.8.1453

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh Ippen, Ph. D. (n.d.). The ripple effect: Metaphors and core concepts for understanding trauma [Slide show; Virtual Presentation].

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, G. S., Quas, J. A., Goldfarb, D., Gonzalves, L., & Gonzalez, A. (2018). Trauma and long-term memory for childhood events: Impact matters. Child Development Perspectives, 13(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harricharan, S., McKinnon, M. C., & Lanius, R. A. (2021). How processing of sensory information from the internal and external worlds shape the perception and engagement with the world in the aftermath of trauma: Implications for PTSD. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.625490

  • Kestly, T. A. (2014). The interpersonal neurobiology of play: Brain-building interventions for emotional well-being. W. W. Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, A. F., Ippen, C. G., & Van Horn, P. (2015). “Don’t hit my mommy!”: A manual for child-parent psychotherapy with young children exposed to violence and other trauma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S. (2019). Resilience from a developmental systems perspective. World Psychiatry, 18(1), 101–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20591

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Metzler, M., Merrick, M. T., Klevens, J., Ports, K. A., & Ford, D. C. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: Shifting the narrative. Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.021

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J., & Otis, H. G. (2020). Essentials of the clinical mental health counseling profession.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulkey, S. B., & Du Plessis, A. J. (2018). Autonomic nervous system development and its impact on neuropsychiatric outcome. Pediatric Research, 85(2), 120–126. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-018-0155-0

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, B. D., & Szalavitz, M. (2017). The boy who was raised as a dog: And other stories from a child psychiatrist’s notebook – What traumatized children can teach us about loss, love, and healing. Hachette UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salisbury, S. K. (2018). Using attachment enhancing activities based on the principles of Theraplay® to improve adult-child relationships and reduce a child’s ‘overall stress’ as measured by the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2018.1497000

  • Schimmenti, A., & Caretti, V. (2016). Linking the overwhelming with the unbearable: Developmental trauma, dissociation, and the disconnected self. Psychoanalytic schiPsychology, 33(1), 106–128. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlatterer, S. D., & Du Plessis, A. J. (2020). Exposures influencing the developing central autonomic nervous system. Birth Defects Research, 113(11), 845–863. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1847

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, A. (2020). The post-traumatic growth guidebook: Practical mind-body tools to heal trauma, foster resilience and awaken your potential. PESI Publishing & Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Services, U. S. D. O. H. a. H. (2016). A treatment improvement protocol – Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services – TIP 57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, D. J., & Bryson, T. P. (2012). Whole-brain child: Twelve revolutionary strategies to nurture your child’s developing mind.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soleimanpour, S., Geierstanger, S., & Brindis, C. D. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences and resilience: Addressing the unique needs of adolescents. Academic Pediatrics, 17(7), S108–S114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2017.01.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Terpou, B. A., Harricharan, S., McKinnon, M. C., Frewen, P. A., Jetly, R., & Lanius, R. A. (2019). The effects of trauma on brain and body: A unifying role for the midbrain periaqueductal gray. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 97(9), 1110–1140. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24447

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wesselmann, D., Schweitzer, C., & Armstrong, S. (2014). Integrative team treatment for attachment trauma in children: Family therapy and EMDR. W. W. Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trauma Treatment Center and Research Facility, Rio Rancho, NM, USA

    Kate Bunch

Authors
  1. Kate Bunch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kate Bunch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling and Human Services, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Cortny Stark

  2. Department of Counseling and Human Services, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Jose Luis Tapia Jr

  3. Department of Counseling and Human Services, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Kylie Rogalla

  4. Trauma Treatment Center, Rio Rancho, NM, USA

    Kate Bunch

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Bunch, K. (2024). Trauma-Related Physiological and Neurobiological Changes: Implications for Ethical Treatment. In: Stark, C., Tapia Jr, J.L., Rogalla, K., Bunch, K. (eds) Professional's Guide to Trauma-informed Decision Making. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54626-6_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation