ABSTRACT
Psychological trauma can be acute or chronic; it can be the case of a single event or it can occur through a chain of multiple and interrelated incidents—often referred to as complex trauma, like abuse in the context of domestic violence and family breakdown. All traumatic events will cause distress in children, and a high proportion of traumatic events will lead to child mental health problems. The interplay between different types of trauma and exposure over a number of years means that certain young groups are particularly vulnerable to experiencing psychological trauma. It is always useful to have a good understanding of different theories when working with any child, as this will provide a framework to formulate their difficulties before tailoring an intervention. In the case of traumatised children this is even more important, as there may be limited or fragmented information on their early life, their presentations can be perplexing and their environmental adversities may be pretty overwhelming.
