Childhood Trauma Counselling | Adverse Childhood Experiences
Why Focus on Childhood Trauma?
To understand trauma, we need to start at the root—childhood. The first six years of life are critical in shaping who we become. Whether it’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or intergenerational trauma, the early years lay the foundation for emotional, cognitive, and social development. While childhood sexual abuse often grabs headlines, trauma can be much more subtle and unseen. Neglect, emotional abuse, or stress passed down from previous generations can silently leave deep scars, influencing how individuals function later in life.
By exploring how trauma in these formative years affects us, we can start to address the root causes of many emotional and behavioural issues seen in adulthood.
We Are Not Alone: The Environment Shapes Us
No man is an island. We are born into a family, a story, and an environment that profoundly shape who we become. From the house we grow up in, the nation we live in, to the time period of our birth—whether it’s during a pandemic like COVID-19 or a global recession—these factors all leave a lasting imprint on us. They influence how we perceive the world, how we interact with others, and how we cope with challenges.
Our experiences in childhood, whether within our family or shaped by larger societal events, wire us to act in certain ways. Often, what we identify as problems are actually trauma coping mechanisms. The behaviours we struggle with today—whether it’s anxiety, avoidance, or emotional outbursts—may have originated as adaptive responses to overwhelming experiences from our past.
To better understand these trauma responses, explore our detailed guide: Decoding Trauma Responses.
Attachment Styles: How Early Relationships Shape Us
Our earliest attachments, formed with caregivers, shape how we relate to others throughout our lives. When these early relationships are secure, they provide a solid foundation for healthy emotional development. However, when attachment is disrupted by trauma, neglect, or inconsistent caregiving, it can lead to attachment wounds that affect how we form relationships as adults.
These attachment wounds often play a significant role in how trauma manifests and how we cope with stress. Learning about your attachment style can be key to healing trauma and building healthier relationships. For more information on attachment wounds and their impact on trauma, visit our page: Trauma & Attachment Wounds.
What is Childhood Trauma?
Childhood trauma refers to adverse experiences that significantly impact a child’s development and well-being. These experiences can include:
- Abuse: Sexual, physical, or verbal abuse.
- Domestic Violence: Witnessing domestic violence.
- Neglect: Experiencing neglect or lack of basic care.
- Accidents: Involvement in severe accidents.
- Medical Issues: Dealing with chronic or sudden serious illnesses, or undergoing intrusive medical procedures.
- Family Issues: Death in the family, parental illness, substance use, divorce, or incarceration.
- Environment: Living in an unstable or unsafe environment.
- Separation: Being separated from a parent.
The Importance of the First Six Years
The first six years of life are when the brain develops most rapidly, laying the foundation for a person’s emotional and social identity. According to Dan Siegel’s research, early experiences, especially secure attachment, play a key role in brain development. Without these early connections, children are more likely to face emotional dysregulation and difficulties in forming healthy relationships later in life.
It’s also crucial to understand that trauma can start even before birth. Prenatal experiences, such as unwanted pregnancy, maternal stress, domestic violence, or substance abuse during pregnancy, can have a profound effect on the developing fetus. These early traumas can set the stage for difficulties in emotional regulation, attachment, and resilience as the child grows.
Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study, initiated by Felitti et al. (1998), was a groundbreaking investigation into how childhood adversity impacts lifelong health. The original ACEs measure included experiences of childhood abuse (psychological, physical, and sexual) and household dysfunction (caregiver substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, and incarceration of a caregiver). Over time, items like emotional and physical neglect and parental loss/divorce were added, forming the 10-item version most used today (Dube et al., 2001). Research has since confirmed that ACEs are common and strongly linked to adverse health outcomes, including mental health issues, chronic diseases, and early mortality.
Studies in Singapore and worldwide have shown that these childhood experiences have lifelong consequences, making the prevention and treatment of ACEs a significant public health priority.
ACEs Table
| ACE Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Physical Abuse | A parent or other adult in the household pushes, grabs, slaps, or throws things at you. |
| Emotional Abuse | A parent or other adult in the household insults, swears at, or humiliates you. |
| Sexual Abuse | An adult or older person touches or engages you in unwanted sexual acts. |
| Physical Neglect | Lacking sufficient food, clean clothes, or protection from harm due to neglect by caregivers. |
| Emotional Neglect | Feeling unloved or uncared for, with no sense of emotional support or connection from family members. |
| Household Substance Use | Living with a family member who struggles with alcoholism or substance abuse. |
| Household Mental Illness | A family member is depressed, mentally ill, or has attempted suicide. |
| Parental Separation/Divorce | Your parents were separated or divorced. |
| Domestic Violence | Witnessing domestic violence or abuse, particularly between parents. |
| Incarceration | A household member has been in jail or prison. |
These ACEs can have a profound impact on mental, emotional, and physical health. Early intervention is crucial to reduce the long-term effects of these childhood traumas.
Expanded ACEs: Beyond Household Trauma
As the ACEs literature grew, scholars like Finkelhor et al. (2015) advocated for an expanded definition of ACEs. They argued that the original framework, which focused on familial abuse and neglect, was too narrow. Many adversities that occur outside the home—such as poverty, discrimination, community violence, and bullying—also have profound impacts on children’s development.
WHO has established criteria for expanding the definition of ACEs, ensuring these additional experiences trigger a biological stress reaction, are policy-relevant, and are prevalent across societies. To assess these expanded experiences, WHO developed the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ), which includes a broader range of ACEs such as exposure to community violence, racism, and bullying (WHO ACE-IQ).
In a landmark study, Cronholm et al. (2015) added new items to the ACE framework, such as witnessing violence, discrimination, unsafe neighborhoods, and living in foster care. These expanded ACEs have been shown to correlate strongly with poverty and community-level adversities, revealing that childhood trauma is not confined to the home but extends to larger social and environmental contexts.
Moreover, studies like those by Thurston et al. (2017) have emphasised the importance of including community-level ACEs, such as racial discrimination and neighborhood violence, in understanding the full scope of childhood adversity.
Climate Change and Intergenerational Trauma
Children are increasingly affected by the mental health impacts of climate change. Natural disasters, displacement, and the existential threat of environmental collapse are creating new forms of intergenerational trauma. Trauma passed from one generation to the next often manifests in anxiety, depression, and emotional instability in future generations. Addressing these issues early is crucial for helping children and families build resilience.
Recognising Trauma-Related Symptoms in Children and Adolescents
Children and adolescents may not recognise their trauma symptoms, often because these experiences can seem normal to them. Caregivers might also struggle to identify these symptoms. Trauma can manifest in various ways:
- Behavioural Changes: Avoiding people or activities they previously enjoyed, risky behaviour, substance use, self-injury, or aggression.
- Cognitive Changes: Difficulty concentrating, decreased school attendance, and unhelpful beliefs about themselves or the world.
- Relationship Changes: Avoidance of social situations, or developing unhealthy relationship patterns.
- Biological Responses: Changes in hormones, brain structure, and function, leading to increased fear, changes in sleeping or eating habits, and physical symptoms during trauma reminders.
How Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy Pte. Ltd. Can Help
At Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy Pte. Ltd., we understand the deep and lasting impact that childhood trauma and ACEs can have on an individual’s life. Our trauma-informed approach focuses on creating a safe, compassionate, and non-judgemental space where clients can explore their past experiences