April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. In 2019, an estimated 656,000 children nationally were victims of abuse or neglect based on referrals made to child protective services agencies (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2021). Child abuse is just one type of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs), which also include substance use, mental health disorders, or other kinds of instability within the home during childhood. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance use problems in adolescence and adulthood. ACEs can also negatively impact education, job opportunities, and earning potential (CDC). Learn more about ACEs and what Teen Health Connection is doing to address them in our monthly e-newsletter feature written by our Behavioral Health Triage Clinician, Kenisha Hopkins, MSW, LCSW.

What are ACEs?
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are known as events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) that could be potentially traumatic. ACEs are divided into three categories: abuse, household challenges, and neglect. Examples of ACEs include enduring or being exposed to abuse or neglect, familial violence, mental illness, parental separation, divorce, or substance abuse. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports ACEs being linked to risky health behaviors, chronic health conditions, low life potential, and early death. 34.8 million children in the U.S are affected by ACEs. Women and several racial/ethnic minority groups were at greater risk for experiencing four or more types of ACEs.

What is the value in identifying them even after they’ve already occurred?
The screening for ACEs is very important even after the ACE has occurred for a variety of reasons. Routine and universal (ACEs) screening helps clinical teams provide health care that is more effective and equitable. The results of the screening can be helpful in providing necessary clinical interventions for the targeted population. A sense of compassion, patience, and the opportunity for relational healing can be brought about with the use of the screenings. By conducting routine screenings for ACEs in adolescents, critical opportunities for prevention, early detection and intervention can be capitalized. ACE screenings can also prevent and reduce the accumulation of exposures to adversity and the risk for negative health outcomes. Lastly, clinical assessments for the treatment of childhood health conditions can be improved by ACE screenings.

What are some “symptoms” of experiencing ACEs that can show up in adolescents?
Some of the symptoms of ACEs that could develop in younger adolescents include crying more than usual, becoming extra clingy, regressing to bed wetting or “baby talk”, and developing new fears. In older adolescents, symptoms could manifest as learning difficulties, juvenile offending, substance abuse, suicidality, and risky sexual behavior.

What are ways our community can help prevent ACEs?
The prevention of ACEs could reduce a large number of health conditions including up to 21 million cases of depression, up to 1.9 million cases of heart diseases and up to 2.5 million cases of overweight/obesity. There are a variety of strategies and approaches that could be utilized as parents/caregivers and providers to help prevent and treat ACEs. One strategy includes connecting youth to caring adults and activities. The approaches related to this strategy include the participation in mentoring programs and after-school programs. Another strategy includes the teaching of healthy relationship skills. The approaches related to this strategy include programs that teach skills for developing healthy, non-violent dating and peer relationships and parents/caregivers learning ways to support their children and set a good example with their own behaviors.

What are the newest or most effective strategies being utilized in the behavioral health space to help treat childhood trauma?
Teen Health Connection is committed to utilizing the most effective interventions/modalities to help adolescents heal from their ACEs. One effective modality that is currently being utilized by therapists’ at Teen Health Connection since 2017 is Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents impacted by trauma and their parents or caregivers. Research shows that TF-CBT successfully resolves a broad array of emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with single, multiple, and complex trauma experiences. No treatment is optimal for everyone, and TF-CBT is not optimal for children whose primary problems are not trauma-related.

The newest technique that is being utilized at Teen Health Connection is brain spotting. In 2022, our therapists were trained in Brainspotting, an innovative treatment modality developed by David Grand, PhD. Brainspotting is a useful, accessible tool in the therapists toolbelt that can be used in conjunction with other therapies. It uses eye positioning to allow for greater information processing about a traumatic memory. Brainspotting operates under the belief that “where we look affects how we feel”, and the goal is to harness the power of eye positioning to help access a deeper part of the brain to help a patient move from dysregulation to regulation. “You can’t heal, what you can’t feel.” Reach out to Teen Health Connection at 704-381-TEEN to learn more today.
 

Sources:

Benefits of Screening for ACEs | ACEs Aware – Take action. Save lives.
ACES & Toxic Stress | Center for Youth Wellness
Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (cdc.gov)
vs-1105-aces-H.pdf (cdc.gov)
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): What are they and how can they be prevented? – Child & Family Development (msu.edu)
About Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) – Trauma Focus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certification Program (tfcbt.org)