Oprah Reports On Revolutionary Approach To Addressing Childhood Trauma

This is not only an interesting take, but a shift that has the potential to be a powerful and very impactful tool that could transform the way society handles children’s behavior. Oprah reports on childhood trauma, having just visited two agencies in Milwaukee, a community that is utilizing the revolutionary approach, The Trauma Informed Care Initiative to address childhood trauma.

The shift from “What is wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”, when trying to understand children’s actions leads to the potential of understanding the child without judgement thus allowing the experts to offer appropriate support. The focus is not on “what” the child is doing but rather, it is on what happened to the child/the reason the child is acting or doing what they are doing. We see this approach as a win-win, it offers a window into the elements that shaped the child and gives the child a window to look inside, and seek understanding of why they do the things they do. This is crucial step in the process of self awareness and healing. How can children learn to self regulate, have self awareness, become productive, learn self efficacy and other life skills if those who can help them do not have a roadmap to the conditions of their early years? As Oprah asserted, “You cannot build resilience and grit if there is a big hole in your soul”, she says. 

Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist, neuroscientist and leading expert in child trauma adds, “that very same sensitivity that makes you able to learn language just like that as a little infant makes you highly vulnerable to chaos, threat, inconsistency, unpredictability–And so children are much more sensitive to developmental trauma than adults”.