The

Curse of Childhood PTSD, the Art of Resilience

Why Some Children Flourish Through Traumas While Others Suffer for Life

According to the National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and
internationally known pediatrician, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (2014), over 64% of children
will experience at least one trauma during their childhood that will literally change their
physiological existence and directly affect their future. However, with specialty programs
and community outreach, like that offered by the Pleasantville Cottage Schools, sponsored
by the Jewish Child Care Association of New York (JCCANY) in Westchester County, these
children with broken pasts are given a chance to reclaim their innocence and help
themselves have a greater chance of success later in life.
These traumas are measured by the Adverse Childhood Experiences test, which is
the medical standard for not only the United States Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), but also medical communities around the world. For every hostile
experience, the child gets one point and as the points accumulate, so does the correlation
for a worse health outcome as an adult (Harris). Unfavorable conditions can include, but
are not limited to, the following categories of trauma: physical, emotional, and sexual
abuse; physical and emotional neglect; living with a parental figure who suffers from
mental illness or substance abuse or dependence; living with a parent who is frequently in
and out of incarceration; parental separation or divorce; and domestic violence (Harris).
For years,, it has been a common misconception that children are responsible for
their own emotional and physical resilience to experienced traumas. However, research
has proven the opposite. In psychiatry, resilience is viewed as a measurable, influential,

and modifiable process that is composed of a secure base, good self-esteem, and a sense of
self-efficacy; all of which are quintessential for good mental health (Shastri, 2013). The
groups that play the most pivotal roles in protecting and fostering resilience are family,
community, and school. Therefore, when one of these institutions is less-thanadvantageous, it interrupts the development process and directly affects children, causing
them to compensate for what is lacking. Over time, the victims develop post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). However, if the cycle is broken or even remedied earlier enough in
the childs life, they can make significant strides towards improved mental and physical
health.
For over 100 years, Pleasantville Cottage Schools has provided a reliable, consistent,
safe-haven for children ages seven to eleven to learn appropriate coping techniques and
how to properly process and come to terms with heartache from the past. Trotta et al.
proved through their study in 2015 that when these damaged children are taught proper
emotional management tools and practices, they actually reduce their risk and severity for
ailments later in life by up to seven times (compared to adults from similarly scarring
backgrounds) (Trotta et al., 2015, p. 2483). Specifically, it has been shown that as adults
they are less at risk of the following diseases: depression, suicidal thoughts, heart disease,
lung disease, obesity (Harris), and drug and alcohol dependence and abuse (Felitti et al.,
1998).
It is imperative that the JCCA be able to continue to educate the Westchester County
public in order to raise awareness of the good the JCCA is doing as well as raise financial
donations to continue doing this good. Community-based programs are essential to help
educate parents, teachers, and caretakers about proper management tools for children and

adolescents in difficult situations, regardless of whether s/he is a survivor of trauma or still

locked into a harmful situation. In addition to offering a website full of resources, the JCCA
offers many assets to the community, the majority of which are free of charge, including:
informational classes, topical group counseling sessions and private therapy and
counseling.
The JCCA is a community-driven, accountable, highly esteemed, nonprofit
organization, based on giving the highest quality services to all of its stakeholders
(JCCANY); and it is critical that the JCCANY continues to be supported in terms of
volunteered manpower and fiscal and resource donations. Every minute spent mentoring
these recovering children is perpetually impactful, for all of those who are involved. Every
month, the JCCA features an individual (or group) that has volunteered time to not only
better a childs life, but also better a childs life expectancy. In fact, it has been proven by
Trotta et al. (2015), that a child who is supported and aided through adversities is more
likely to mature into an adult who can transition in, through, and from adversity more
smoothly.
It is vitally important, especially if you are a resident of Westchester County, to get
involved in some way with the Jewish Child Care Association of New York, because, every
child deserves to grow up hopeful.

Sources

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Injury prevention & control: division of
violence prevention. Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/

Felitti, V.J., Anda, R.F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D.F., Spitz, A.M., Edwards, V.,
Koss, M.P., & Marks, J.S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household
dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, vol. 14, p. 245-258. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S07493797(98)00017-8

Harris, N.B. (2014, September). How childhood trauma affects health across a
lifetime [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_h
ealth_across_a_lifetime

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (n.d.). Facts and figures. [Data file].
Retrieved from: http://www.nctsnet.org/resources/topics/facts-and-figures

Pleasantville Cottage School Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA) (Pleasantville Cottage
School Jewish Child Care Association). (n.d.) Retrieved from:
http://www.jccany.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cottage_pcs

Shastri, P.C. (2013). Resilience: building immunity in psychiatry. Indian Journal of
Psychiatry, vol. 55, p. 224-234. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.117134

Trotta, A., Murray, R.M., & Fisher, H.L. (2015). The impact of childhood adversity on
the persistence of psychotic symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Psychological Medicine, vol. 45, p. 2481-2498. doi: 10.1017/S0033291715000574