Potentially traumatic events that children may experience can include psychological, physical, or sexual abuse; community or school violence; racism-related traumas; witnessing or experiencing domestic violence; the sudden or violent loss of a loved one; and military family-related stressors like deployment, parental loss or injury. According to the Substance, Abuse, and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), more than two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event by the age of sixteen.

Trauma affects us all differently, and the same is true for children. Understanding how we can prevent trauma and reduce the impact of trauma when it occurs, is key to reducing other risky behaviors that can negatively impact children and adolescents into adulthood like substance, use and risky sexual behavior.

In this episode, Dr. Carla Kmett Danielson, a clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina shares her research into helping at-risk youth respond to trauma and how that research has led to new approaches in clinic today. Danielson has been selected by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies as the recipient of the 2023 Robert Laufer Memorial Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement. Through her research as a member of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, she developed both the Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT) and the EMPOWERR Program.

**If your child or family needs help, SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)**

Episode Links:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT)

EMPOWERR Program