HSV 6350 Module 5 Part2 Alexithymia Dr.

Alexithymia in Children who Have Experienced Trauma : 

Alexithymia in Children who Have Experienced Trauma Week 5

Section Objectives : 

Section Objectives Define alexithymia and its relationship to trauma Describe characteristics of alexithymia Describe the relationship between language impairment and alexithymia Identify interventions for use with children with alexithymia

Define Alexithymia : 

Define Alexithymia Alexithymia is a psychological phenomenon Alexithymia is not a diagnostic category (it’s not in the DSM-IV-TR…) Alexithymia is a cluster of characteristics that may be present at birth, or may develop following early traumatic experiences

Describe Characteristics of Alexithymia : 

Describe Characteristics of Alexithymia Children with alexithymia have strong feelings, just like others But they don’t know what they are feeling And they don’t understand their feelings.

Relationship to Other Concepts : 

Relationship to Other Concepts Alexithymia is associated with low emotional intelligence, or understanding and expressing one’s own feelings (Parker et al., 2001) Alexithymia is also similar to having poor emotional competence (Saarni, 1999)

More Information… : 

More Information… www.emotionalprocessing.org.uk/Emotion%20concepts/Emotional%20expression.htm

Define the Relationship Between Alexithymia and Trauma : 

Define the Relationship Between Alexithymia and Trauma Childhood maltreatment has been linked to development of alexithymia (Krystal, 1988) Alexithymia has been linked to poor parent-child relationships (Schore, 2001) and insecure attachment (Taylor et al., 1999) Early trauma can lead to brain changes (Ito et al., 1998)

Relationship Between Alexithymia and Trauma II : 

Relationship Between Alexithymia and Trauma II Irwin & Melbin-Helberg (1997) hypothesized that alexithymia has some aspects of dissociation, another effect of trauma

What Would We See? : 

What Would We See? Children with alexithymia cannot express what they are feeling, verbally, to others They may be able to talk more about what is happening around them, or about somatic complaints, rather than what is termed “inward sensing” (Sundararajan, 2001)

How Does Alexithymia Affect Behavior? : 

How Does Alexithymia Affect Behavior? Brain changes following early trauma can result in a disconnect between the left (verbal expression) and right (emotion) sides of the brain When a child experiences strong feelings, yet cannot identify or express them, the feelings have to come out somehow – we may see aggression, somatic complaints, ineffective coping, and attempts to modulate feelings (Reckling & Buirski, 1996)

Identify Interventions for Children with Alexithymia : 

Identify Interventions for Children with Alexithymia Little is written about intervention for alexithymia, but fortunately… There is literature on what is being done to help develop emotional competence in young children (Denham, 1998; Saarni, 1999; Way et al., 2006) And literature to help children develop emotional intelligence (Ellison, 2001)

Components of Intervention with Children with Alexithymia : 

Components of Intervention with Children with Alexithymia Help child gain self-awareness Help children understand their feelings Help child gain language skills to communicate their awareness

Describe the Relationship Between Language Impairment and Alexithymia : 

Describe the Relationship Between Language Impairment and Alexithymia We want to distinguish simply having language or vocabulary, versus knowing how to actually use language in communication with others There is growing awareness of the relationship between alexithymia and pragmatic language skills – using language in relationships with others

References : 

References Denham, S. A. (1998). Disruptions in the development of emotional competence and interventions to ameliorate them. In Emotional development in young children (pp. 190-225). New York: The Guilford Press. Ellison, K. (2001). The personal intelligences: Promoting social and emotional learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. Ito, Y., Tiecher, M. H., Glod, C. A., & Ackerman, E. (1998). Preliminary evidence for aberrant cortical development in abused children: A quantitative EEG study. Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 10, 298-307. Krystal, H. (1988). Integration and self-healing: Affect-trauma-alexithymia. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytical Press. Parker, J. D. A., Taylor, G. J., & Bagby, R. M. (2001). The relationship between emotional intelligence and alexithymia. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 107-115. Reckling, A. E., & Buirski, P. (1996). Child abuse, self-development, and affect regulation. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 13, 81-99. Saarni, C. (1999). The development of emotional competence. New York: The Guilford Press. Schore, A. N. (2001). The effects of early relational trauma on right brain development, affect regulation, and infant mental health. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22, 201-269. Taylor, G. J., Parker, J. D. A., & Bagby, R. M. (1999). Emotional intelligence and the emotional brain: Points of convergence and implications for psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 27, 339-354.