Documentary Takes A New Look At Treating Childhood Trauma
| March 1, 2017 | Healthcare professionals and others with special interest in children’s needs filled the audience at a screening of a documentary exploring the identification and treatment of child abuse held Feb. 21 at the Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock’s River Market area.
The hour-long film, “Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope,” focused on the often overlooked connection between mental health and physical health, particularly the effect abuse has on a person’s quality of life.
The showing of the film was sponsored in part by a program of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute called Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma (ARBEST). It provides clinical care for children and adolescents who have been victims of trauma and trains therapists to treat traumatized youth. Other sponsors were the Ron Robinson Theater and the Arkansas Children’s Trust Fund.
Directed by James Redford, the documentary examines a theoretical approach to the treatment of children struggling with what one researcher called “toxic stress” and how the treatment improved their lives.
The term Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) grew out of a 1998 study by Dr. Robert Anda, M.D., and Dr. Vincent Felitti, M.D., that showed the impact traumatic events such as neglect and abuse can have on the health and behavior of children and later as adults.
Toxic stress can lead to health issues and increase the risks of homelessness, substance abuse and criminal activity, said Jack Shonkoff, M.D., director of Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. “It’s not something you’re born with. It’s something that develops over time,” said Shonkoff, one of several medical professionals interviewed for the documentary.
One of the film’s highlights was the work of Nadine Burke Harris, M.D., a San Francisco pediatrician who applied the ACE approach to treating her young patients and the success she found in it. Her work in addressing the relationship between childhood trauma and health problems like heart disease and cancer led to the creation of the Center for Youth Wellness, a San Francisco-based program working on reducing the negative outcomes caused by childhood trauma.
A panel of experts on child abuse spoke about the film afterward and the issues it raised. The panel included three from the UAMS College of Medicine: Nick Long, Ph.D., of the Department of Pediatrics; Sufna John, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychiatry; and Nikki Edge, Ph.D., of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. Mischa Martin of the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services was also on the panel.
Long stressed the need to get communities and their leaders working together to prevent abuse before it becomes a long-term problem. “We need to take down the silos. Rather than everybody operating in their separate silos, we need to educate the educators,” said Long. “We need to teach the teachers that there needs to be a relationship (with children) that’s caring and stable to find a solution.”
Long and John agreed that recognizing the problem of childhood trauma before it becomes advanced is key to helping young victims. “One of the gaps (in treatment) in kids that I see is the delivery of services,” said John, who sees patients at UAMS’ Child Study Center. “Early intervention is necessary to get them the help they need.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###