Psychological Trauma: Case Studies

As was elaborated in the preceding chapters of this book, psychological trauma includes behavioral, motivational, affective, and cognitive evidence. Behavioral evidence consists of those aspects that can be seen physically during an observation, such as avoidance behavior like bracing. Motivational trauma evidence deals with self-efficacy issues such as a lack of confidence in the success of the treatment plan, and thinking treatment does nothing for recovery. Affective evidence becomes clear due to our primitive, limbic system, in which fear of and uncertainty about re-injury take over before our brain can actually assess the situation (rational fear system). The final type of evidence, cognitive evidence, deals with those aspects in which our thoughts become the main clue to trauma. This evidence includes obsessive thoughts, over-thinking, the inability to focus, and memory problems.