Trauma can be a single event or a series of traumatic events that are repeated over time causing an individual to become overwhelmed with painful, frightening or loathing emotions. Over the last few years, the definition of psychological trauma has been broadened to include traumatic experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse and verbal abuse.

Trauma survivors may have experienced emotional childhood trauma in the form of an abusive parent or loved one. This type of abusive trauma may take the form of demanding, demeaning verbal attacks, or it could be in the form of physical or sexual abuse.

No matter what the type of childhood trauma, the negative impact on the victims is deep and lasting. Just as two people may not experience an event in the same way, no two people react to a stressful, traumatic event in the same way. While one person may find the ability to cope with a traumatic event, another may be unable to deal with the trauma by themselves in a productive manner.