Childhood Trauma - The ACE's

California’s first surgeon general, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, announced an ambitious plan to screen every student for childhood trauma before entering school and sites the Adverse Childhood Experiences as an essential tool to understand this. Her research team found that patients who had experienced severe trauma were 32 times more likely to be diagnosed with learning and behavioral problems than youth who had not. Read about her ideas here

The Adverse Childhood Experience test is one of the very first tests I administer for clients and their families, as they enter therapy. This is part of my trauma informed approach to treatment. It's an essential and easy way to know how to help clients, by informing and gathering information about their childhood.