2. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS EARLY CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

In Augsburg, Westhouse

Abstracts

Abstracts / Speakers

Very young children are particularly exposed to a wide variety of risks of traumatization in the first years of life. They can quickly find themselves in hopeless situations, e.g. medical interventions, accidents, neglect, etc., in which neither escape nor attack is possible and they are helplessly at their mercy. If this experience is associated with very strong, flooding and possibly also continuous or repetitive stress, it can lead to severe traumatization already in early childhood due to the not yet consolidated personality structure and not yet sufficiently completed brain development, which can result in lifelong stressful effects into old adulthood. Psychotherapeutic treatment options in the first three years of life are very few. Most psychotherapeutic treatment methods for this age start with parent-child relationships or are even limited to pure counseling of the parents. Direct treatment on the child is still the exception. The I.B.T.® method presented here, however, is not limited to pure parent counseling or working on the parent-child relationship, but represents an integrative treatment approach of caregiver work, work on the parent-child relationship and direct trauma-integrative work on the child.
Katrin Boger
  • Child and adolescent psychotherapist
  • Trauma therapist
  • Pedagogue
  • Supervisor
  • Head of WZPP - Weiterbildungszentrum für Pädagogik und Psychologie (Center for Further Education in Pedagogy and Psychology)
  • Author
Our experiences in the womb, at birth and shortly after birth profoundly shape our sense of who we are and our perceptions of the world. This workshop is intended for anyone who is interested in how our earliest experiences shape us. The day will include seminar style teaching, video footage of therapy with babies and some gentle experiential exercises to access our own embodied experience. Topics include.
  • How the conventional cultural understanding of babies and prenates limits how we welcome them into the world.
  • The four stages of birth of birth from a baby’s perspective (as opposed to the three stages of birth from the obstetrical perspective) and how each of these stages may impact us.
  • How each of the stages of birth may set up specific core beliefs and life statements.
  • How babies share their prenatal and birth experience through specific somatic gestures and emotional expression.
  • How unresolved prenatal and birth trauma can negatively impact bonding after birth and undermine parental confidence.
  • How we can learn to listen to babies and to our own early experience in a new, more accurate and empathic way.
  • How we can support parents to understand and empathically support babies in integrating stressful and traumatic birth experiences, so as to move from a position to helplessness and overwhelm to one of empowerment and resilience.
Matthew Appleton, MA 
  • Psychotherapist, UKCP
  • Craniosacral Therapist, RCST
  • Integrative Baby Therapist
  • Pre- and Perinatal Psychologist
  • Co founder and director of Conscious Embodiment Trainings
  • Co-founder, co-director and senior teacher of the Institute of Craniosacral Studies
  • Author
  • Practice in Bristol, United Kingdom
Jenni Meyer, BSc Hons 
  • Nurse, RN
  • Midwife, RM
  • Integrative Baby Therapist
  • Craniosacral Therapist, RCST
  • Co founder and assistant director of Conscious Embodiment Trainings
  • Craniosacral Therapy practice in Bristol, United Kingdom
Premature and at-risk infants are particularly prone to feeding tube dependency. This raises the question of why it is specifically these groups that are affected. A common factor among these infants and toddlers is that their lives begin with suffering. In their first days, preterm infants often experience pain, shortness of breath, or nausea, leading to a fear of anything that touches their mouth. In such cases, rejection and aversion to food are protective strategies to avoid further distressing experiences. Attempts to support these infants and toddlers in outpatient and inpatient therapies are often met with the fear of the child and their parents. To help the child overcome this aversion, we must first understand this fear and provide the sense of security needed for progress. This workshop will analyze the interaction between early trauma and tube dependency in order to better understand the child's aversion. Key questions to be addressed include: How can I recognize traumatic impacts? How can traumatic feelings be regulated? How can I provide security to the child? How can I provide security to the parents? Through video examples and practical exercises, the processing of trauma will be demonstrated and made tangible. From this understanding, therapeutic measures and interventions will be derived to facilitate the child’s transition back to oral feeding.
Antonia Maria Jockenhöfer
  • Teacher of children with special needs
  • Systemic Child, Youth, and Family Counselo
  • PäPKi Therapist
  • Trauma Educator/Trauma Specialist
  • Integrative Attachment-Oriented Trauma Specialist/Therapist (I.B.T.®)
  • Emotional First Aid Specialist
  • Lecturer with a focus on "Early Intervention for Infants" at the Evangelical University in Bochum
  • Institute for Tube Dependency, Essen (Germany)
Dr. Markus Wilken
  • Psychologist
  • Author
  • Institute for Tube Dependency, Essen (Germany)
Addressing early, potentially pre-verbal trauma therapeutically is inconceivable for many people, as such experiences are often not consciously accessible on a cognitive level. For this reason, traditional talk therapy seems challenging. However, these early memories remain stored in the subconscious and body memory, influencing our perception, evaluation of events, and actions. Integrative Attachment-Oriented Trauma Therapy (I.B.T.®) offers an approach to support even older children, adolescents, and adults in processing early (pre-verbal) trauma.
Katrin Boger
  • Child and adolescent psychotherapist
  • Trauma therapist
  • Pedagogue
  • Supervisor
  • Head of WZPP - Weiterbildungszentrum für Pädagogik und Psychologie (Center for Further Education in Pedagogy and Psychology)
  • Author
Both for the premature child and their parents, the often weeks-long intensive medical treatment represents a significant traumatic experience. After birth, parents frequently develop a range of complex psychological reactions, such as feelings of guilt, grief over the "imperfect" child, depression, and symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, it is essential to critically examine our daily actions, language, rituals, and rules. Additionally, interventions need to be developed that help parents cope with this highly complex situation and facilitate the initiation of a stable parent-child bond in an environment that feels "wrong" or unnatural.
Anna Kalbér
  • Intensive Care Nurse
  • Case Manager
  • Clinical Instructor
  • Algesiological Specialist Assistant at Sternenbrücke Hamburg
  • Neotrainer, Berlin
Thomas Kühn
  • Paediatrician, Neonatologist
  • Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultant
  • Senior Physician on leave at the Perinatal Center (Level 1) of Vivantes Klinikum Berlin-Neukölln
  • Neotrainer, Berlin
In 2020, approximately 90,000 children lived in foster care in Germany. Half of the preschool-aged foster children had known traumatic experiences, and around 40% exhibited psychological difficulties. However, it is often not only the foster children who are affected; foster parents can also feel overwhelmed in dealing with these challenges. This can lead to negative escalation cycles, potentially resulting in further traumatic experiences, early termination of foster placements, and additional relationship disruptions. In this short workshop, you will gain an overview of research findings regarding the prior experiences and psychological burdens of preschool-aged foster children. You will be introduced to evaluated interventions focused on supporting foster parents, with a particular emphasis on the "Fostering Changes" training program, which you will explore in more depth both theoretically and practically. "Fostering Changes" is a group training program for foster parents of children aged 2 to 11 years, based on recent findings in attachment and trauma research. Through an engaging and interactive approach, the program primarily teaches strategies to enhance relationship quality and methods of positive parenting. According to scientific studies in the UK, foster parents felt more empowered in their roles after participating in the training, and children's behavioral difficulties significantly decreased.
Judith Bürzle, BS
  • Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
  • Trauma Curriculum
  • Course Instructor for "Fostering Changes"
  • Lecturer
  • Research Associate at the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm
The functional maturation and development of the brain is based on a complex, coordinated interaction between genetic predispositions and environmental influences. Stressful or traumatic experiences in early life can interfere with these developmental processes and, as a consequence, impair brain function, especially in prefronto-limbic areas. Thus, early life stress (ELS) represents a prominent risk factor for the development of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, or ADHD. It should be emphasized that the described effects often occur in a sex-specific manner. However, successful coping with early negative experiences may also induce positive adaptive changes in neural structures resulting in improved stress coping or resilience against adverse events at later life periods. The interaction between genetic predispositions and the programming influences of the environment is mediated by so-called epigenetic mechanisms. These modulate gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. An increasing number of studies show that the stress-induced, epigenetically regulated changes in brain function and behaviour can be transmitted to subsequent generations (inter- and transgenerational transmission). Early life stress therefore not only influences the individual that is experiencing this stress, but also represents a transgenerational programming factor that defines an epigenetic predisposition for stress-coping in subsequent generations. This workshop will explain the mechanisms of stress-induced effects on functional brain development and behaviour, as well as the influence of critical factors such as sensitive developmental time windows, sex-specific effects and the importance of the socio-emotional environment as a possible protective buffer factor. It will also be discussed whether and how these stress-induced changes can be transmitted to subsequent generations and what role epigenetic mechanisms play in this phenomenon.
Prof. Dr. Jörg Bock
  • Neurobiologist
  • Apl. Professor for Zoology/Neurobiology, OvGU Magdeburg
  • Head of the WG "Epigenetics and Structural Plasticity"
The ”Developmental Origins of Health and Disease“ (DOHaD) concept postulates that distinct environmental influences during critical phases of development "shape" or "program" the formation of an individual's functional phenotype and thus influence health but also susceptibility to disease later in life. This gene x environment interaction is a biologically meaningful process that enables adaptation to the respective environmental conditions in order to be able to function optimally in a corresponding environment at later life stages. Accordingly, also the development and maturation of functional neural networks is based on an interaction between genetic predispositions and environmental influences. Critical environmental influences at early life phases, such as perinatal stress or traumatic experiences, can negatively affect neuronal development and thus represent a prominent risk factor for the development of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders or ADHD. An increasing number of studies, including our own, show that these stress-induced processes are mediated by epigenetic mechanisms that lead to short- and long-term changes in gene expression and thereby influence brain function. Recent studies have also shown that the specific effects of stress experiences on these processes are the result of a complex interaction between early life stress and consecutive or repeated stress in later life (‘two-(or multiple) hit’ concept). This talk explains the most important concepts of pre- and postnatal programming and summarises the most important findings on the environmentally induced development of functional brain circuits and the underlying epigenetic mechanisms.
Prof. Dr. Jörg Bock
  • Neurobiologist
  • Apl. Professor for Zoology/Neurobiology, OvGU Magdeburg
  • Head of the WG "Epigenetics and Structural Plasticity"
Birth is a borderline experience - this always leaves traces, can traumatize - Some suffer a PTSD - especially when there was violence involved. Trauma disorders are manifold and always burden the mother-child bond. The most important primal experience of unconditional love may remain and prevents paths of childlike morbidity. In addition to the conflicts in obstetrics, the lecture explains especially violence and traumaprevention and focuses on debriefing and trauma therapy.
Dr. Wolf Lütje
  • 40 years as an obstetrician – long-standing Chief Physician
  • Psychotherapist (focus: depth psychology)
  • Author
  • President of the German Society for Psychosomatic Gynecology and Obstetrics (germ. DGPFG)
  • Countless lectures/workshops/training sessions on all topics related to obstetrics
  • Teaching and guideline officer
According to current scientific findings, the period from conception to the end of the second year of life is the most formative time in our lives. During this phase, the foundations of our personality, our ability to cope with stressful experiences, and our attachment behavior are established. If this time is marked by early trauma, it can have particularly harmful effects on the entire course of life. This presentation will explore the connections between brain development, early trauma, and long-term scars.
Katrin Boger
  • Child and adolescent psychotherapist
  • Trauma therapist
  • Pedagogue
  • Supervisor
  • Head of WZPP - Weiterbildungszentrum für Pädagogik und Psychologie (Center for Further Education in Pedagogy and Psychology)
  • Author
This presentation will outline an evidence-based method of psychotherapeutic intervention for assessing the behavioral, mental health, and relationship challenges of children ages birth to 6 years who have experienced trauma and their caregivers. This intervention, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, treats the caregiver and young child together, focusing on links between the caregiver’s experience of their child and their own early trauma. It is based on principles derived from psychodynamic and attachment theories. The story of a young child and his parent who experienced a traumatic loss will be told using videorecorded vignettes to illustrate the assessment employed in the intervention.
Prof. Dr. Julie A. Larrieu
  • Developmental and Clinical Psychologist
  • Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA
  • Senior Psychologist at the Tulane Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Team
  • Trainer of Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
Faced with the distress of families seeking help from us, we can feel pressured and even panicked into finding solutions. Yet being able to tolerate not knowing what to do can often open up a ‘potential space’ in which deeper themes and their resolution to spontaneously emerge. This is profoundly humanising for both therapist and clients. Drawing from the practice of Integrative Baby Therapy, this talk explores how the wisdom of not knowing forms an integral part of the work with parents and their children.
Matthew Appleton, MA 
  • Psychotherapist, UKCP
  • Craniosacral Therapist, RCST
  • Integrative Baby Therapist
  • Pre- and Perinatal Psychologist
  • Co founder and director of Conscious Embodiment Trainings
  • Co-founder, co-director and senior teacher of the Institute of Craniosacral Studies
  • Author
  • Practice in Bristol, United Kingdom
The title of the lecture refers to a publication by Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand, Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, which not only deals with the potentially painful procedures in a NICU as one might expect, but also highlights what other moments can be painful for the children and their parents and how we deal with them. This includes not only the actual details of care delivery but also the attitude, feelings, and emotional state of professional caregivers at the time of patient interactions. Interventions performed without empathy, mechanically, or while distracted by other concerns may be less effective than those imbued with love and care for the patient’s wellbeing. The lecture explores the question of whether in routine practice the pursuit of objective assessments and measurements in the sense of evidence-based medicine has overshadowed some other aspects of medical care. Or to put it another way, has evidence-based medicine, which informs “what” we can do for our patients, perhaps lost sight of the “how” of treatment? And are we really accepting the key role of parents in the care of their children?
Thomas Kühn
  • Paediatrician, Neonatologist
  • Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultant
  • Senior Physician at the Perinatal Center (Level 1) of Vivantes Klinikum Berlin-Neukölln
  • Neotrainer, Berlin
abstract coming soon!
Thomas Kühn
  • Specialist in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Neonatologist
  • Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultant
  • Senior Physician at the Perinatal Center (Level 1) of Vivantes Klinikum Berlin-Neukölln
  • Neotrainer, Berlin
This talk explores the critical issue of Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress (PMTS) within the NICU environment, framing it as a form of child maltreatment that demands attention and action. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of PMTS, its prevalence, and its profound impact on infants and their families. The session will delve into the unique stressors present in the NICU, highlighting the ethical and social justice implications of failing to address PMTS adequately. Through the lens of trauma-informed developmental care, the talk will present practical strategies and core measures that can mitigate the effects of PMTS, advocating for systemic changes to promote equity and justice in neonatal care. By recognizing PMTS as a form of maltreatment, healthcare professionals and policymakers can take meaningful steps to ensure a more compassionate, just, and trauma-informed approach to caring for our most vulnerable patients.
Mary Coughlin, MSc
  • Seasoned staff nurse
  • Charge nurse
  • Neonatal nurse practitioner
  • Administrator, educator, coach and mentor
  • President and Founder, Caring Essentials Collaborative LLC. Boston
  • Author
abstract coming soon!
Dr. Markus Wilken
  • Psychologist
  • Author
  • Institut für Sondendependenz, Essen
Addressing early, potentially pre-verbal trauma therapeutically is inconceivable for many people, as such experiences are often not consciously accessible on a cognitive level. For this reason, traditional talk therapy appears difficult. However, these early memories remain stored in the subconscious and body memory, influencing our perception, evaluation of events, and behavior. This presentation will introduce a therapeutic approach for addressing early pre-verbal trauma at any age.
Katrin Boger
  • Child and adolescent psychotherapist
  • Trauma therapist
  • Pedagogue
  • Supervisor
  • Head of WZPP - Weiterbildungszentrum für Pädagogik und Psychologie (Center for Further Education in Pedagogy and Psychology)
  • Author
This presentation describes the strategies used in an evidence-based method of psychotherapeutic intervention, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, for treating the behavioral, mental health, and relationship challenges of children ages birth to 6 years who have experienced trauma and their caregivers. A variety of techniques, using play-based narratives, will be illustrated through videorecorded vignettes of a young child and his parent who presented to therapy due to trauma and loss. Child-Parent Psychotherapy facilitated healing of their trauma and their relationship by restoring physical and psychological safety in the context of the therapeutic milieu.
Prof. Dr. Julie A. Larrieu
  • Developmental and Clinical Psychologist
  • Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA
  • Senior Psychologist at the Tulane Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Team
  • Trainer of Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
For many reasons - especially psychological ones - it may happen that a mother cannot be adequately available to her child after birth. If there is no substitute or supplement available, it may have serious health consequences for the child. Early recognition and action - also in the context of an early professional support, can in many cases be curious. The lecture focuses on the analysis of the background, disease patterns , but also the therapeutic possibilities and requirements against the background of large gaps in care
Dr. Wolf Lütje
  • 40 years as an obstetrician – long-standing Chief Physician
  • Psychotherapist (focus: depth psychology)
  • Author
  • President of the German Society for Psychosomatic Gynecology and Obstetrics (germ. DGPFG)
  • Countless lectures/workshops/training sessions on all topics related to obstetrics
  • Teaching and guideline officer
Normal shame develops in young children in connection with their increasing need for autonomy in the second year of life. Certain actions by children can severely disrupt family life or put themselves in great danger. Clear reactions from adults, some of which are rigid for the child, give the child guidance about undesirable or dangerous behavior and the rules of coexistence. To ensure that this very drastic experience does not result in lasting developmental restrictions or traumatization, the child needs reassurance that he or she is loved as a person, but that certain behaviour will not be accepted under any circumstances. What are the consequences for the child's development if they repeatedly develop toxic shame as a result of shaming or in the context of violence and neglect? To what extent does toxic shame block differentiated emotional development, the experience of supportive relationships and the experience of appropriate self-esteem?
Dr. Mauri Fries
  • Psychologist
  • Family Therapist
  • Somatic-Experiencing (SE)® Practioner
  • Early Chiuldhood Trainer
  • Practice in Leipzig, Germany
This talk introduces the B.U.F.F.E.R. framework, an innovative approach to mitigating the traumatic experiences of infants and families in the NICU. The acronym B.U.F.F.E.R. stands for Belonging, Understanding, Frameworks, Forgiveness, Equity, and Respect—each representing a critical component of a comprehensive trauma-informed care strategy. Participants will learn how to create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters a sense of belonging, enhances understanding of trauma, and implements structured frameworks for care. The session will also explore the importance of promoting forgiveness, ensuring equity in treatment, and cultivating a culture of respect. By integrating these principles, NICU professionals can significantly improve the emotional and psychological well-being of their patients and families, leading to more compassionate and effective care.
Mary Coughlin, MSc
  • Seasoned staff nurse
  • Charge nurse
  • Neonatal nurse practitioner
  • Administrator, educator, coach and mentor
  • President and Founder, Caring Essentials Collaborative LLC. Boston
  • Author
Bringing awareness to our embodied experience and paying attention to shifts in our inner sensations, can help us to stay profoundly present in our therapeutic relationships with our clients. Teaching and modelling presence can also support parents to shift from trying to figure things out, when a baby or child is distressed, to coming into state of emotional attunement, which creates safety and connection for both parent and child. Drawing from research into right hemispheric brain function, the so-called ‘’’cardiac brain’ and polyvagal theory, we will see how embodied presence enables us to enter more deeply into the pre-verbal world of the infant than when our primary orientation is through the more culturally dominant left-hemisphere.
Matthew Appleton, MA 
  • Psychotherapist, UKCP
  • Craniosacral Therapist, RCST
  • Integrative Baby Therapist
  • Pre- and Perinatal Psychologist
  • Co founder and director of Conscious Embodiment Trainings
  • Co-founder, co-director and senior teacher of the Institute of Craniosacral Studies
  • Author
  • Practice in Bristol, United Kingdom