Trauma model of mental disorders

The trauma model of mental disorders, or trauma model of psychopathology, emphasizes the effects of psychological trauma, particularly in early development, as the key causal factor in the development of some or many psychiatric disorders, or a vulnerability for depression and anxiety, in addition to trauma as an adult as in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Trauma models are typically founded on the view that traumatic experiences (such as actual physical or sexual abuse) are more common or more serious than thought in the histories of those diagnosed with mental disorders. Such models have traditionally been associated with psychoanalytic approaches, notably Sigmund Freud's early ideas on childhood sexual abuse and hysteria.

John Bowlby, who developed attachment theory, also describes the negative mental health consequences, based on his observations, of the effects on infants and young children when a positive relationship with a caregiver is lacking. In addition there is significant research supporting the linkage between early experiences of chronic maltreatment and later problems.

In the 1960s trauma models also became associated with humanist and anti-psychiatry approaches, particularly in regard to understanding schizophrenia and the role of the family. Personality disorders have also been a focus, particularly borderline personality disorder. Extreme versions of trauma models have implicated the fetal environment and the trauma of being born, or have been associated with recovered memory controversies.

More generally, trauma models highlight particularly stressful and traumatic factors in early attachment relations and in the development of mature interpersonal relationships. They are often presented as a counterpoint to a psychiatry claimed to be too focused on genetics, neurochemistry and medication.

In the 1940s to the 1970s, some mental health professionals proposed trauma models to understand schizophrenia: Harry Stack Sullivan, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, Theodore Lidz, Gregory Bateson, Silvano Arieti, R.D. Laing and others. They held that schizophrenia is induced by experiences in profoundly disturbed families or by attempts to cope with a damaging society. In the 1950s, Sullivan's theory that schizophrenia is related to interpersonal relationships was widely accepted in the United States.

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