Awareness of trauma to children was first codified as the “battered baby syndrome” by Henry Kempe in 1962. While Accident & Emergency Departments, paediatricians and social workers remain alert to these presentations, it seems that child sexual abuse and the range of emotional abuse particularly in disorders of Attachment, have come to the fore in psychotherapy. The sequelae of physical abuse are not always highlighted in the discussions of Complex Trauma but occur, as expected, often in association with other forms of abuse.
The work of Martin Teicher in Boston in separating the brain consequences of different types of trauma and my clinical observations raised an interest in separating out different patterns. Noticing associated levels of dissociation, the frequent co-morbidity with alcohol abuse, the depth of shame and self-devaluation, the nature of further relational patterns including in therapy has led to this paper focussing on physical abuse. In presenting a small number of clinical vignettes, within a theoretical background, I hope to allow the listener to reflect on their own experience of this common aspect of trauma.
