Course curriculum

    1. The Neurodevelopmental Impact of Stress, Adversity, and Trauma: Implications for Social Work (Part 1)

    1. The Neurodevelopmental Impact of Stress, Adversity, and Trauma (Part 2)

    1. Reclaiming Your Identity After Trauma - David Van Nuys interviews Michele Rosenthal

About this course

  • Free
  • 3 lessons
  • 0 hours of video content

Part 1 examines the significant impact of early adversity, trauma, and toxic stress on neurodevelopment and overall health throughout life, particularly highlighting the insights gained from neuroscience and its applications to clinical social work. It underscores the importance of understanding how early adverse experiences shape brain development, leading to increased risk behaviors and poor health outcomes. The stress response system is described in detail, differentiating between positive, tolerable, and toxic stress, and their respective effects on neurodevelopment. The role of early caregiving relationships is emphasized, showing how consistent and empathically attuned care is crucial for healthy brain development and stress regulation. The discussion extends to vulnerable parent-child dyads, explaining how disrupted caregiving can perpetuate psychological and developmental vulnerabilities across generations and highlighting the importance of reflective functioning in caregivers to support secure attachments and emotional regulation in children.

  • Identify the role of early attachment and caregiving in brain development and stress regulation.

  • Comprehend the impact of early adversity and trauma on neurodevelopment and long-term health outcomes.

  • Differentiate between types of stress (positive, tolerable, toxic) and their effects on the developing brain.

  • Understand the intergenerational transmission of vulnerabilities due to disrupted early care.

  • Explore the factors that inhibit caregivers from providing sensitive and attuned care.

  • Recognize the importance of reflective functioning in caregivers to foster secure attachment and emotional regulation in children.

  • Learn about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the stress response system (SAM system and HPA axis).

  • Emphasize the need for early assessment, prevention, and intervention for at-risk parents and children.

Maternal substance use has both direct and indirect effects on the developing child, including physical, cognitive, and emotional impairments due to prenatal exposure to substances like alcohol, tobacco, cannabinoids, and opiates. The caregiving environment and access to social resources are crucial in mediating these effects. Children born addicted to substances face complex caregiving demands and developmental challenges, and if cared for by substance-abusing parents, they often experience inadequate care, neglect, or abuse. The vignette of Melanie, a mother in recovery from opioid addiction, illustrates these challenges. Melanie struggles to reconnect with her children, who show signs of attachment issues and emotional distress due to her past neglect and current recovery efforts. The chapter emphasizes the importance of early care experiences in brain development and highlights the enduring vulnerability of at-risk children even after situational improvements.

  • Identify the direct and indirect impacts of maternal substance use on the developing child.

  • Recognize the significance of the caregiving environment in mediating the effects of prenatal substance exposure.

  • Describe the physical and developmental challenges faced by children born addicted to substances.

  • Analyze how parental substance abuse can result in inadequate caregiving environments.

  • Examine the compounded risks for children of substance-abusing parents.

  • Discuss the importance of empathically attuned caregiving for children of substance-abusing parents.

  • Interpret the importance of early care experiences in brain development and long-term vulnerability.

  • Evaluate social work interventions aimed at supporting at-risk parent-child dyads.

Become a member

Access this and many other courses by becoming a member of SoP