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Taxonomy of Trauma and Trauma Assessment

ACCESS Mental Health 2655 Whalen, Hamtramck, MI 48212 USA, Kiraaref{at}aol.com/, ikira{at}accesscommunity.org

A review of the theory of trauma as a special case of stress response theory, two different classifications/taxonomies of traumas emerge. Each taxonomy describes a different dimension of the traumatic event. The first taxonomy, areas of individual functioning, includes five types: Attachment trauma, autonomy or identity trauma, interdependence trauma, achievement or self-actualization trauma, and survival trauma. The second classification is based on experiential objective external criteria and includes two main categories: Factitious or trauma-like and real traumatic events. The first happens in one step transmission from one to one or more persons. The second get transmitted in multiple steps or cross-generationally. Traumas can get transmitted cross generationally in two venues: through family or collectively. Collective transmission of traumas happens in two contexts: historical and social structural. Direct traumas (person-made), on the other hand, is divided into two types: Simple (type I) and complex (type II, and type III). While type I is a single blow, type II is a unit of repeated and connected series of blows. Type III is the additive effect of the sequence of all direct, indirect, and factitious traumatic events on one or more of the different areas of functioning across life span. The latter section of the paper describes a Trauma Assessment Matrix to help identify the accumulation of traumatic events and its potentially additive effects in one or more of the five areas of functioning. The treatment implications are addressed.

Key Words: Taxonomy • trauma • trauma assessment • trauma transmission • trauma treatment

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