informed trauma care

Trauma in Teens: How Parents Can Recognize It and Help Their Kids Heal

Posted on by Joseph Gerard

sad teenager sitting alone clip art

Written by Kim Hobbs.

Teens can hide their pain well. That makes it likely for parents to miss red flags in their child. Maybe you think the mood swings are just teenage angst. Or maybe you assume quietness is them being shy. But sometimes, these are signs of trauma. When they go through something dark, it’s vital to be present.

Sure, your teen might seem fine. But trauma can be hiding underneath. They need guidance. And that starts at home with their parents. You are their gateway to healing.

In this guide, we’ll uncover what teen trauma looks like, why it matters, and how parents can respond with care.

Common Reasons for Trauma in Teens

Teenagers face more than just schoolwork and friendship issues. Sometimes, they go through experiences that shake them to their core. Trauma when you’re that young can come in many forms. That includes things like:

  • Abuse in relationships: Teens can, unfortunately, experience trauma from bad relationships. Many times, it happens within the family. It can also occur in their romantic relationships. Abuse can be physical, like being hit. Unwanted touching is another form of physical abuse. Sometimes, it can be emotional. Verbal abuse can break down their confidence. Gaslighting can make them doubt themselves.
  • Bullies: Bullying at school is a reality many teens face. Most of the time, it happens face-to-face at school. But it can also happen online through cyberbullying. School then becomes anxiety-inducing instead of a place for learning.
  • A grave loss: Teens aren’t always equipped to handle grief. Losing a parent or a close friend can trigger a profound sadness in them. Facing loss can get in the way of their daily routines. It’s always too much for a young person to go through.
  • Natural disasters: Events like floods, tornadoes, or wildfires can make teens feel powerless. Trauma after natural disasters destroys their sense of safety. Sure, they may escape physical harm. But losing their home is deeply unsettling. Teens may struggle with anxiety after the event.

Why Trauma Hits Teens Differently

Trauma hits teens hard because their emotions are still developing. That’s why when bad things happen, they don’t know how to act. Trauma can negatively affect young people’s mental health. That’s alarming, considering depression is already prevalent in teens. 

One in seven adolescents globally experiences mental health issues. Coupled with trauma, these challenges can get more intense. It makes anxiety harder to manage. It ends up putting extra strain on their well-being.

There’s also the subject of identity formation. Teens are still figuring out who they are. Social pressures shape their identity. So does the approval of friends. Trauma can distort these experiences. As a result, it can make them question their worth.

Teens also haven’t had years to develop coping strategies after getting hurt. They may not know how to process it. Without guidance, fear becomes overwhelming. It can lead to risky behaviors. That’s why parental support is so crucial.

Warning Signs of Trauma Parents Shouldn’t Ignore

Teens don’t always tell you when something is wrong. But trauma shows up through little clues. Pay attention to your teens. That way, you can step in right away if you see any of these warning signs.

Sudden Mood Swings

Trauma can make emotions feel more intense. Your teen may go from happy to irritable in minutes. Small things can trigger big reactions. This isn’t just sheer moodiness. It’s the stress of trauma showing up mentally.

Help your teen manage their anger by staying calm. Avoid reacting with anger, too. Don’t scold them for their “attitude.” Instead, validate their feelings. Say, “I see you’re upset. I’m here.” Ask why they feel that way. Soon, they’ll feel safe to open up.

Withdrawing from Family and Friends

Withdrawal from people is one of the many early signs of mental health issues. And in many cases, it stems from trauma. Teens facing a dark time may feel misunderstood. So, they’ll skip hangouts. They won’t take phone calls. They may spend long hours alone instead.

Gently check in without pressure. Invite them to small activities at home. Even a quick snack in the kitchen together is enough. Let them know you’ve noticed. Asking to spend time with them in little ways shows them that you care.

Reckless Behavior

Trauma can lead to impulsive decisions. You may notice your teen sneaking out more. Maybe they don’t respect house rules anymore. They could even use risky behaviors to cope. That can include substance abuse, which is very serious.

If you’ve noticed these behaviors, talk to them. Don’t aggressively confront them, though. Sit them down and chat. Talk openly about the risks of their actions. But keep in mind not to shame them. Set clear boundaries. 

Encourage them to manage stress in healthier ways. Introduce them to enjoyable hobbies. Consider journaling or yoga. These coping outlets are much safer and more effective than risky behaviors. They’re great for helping your teen regain control of their emotions.

Strong Startle Responses

Going through something traumatic can leave the nervous system on high alert. Your teen might jump at loud noises. They may flinch at touch. It’s like they’re constantly bracing for danger. That’s because their bodies are stuck in “fight or flight” mode.

Don’t make them feel like they’re overreacting. Keep a calm environment at home. If their anxiety gets worse, practice grounding techniques together. Deep breathing is a great option for this.

They Don’t Talk About Their Feelings

Teens might avoid discussions about sadness. When asked how they are, they might say, “I’m fine.” But if they shut everyone out, it’s not good.

Trauma can make feelings scary. So, teens might shove those emotions down. This is called emotional bypassing. It’s a way to protect themselves from pain.

As a parent, stay patient and present. Give them space to open up. However, don’t pressure them. Check in regularly, even with small questions. If they share how they feel, validate them. 

If they’re not ready, encourage expression in other ways. Writing and art are great for young people to express their emotions without talking about the hard stuff right away. Over time, the trust will grow. And they’ll start sharing more.

How Parents Can Help Teens Dealing with Trauma

Helping a teen through trauma can be overwhelming. You might feel helpless as a parent. But don’t just give up. Try various ways to get them to open up. If they trust you, you can guide them toward healing. Here are several ways to make them feel safe again.

Listen More Than You Talk

Traumatized teens often carry heavy thoughts. Oftentimes, they don’t know how to express these out loud. Talking over them can make them shut down even more. So, listen to them intently. Give them a space to feel heard.

When they share how they feel, make eye contact. Nod gently to show them you’re actively listening. Hold their hand when they’re getting emotional as they speak. The goal is to make them feel validated. It builds trust. So, over time, your teen can open up more.

Create a Safe, Calm Home Environment

When dealing with trauma, teens become hyper-aware of stress. A tense home adds to that anxiety. Make sure your home environment is calm. That way, they’ll always feel safe at home, never on edge.

Have quiet spaces in the house for rest. Don’t fight with your spouse in front of the kids. Little things like these can help struggling teens regulate emotions better. Soon, stress decreases. It reinforces that home is a safe space, not a source of pressure.

Emphasize That Speaking Up Matters

Teens may hide abuse for fear of retaliation. Your job is to make sure their fear doesn’t win. They need to know it’s okay to voice their concerns. Remind them that it’s okay to tell you anything, even if it’s scary. Tell them you’ll always be on their side. Showing no judgment. That way, they might feel safer opening up to you.

Talk to them about stories where speaking out made a difference. For instance, the McLean County Juvenile Center sexual abuse lawsuit in Illinois might be difficult to talk about. But it shows how speaking up against abuse can protect them and others. It tells them that speaking up can prevent future harm.

Connect Them With Professional Help

There are many reasons why teens need therapy. Struggling after a traumatic experience is one of them. Trauma affects mental health in ways parents can’t always fix. So, sometimes, professional guidance is the way to go.

Schedule therapy sessions for your teen. Group therapy is also a great idea if they’re not comfortable with one-on-one conversations yet. Here, they’ll learn healthy coping strategies. They’ll also have a safe space to share their feelings. These professionals are trained to make them feel understood.

Encourage Healthy Coping Habits

Introduce your teen to healthy habits. Choose ones that can help them cope with negative feelings. Suggest things like exercise and meditation. Journaling and painting are also fantastic options for creative teens. 

Make the activities fun. Try to make them social, too. That way, they meet new friends. This allows them to stay engaged, not just cooped up in their room.

These activities help your teen release built-up tension inside. It also lets them process emotions safely without turning to reckless behavior. It boosts their mood. It increases their confidence. Over time, they’ll learn how to handle stress better. 

Conclusion

Small steps can make a huge difference when your teen is struggling with trauma. By noticing subtle cues, you can create a safe space for your teen. Trauma doesn’t always show itself clearly. But a caring presence always helps.

So, create a calm home for your struggling teen. Listen intently when they share their feelings. Encourage coping habits they’ll enjoy. Remind them they’re never alone in their journey. When you do, you’ll notice small changes. There’s less tension in them. Their trust in you will grow. And one day, they’ll feel confident in themselves again.

Healing trauma in teens is possible. You just have to be there to support them. Make them feel safe. With your love to ground them, they will find their light again.

Author Bio

Ms. Kim Hobbs is an accomplished writer, storyteller, and creative thinker whose passion for the written word has captivated readers worldwide. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for weaving compelling narratives, Kim explores themes of resilience, transformation, and the human experience.

 

Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Certification programs and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification

What is Trauma Informed Care?

Posted on by Mark Moran

Trauma is part of life.  As long one exists, trauma can occur.   Treating trauma acutely on the scene is important in crisis and mental health, but also recognizing it within a client or patient who has experienced it is key.   Being trauma informed and trauma aware can bring day light to many existing problems and prevent many future ones.  Mental health professionals must hence be trauma cognizant and alert for clues and possible issues within a client or patient.

Trauma informed care looks to help others that may have fallen through the cracks and never received trauma care. Please also review AIHCP’s Mental and behavioral health certifications

Again, the true reality is everyone grieves and loses someone or something.  The chance of one of those incidents to cause trauma at least once to some level in someone’s life is around 80 percent.  So understanding the fine line between experiencing something sad, or even bad, and how that translates subjectively to trauma is important since such a high percentage of people within the population will experience some type of traumatic reaction.  Identifying and helping individuals who are dealing with trauma can be a beautiful healing moment.

Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Program, as well as its Trauma Informed Care Programs in 2026 for both clinical as well as pastoral disciplines.  Bear in mind, helping others with trauma and processing it, is not merely a clinical purpose, but it can fall into non clinical and pastoral settings.  So, it is important to help individuals face trauma within one’s scope of professional practice.  While this may be limiting for some, such as pastors or chaplains within the scope of their mental health training, other licensed professionals in social work, counseling or psychiatric nursing can help treat trauma at a much deeper level.  AIHCP’s certifications in behavioral health are aimed at giving professionals within all scopes of mental  health additional knowledge and skills to help those in trauma to process and identify it.  The idea of recognizing trauma across  a life span has only been recently introduced into the DSM-V.  This has opened the floodgates for many professionals to become certified within this field or utilize it within their practice.

What is Trauma

A person enters a state of crisis when something overwhelms his/her abilities to cope and handle the situation.  It de-stabilizes and disorientates them.  Like crisis, trauma is a severe stressful and impactful event in life that imprints itself upon the person.  Sometimes it is so horrible, the person is not even able to properly store it within the mind resulting later in PTSD.  Different levels of trauma exist.  In the article, “Advanced Method-Trauma Informed Framework” from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration), the individual who suffers from trauma experiences what is referred to the 3 “E”s of trauma care.  The includes the event itself, the experience of it and the effects of it.

Trauma informed care looks to actively identify and recognize trauma in clients and be equipped to help those client heal from trauma across a life span

Within the event, what was the triggering occurrence that caused the initial trauma in a person’s life.  This is very subjective in nature.  What may negatively impact one person, may not hurt someone else based on numerous subjective, cultural, religious, emotional, mental and social support systems that make up the person’s ability to handle a crisis or horrible situation.  While an event may objectively be horrible, some individuals are able to recover and show resiliency to it and trauma is minimal or non existent.  Some soldiers can return home from war without trauma, while others cannot escape the trauma.   So while the event may be objectively dark, such as a tornado destroying one’s home, an individual may still respond to that event without long term trauma as opposed to someone else.

The experience of event is the second key element.  This is far more subjective in nature and determines if the individual will suffer trauma.  The experience at the mental, emotional, or physical level is so intense, it overtakes the individual to the point that the persons experience of the event is traumatic acutely as well as long term.  This again points back to a person’s emotional and mental build to particular events in life.  A person’s history, a person’s interior resiliency, or a person’s support systems can all play key roles in how a person handles a crisis or how a traumatic event imprints upon a person.  This in no way dismisses a person who experiences trauma as weaker than others because everyone is susceptible to trauma–it just matters what is one’s tipping point.

The effects of trauma play the third key element.  The effects of a traumatic event can be short term or long term.  They can be affect all aspects of the person.    Effects can include inability to cope with life and everyday stressors, or trust others, social withdraw and issues, or loss of purpose and life meaning, or properly utilize the cognitive process.  It can result in maladaptive coping practices, as well as manifest with symptoms associated with PTSD that include hyper vigilance, avoidance, dissociation, nightmares or emotional numbing.

Trauma across a life span and trauma informed care recognizes the imprint of trauma on human life and seeks to see if any trauma still lingers or was never discovered or at least discussed that may be haunting a client throughout his or her life.

SAMHSA and the Four “R”s and Key Assumptions in Trauma and Informed Care

SAMHSA’s article, “Advanced Method-Trauma Informed Framework” gives a detailed account about qualities and key assumptions in presenting a concise commitment to treating trauma across a life span and helping agencies, as well as individual practitioners a better way to proceed forward in creating a practice that gravitates around trauma informed care.  The four R’s are essential in addressing trauma within any agency.  A program or organization first needs to realize the impact of trauma as a universal human phenomenon that requires treatment in life.  Secondly, counselors, or agencies need to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma that are either acute or manifesting across the span of one’s life time.  In many cases, one may have been living with trauma undetected through professional services or lack of visit.  Counselors need to be aware that some new clients may have trauma from ages ago that was never treated.  The agency or organization then needs to have the ability to respond to the needs of the client via fully integrated knowledge, training, policies and procedures to help the person.  Finally, the agency owes to to any client to resist re-traumatization of the person.

Trauma informed care realizes the existence of trauma and looks to recognize the symptoms of it within the population it looks to treat.

A trauma informed approach according to SAMHSA also applies six key principles to its application.  First and foremost, safety is key when working with trauma patients.  The client must feel safe physically, emotionally and mentally and the environment must facilitate that aura of safety.  Second, the agency and counselors or social workers need to present its operations in an open and trustworthy fashion.  Third, peer support is a key element in any healing.  Peer support or trauma survivors can supply their stories or support to others walking the healing journey.  Fourth, the entirety of the agency all plays a role in the healing process.  The entire agency has a clear and mutually defined role in application of trauma support.  Fifth, both staff and clients are given empowerment.  The client is able to share in the process of healing via choice and decisions in plans of action.  The staff as well is given empowerment via support of from the administration as well as the tools necessary to do their work.  The final principle involves removal of any bias based on culturally, religious or gender issues when dealing with and helping individuals deal with trauma.  In doing so, staff recognizes the trauma that can exist within certain groups and how that can manifest within individuals.

 

SAMHSA and Implementing a Trauma Informed Approach

Trauma informed care is an organizational decision that transforms the organization or agency or individual social worker or counselors paradigm of working with individuals.  To be successfully implemented, it takes more than principles and good philosophies but a pragmatic process that involves multiple levels of preparation, policies, training, finances and feed back.  SAMHSA lists ten core implementation domains that are essential to help agencies properly support individuals suffering from trauma.

Trauma informed care requires an organizational commitment from the counselor to the administration itself to ensure implementation of it at all levels

First, governance and leadership is essential.  There needs to be a conscious choice to implement trauma informed care and establish leadership and management of its implementation to oversee and work with peers and staff in that effort.  Second, the agency needs written policies established that outline the new mission as well as a blue print for procedure.  Third, the organization needs to create a physical environment that mirrors a safe harbor for the type of work trauma counseling requires.  Individuals must feel safe, secure and able to trust without fear of embarrassment, guilt, or repercussion of their story. Fourth, there needs to be within the agency an engagement and involvement across multiple lines of individuals not only between counselor and client, but also within the organization itself and the process of helping individuals through trauma at all levels.  In addition, fifth, an agency needs to be equipped with cross sector collaborations with other agencies at the local or state level that can help facilitate healing.  Sixth, the agency needs to utilize the best empirically and scientifically proven principles in screening, assessment and treatment.  Seventh, training and workforce development is essential to ensure counselors have the education and continuing education necessary in trauma informed care.  Education and training workshops are key in maintaining up to date skills and knowledge in helping others.  The training, however, is not just shared with counselors and social workers, but also at lower levels within staff in how to deal with trauma and understand the nature of trauma with potential patients who enter the actual facility.   Eighth, as with all training, monitoring and quality assurance is essential to confirm that principles, policies, procedures and trainings are carried out properly within the whole of the organization.   This involves trauma informed principles that are incorporated into hiring, supervision, evaluation of staff, as well as working with staff and their own vicarious trauma and self care needs.  Ninth, agencies obviously need the necessary financial budget to transform the facility to support the need of trauma clients, as well as paying for the necessary trainings.  Finally, evaluation and feed back is essential in how the mission is being carried out.  This involves evaluation from top to bottom and taking feed back from everyone to ensure the implementation of the program is successful or if needs any adjustments.

 

Conclusion

Many individuals unfortunately lack proper trauma care.  The initial trauma is untreated, or the trauma is allowed to persist without proper care.  Individuals feel like they become a number without a real advocate.  Many feel the pain of having to re-tell their story over and over without any true treatment.   Others feel they labeled and may flee any treatment, while others who seek treatment may not have access to quality care in trauma or not have access to it.  Hence many individuals feel as if they are unseen or not heard, or feel unrecognized within their social group and the traumas they collectively face.

Treating trauma is a social issue. Please also review AIHCP’s Behavioral Health Certifications

Trauma informed care looks to acknowledge the reality of trauma in life for individuals within all cultural, social, religious and ethnic groups.  It looks to implement mental health plans to help individuals heal from trauma and become healthy members of society.  The need for trauma informed care and spotting trauma is essential in our society.  So many suffer from trauma and when left untreated, these individuals can become a danger to themselves or others.  Recognizing the necessity of trauma informed care is an answer to our mental health crisis itself.

AIHCP recognizes this important issue and offers a variety of mental health certifications, including in 2026, a trauma informed care certification for healthcare professionals.  Please review AIHCP’s multiple certifications in behavioral health, as well as its Grief Counseling, Crisis Counseling, Stress Management and Anger Management programs.

 

Additional Blog

Sexual and Physical Abuse: Click here

Resource

SAMHSA. “Advanced Method-Trauma Informed Framework”. Access here

Additional Resources

AAP. “What is Trauma-Informed Care?” Access here

“Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters” Health Essentials.  Cleveland Clinic. Access here

“What is Trauma-Informed Care?”. University of Buffalo.  Access here