By Dr. Ken Manges, Ph.D. | Forensic Psychologist
Testifying Expert for Emotional Trauma Cases
What Constitutes Trauma?
Trauma is experienced by an individual as a physically or emotionally harmful or threatening event, series of events, or set of circumstances. Trauma can have lasting adverse effects on an individual’s functioning and emotion, social, physical, or spiritual well-being.
Elements of Emotional Trauma and Individual Reaction
Emotional trauma can result from events with or without physical damage. Emotional trauma typically contains three common elements: (1) the event was unexpected; (2) the individual was unprepared; and (3) there was nothing the individual could do to prevent the event from happening.
Not all persons respond to the same event in the same way. Research suggests that 33% of persons who witness the same event do not get diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress. Thus many individuals who experience and suffer trauma may not be properly diagnosed until much later.
A person’s pre-trauma emotional history may provide an indication if the person will be traumatized based upon the occurrence of a new event. When there is a history of trauma, there is an increased likelihood for re-traumatization. Therefore, it is not the event itself that determines whether something is traumatic to someone, but the individual’s experience of the event.
The Toll and Effects of Emotional Trauma
Emotional trauma is one of the main forms of trauma experienced by both adults and children. Emotional trauma can result from various events such as rape, natural disasters, automobile accidents, sports or work injuries, and serious illness.
Symptoms of emotional trauma involve emotional, physical, and cognitive responses, such as depression, anxiety, eating and sleep disturbances, memory lapses, and decreased ability to concentrate.
Emotional trauma can create lasting effects on an individual’s personal life, their ability to perform work, and/or their interpersonal/intimate relationships. While treatment approaches exist such as talk therapies, cognitive- behavioral therapy, eye movement desensitization/reprocessing, and somatic psychotherapies, an individual’s response to various forms of treatment will be highly dependent upon many factors, including the severity of the trauma and an individual’s previous exposure (if any) to trauma.
How Dr. Manges Helps in Cases Involving Severe Emotional Trauma
Trauma can be debilitating, or it may be temporary. In some cases, severe trauma may require years or even a lifetime of treatment and may impact the lives of the victim substantially. In other cases, less extensive treatment may be required, and the duration of impairment may be short-lived.
While all cases are unique, Dr. Manges relies on more than three decades of professional experience to provide counsel as to a likely course of treatment and ongoing impairment based upon the facts of the case and the course of treatment for others who may have suffered similar trauma.
Dr. Manges works with attorneys and other professionals in assessing the impact that emotional trauma has had on (and may continue to have) on an individual, as well as the likely effect it will have on their lives.
If your case involves severe trauma, we invite you to call our office to discuss your case and to learn more about how we may be of assistance.
With an office in Cincinnati, Dr. Manges offers evaluation and testimony in trauma cases around the Columbus, Indianapolis, Lexington and Louisville areas – as well as nationwide.
