Hello!
My name is Veronique (pronounced Vair-uh-neek). I'm the founder and author of this blog called Chronic Illness Trauma Studies. Welcome!
To address a few commonly asked questions:
- Your chronic illness and trauma questions are welcome
- I do not see clients and do not have a clinical practice
- To find a trauma therapist see directories on Therapies page
- I do all writing on my blog and do not take guest posts
- I do not advertise
- I do not post therapists / individual's practices except those already on my Therapies page
- I have my own web developer to assist with this site
- See more in my Frequently Asked Questions and Glossary
If you still have a question, you can reach me using the email contact form below or email me at the following address by inserting the "at" symbol:
veronique "at" chronicillnesstraumastudies.com
I usually respond within 24 hours.
Welcome!
Warmly,
Veronique
Connect With Me
FACEBOOK (this is where I am the most active)
I HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT MULTIPLE TIMES BUT YOUR CODE CAPTURE KEEPS SAYING ‘INCORRECT CODE ENTERED’- I even got my wife to check it
Hi Veronique, would you work with/know of anyone doing similar work in Australia (Queensland?).
I have PTSD (chronic, severe and treatment resistant), fibromyalgia, CFS etc. I have been doing a lot of neuroplasticity type work and am keen on getting to the next level. I am more than willing to participate in research. I have a history of ACEs in addition to multiple deployments to conflict areas with the International Deployment Group of the Australian Federal Police (trauma, infections, vaccinations etc etc).
Hi Malcolm,
So sorry to hear about your symptoms and the treatment resistance. I find the somatically based trauma therapies to be particularly effective at helping to heal this kind of symptom as well as holding a big picture context and understanding how to work in small doses. You’ll find links to different approaches with therapist directories around the world on my therapies page.
Re Contacting me – How frustrating! Thanks for persevering and for telling me about the problem – can you specify if you’re talking about the contact form (I’ve had this issue in the past, tested it yesterday and again just now with no problems and will get in touch with my webmaster once I’m clear where the issue is).
warmly, Veronique
Thanks for your wonderful work.
My work at the Early Trauma Prevention Center is similar.
I request that you consider adding these additional early traumas of commission and omission to ABE.
1. Hospital birth with unnecessary interventions and drugs. (Avoid this by using a midwife.)
2. Male infant circumcision (I am the author of Circumcision: The Hidden trauma. See circumcision.org.)
3. Lack of nearly continuous body contact with the mother using a sling or backpack
4. Lack of response to infant crying
5. Too much (from the infant’s perspective) non-maternal childcare
6. Isolated infant sleeping
7. Corporal punishment (more than one-third of infants are hit by parents!)
Hi Ronald,
Yes indeed – these are all part of ABEs. Like ACEs, the more interventions and adversities, the greater likelihood of impacting the developing nervous system / immune system / maternal-infant and parent-infant bond etc.
I created ABEs with 10 categories of adversity (rather than specific types of adversity) so that it can serve as a way to look at all kinds of experiences from this trauma lens.
As one example, circumcision is included in ABE #6 in complications for the baby – through the trauma lens there are so many components of the experience that fit our understanding of trauma, as the title of your book suggests (I haven’t read it but am glad to know if it). ABE #7 is about separation of the baby and parent.
ABEs include a category #11 for any events that don’t quite fit into the first 10 categories. I would fit corporal punishment as an “ACEs+” given that physical abuse is considered an ACE and spanking is in that similar category but not quite an “official” ACE. Here is my Comprehensive Guide if you’re not familiar with it.
Veronique,
I am loving exploring the website and checking out the resources you have shared. As an early childhood educator and faculty at a community college in this discipline, child abuse, neglect, and/or trauma can be directly related to parental expectations for children at ages and stages of development as well as differences in development in typical- and atypical-developmental progression.
Hi Jody,
I’m so glad you are loving this exploration of resources here and bringing this into early childhood development. Hurray for educators!
I would be very interested in hearing any comments about IBD in an infant. There were no separations at birth but the pregnancy was really stressful and the birth long with intervention. This is such a rare condition. Any insights really valuable. Maybe they would eventually affect treatment also.
Hi Susan,
While I am not personally familiar with anyone diagnosed with IBD as an infant I imagine there are others. I also imagine it may be missed until a later age because we don’t tend to think in that direction for those so young. There is evidence of perinatal risk factors for IBD, which offers the possibility that there is a role for nervous system patterns of survival that could be worked with to potentially help with symptoms. Such a young age of onset would make me wonder about parental traumas prior to conception and multigenerational events that may have all compounded / added up to such an outcome. I hope that helps a little!