Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, host of the Podcast Shrink Speak, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and author of “Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry” and Dr. Charles Nemeroff, the Director of the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research at the University of Texas Dell Medical School explore childhood trauma on the SXSW Podcast Stage. This episode of Shrink Speak will explore a major public health challenge that has gone under recognized, studied and addressed through social and health care initiatives.
Adversity and stress come in many forms throughout the life-cycle, however, it is especially pernicious in early life. Brain development during gestation, postnatally, infancy, early and late childhood is particularly susceptible to the potential of adversity to cause effects that are psychologically and emotionally traumatic and have enduring effects that impact the person’s behavior throughout life. Adversity comes in many forms; abuse, bullying, poverty, discrimination, drug abuse, poor education, lack of parenting, isolation etc. Whether these adverse experiences produce traumatic effects depends on their severity, longevity and the susceptibility and resilience of the individual. The consequences lead to mental illness, learning disabilities, anti-social behavior, violence, substance abuse and overall loss of functional capacity and potential productivity. Moreover, these effects can be intergenerational and transferred from parents to children iteratively."

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