Los Angeles | In-Person

Does Childhood Trauma Live in the Body Forever?

Nadine Burke Harris

Photo by Michael Winokur.

LOCATION:
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 N Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Paid parking is available at the Little Tokyo Mall Public Parking Lot (318 E. First St.) Enter from San Pedro Street. Additional paid parking is available at the Japanese Village Plaza Parking Lot (356 E First St.) and the Office Depot Plaza Parking Lot (401 Alameda St).
Moderated by Carol S. Larson, President and CEO, David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Where do we find answers to the world’s growing plagues of chronic illnesses—from diabetes to depression? In childhood. Surveys and research show a connection between ill health in adults and adversity in childhood—divorce, substance abuse, neglect, and various other forms of emotional and physical abuse. And research shows that high stress levels during childhood change our neural systems in ways that can last a lifetime. What is the nature of the connections between childhood stress and health? How can we better assist unhealthy adults whose problems are rooted in childhood trauma? And how can we make children more resilient? Nadine Burke Harris, pediatrician, founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness, and author of The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, visits Zócalo to examine the newest thinking on how people can overcome childhood trauma—and avoid its long-term ill effects.

LOCATION:
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 N Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Paid parking is available at the Little Tokyo Mall Public Parking Lot (318 E. First St.) Enter from San Pedro Street. Additional paid parking is available at the Japanese Village Plaza Parking Lot (356 E First St.) and the Office Depot Plaza Parking Lot (401 Alameda St).

The Takeaway

Childhood Trauma Can Make You Physically Sick in Adulthood

But Adverse Experiences at an Early Age Can Be Treated, Says Nadine Burke Harris, and Their Damage Mitigated

At her Bay Area children’s clinic, in interviews, and in her new book, Nadine Burke Harris addresses two questions time and again: Does childhood trauma live in the body forever? …