Book Review: The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog-Tina’s World

Book Review: The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog-Tina’s World

This book was authored by Dr. Perry, who is a psychiatrist and Szalavitz, who is a journalist. The book contains short stories associated with the experiences that are presented to Dr. Perry by the traumatized children for psychiatric healing. The recommendation of this book is for both professional and amateur use to improve the comprehensive nature of loss and trauma and how the process of healing unfolds. An initial intervention was promoted in the book; however, the authors also suggested the trauma management strategies at advanced stages. The effects of the trauma corrupt the brain’s functioning, structure, and output. As a result of this approach, Dr. Perry suggests neurosequential to cure the health-related issue. The book is a valuable asset of knowledge for either a youth or child because it offers insights that can be utilized by the caregivers. The children from various age groups were going through trauma in the book, as indicated by the eleven short stories. For instance, the sixteen-year-old boy who killed and raped two girls and a seven-year-old Tina who faced multiple rape experiences is the first case study who is going to be analyzed and discussed in this paper. The paper is going to examine Tina’s psychological trauma, factors contributing to her condition, types reimbursements linked with her health, and the psychiatric approach for the treatment process.

Dr. Bruce D. Perry, a well-known psychiatrist at the University of Chicago’s Feinberg Medical School, discusses his opinions. And the case studies revolved around children who have been exposed to tremendous and brutal trauma. Though a challenging read, Perry’s case studies have shown the effects of the specific mental health consequence of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), being faced by many of his trauma-exposed patients. Also, Perry dives in deeper throughout the novel to show a recurring theme of a fundamental approach towards understanding the sharing of feelings to understand trauma and its treatments better. Many of these children suffered unimaginable and horrible events, ranging from a variety of ages, such as Tina, who was only a mere seven years old, to Amber, a seventeen-year-old almost adult girl. Each one of these children was Dr. Perry’s patients who had their own different experiences with enduring trauma but still suffered the same. One case study that should be brought to attention first, though, is that of Tina – Dr. Perry’s first child patient in Chapter 1, “Tina’s World.”

According to Dr. Perry, in-class Tina would “expose herself, attack other children, used sexual language, and tried to get them to engage in sex play” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). It was later revealed that when Tina was younger, and her brother was consistently and repeatedly raped by their babysitter’s much older son- “he tied the children up, raped them, sodomized them with foreign objects” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). Although Tina’s mother did not neglect her, she consistently worked and had no choice but to leave Tina and her brother in this situation for two years until the babysitter finally discovered the set of circumstances. Because this occurred for a constant two years, Tina’s condition was very traumatic. Tina was placed in a situation where she was away from her loved ones (her mother), she became helpless, and even faced threats by the perpetrator, creating, even more, fear each time a rape occurred. “He threatened to kill them if they told” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). Also though Tina’s mother did not neglect her, this traumatic experience was caused due to Tina’s family’s low socioeconomic status, creating a need for Tina’s mom to work continuously. Tina was constantly left under the supervision of those who did not provide her with a safe, friendly, loving, or nurturing environment leading her to become the way she had become- viewing everything and anything in a sexual manner, especially the role of males. Perry states, “the mother had no resources, and the daughter had serious problems” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016).

Tina’s school eventually stated that she needed to be evaluated. Tina was at risk for her aggressive behavior and for “seeing men as sexual predators: no loving father, no supportive grandfather, no kind uncle, or protective older brother had touched her life” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). Even all of Tina’s mom’s boyfriends were abusive. Tina had never experienced a real male bond before so much, so to the point that when she first met Dr. Perry, she “moved her hand to his crotch and tried to open his zipper” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). To do something like this became a norm to Tina. Therefore, Tina experienced PTSD. Even during her sessions with Dr. Perry, Tina would continue to “play” representing the trauma she had previously experienced. For a young child her age, Tina not only showed several signs of aggressiveness emotionally, but her physical heart rate was through the roof as well at a rate of 112. Tina was always stressed. Perhaps, another mental health issue common with this character’s trauma may have been defiant behavior disorder because no matter the progress made in Tina’s sessions with Dr. Perry, as stated, she would continue to misbehave occasionally. However, as time went on, Dr. Perry focused on new ways to help her. The new approaches for treatment include focusing on memory as he came to believe “this was key to understanding children like Tina” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016).

However, according to Dr. Perry’s colleague – Dr. Stine, it is vital to “interpret the resistance” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). By beginning to play games with Dr. Perry doing things that most children at that age do. Tina seemed happier, and she even began controlling any of her aggressiveness and impulsivity. Tina would wait for Dr. Perry, by sitting in a chair, and when he walked in, she would enthusiastically ask “what should we do today” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). Anytime Dr. Perry would pick a game, Tina would “laugh Yes!, she guided our play” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). In this way, one can interpret this as Tina’s resistance. However, some protective factors or lack of protective factors that may have contributed to Tina becoming resilient was the fact that she did not have a male role model or male or family support system to guide and help her. Perhaps, if she had the family support system she needed, there would be no need to “interpret her resilience” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2016). She would play games and be happy without having to do so under the guidance of a psychiatrist. Therefore, Tina’s case study showed the effect of specific mental health consequences such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), but at the same time, described the positive ways to help and aid those who need guidance, thus paving the way for a new and improved positive manner, one concealed or shadowed away due to previous trauma (Childcareexchange. 2018)

As indicated in the book, the pattern of the behavior demonstrated by Tina raises eye-brows. She seems to portray abnormal forms of action that are not healthy for a child of her age. The trauma of being sodomized and raped for about two years by their babysitter’s son is the major contributing factor for toxic behavior. The three types of reimbursements that connect with her story are relational, regulatory, and eco-cultural. Tina is exhibits both physical and verbal aggression to her peers which connects with the relational reimbursements. The little girl’s story is as indicated in the book engaged in conflict with the peers and sometimes sexually acting out hence showing the effects of the traumatized experience she gained. Regulatory reimbursement entails poor impulse control, temper tantrums, or emotional dysregulations. The story of Tina indicates how the girls how she could attack other children, and the level of her heart rate was through the roof. These are clear indications of how trauma impacted her growth and development negatively. The act of Tina sexually provoking other children or those who not of her age directly relates to eco-cultural reimbursement. For instance, it is demonstrated in the text that she frequently unzipped for Dr. Perry at the early stages of the treatment process since she perceives men like sexual objects. The lack of a father figure, a proper male friend, role model, or supportive male relative in her life contributed to her toxic image about men.

Furthermore, it is narrated in the text that even the male friends associated with her mother were equally abusive. Therefore, Tina ended up refusing to engage with family members for support; hence she gets traumatized by the negative experiences she gained through her life. The lack of close association with the mother created loneliness in her since she missed the love of the mother. Additionally, the mother was too committed to her job, and she never created time for socialization and interaction with Tina to learn or hear her grievances. I think these factors might have significantly contributed to her situation as a child because she missed the proper up-bringing. Therefore, these traumatic events left Tina with the emotional stress that was aggravated in solitary moments.

Other proof is found in the eighth section, where a young lady crumbled on the memory of her past assault encounters. Dr. Perry said that the young lady crumbled because of a characteristic protective instrument initiated by the mind; she was encountering a snapshot of extreme pressure. For example, Tina being assaulted on different occasions, or Justin raised as a canine; his mom and grandma kicked the bucket. These youngsters reacted to these encounters by indicating conduct change that was inconvenient to their development and wellbeing. Dr. Perry understood that neurosequential treatment was the cure that could permit the young lady to develop into a successful grown-up (Perry and Szalavitz, 2006). Dr. Perry acquainted with her new methods for dealing with pressure remembering instruction about the intensity of the mind for controlling and overseeing pressure. For the mending process, Dr. Perry prescribes a re-sanctioning of the horrendous experience inside a sheltered situation to advance mending. This revelation by Dr. Perry depended on the perception when the young lady was getting ready to affirm against the criminal in the court. The protected condition for the re-order permits the cerebrum to process remedial synthetic concoctions with the ability to mitigate pressure. A similar message has reverberated in an investigation. That was distributed in a diary article by the National Institutes of Health. For example, the European Journal study proposed that a compelling early intercession ought to have different attributes (CASA. 2020). Children who don’t get mediation for injury issues in their adolescence will have negative results in their grown-up life. Dr. Perry gave a need to early mediation, which implies the case must be analyzed early enough, for favorable treatment.

Psychological and behavior disorders can be understood as having underlying toxic stress conditions, with functional vulnerabilities that emerge from one or more of the brain systems. The action and psychological disorders exhibited by Tina in this text can be understood if I were requested by Dr. Perry to design therapeutically engineered interaction. These interactions intend to all Tina to continue to be reimbursed, which means I will be careful before I consider some factors. The nature of psychological trauma generates an unhealthy pattern of social behavior in little children like Tina. The stress recovery is a gradual process, and I will consider being soothing as much as possible with my language. This is because the level of engagement means a lot here. The quality of my communication with Tina as her psychiatric will depend on the texture of my contact. It is precisely right as Turnbull and Lillas (2019) put it that fear and shame are the common elements that are embedded within trauma conditions. This in mind, makes set a free fear zone beside a friendly environment to help restore her life. The art of bouncing back to life after a long hustle for freedom of the heart and mind requires therapeutic approaches that align the brain and spirit together. The toxic stress corrupts the networks of the brain when they pile up and becomes excess for a patient. Therefore, this may lead to illness, and developmental delays, as exactly are demonstrated by Tina in the book. The approaches taken by Dr. Perry at initial stages were coated with little challenges since the child was not in a proper shape of mind. In the same manner, I will respect any forms of hurdles that may be present at initial stages to keep up with the pace of quick stress recovery. Engaging the patient in simple activities like riding a bike is also an away to clear stress and gain average life balance. The ability for Tina to function generally like any member of the society will take time and understanding. As indicated by Turnbull and Lillas (2019), it is o traumatizing to grow up without good love, especially from different sexual identities, and all these turned into a stressful life. Getting her connecting the dots from the past by jogging her memory with simple activities which she loves will bring back the light. The healthy way to pull her out of that toxic darkness, especially of being raped multiple times, needs nothing but a friendly environment with love and care. Love in this situation means caring and sharing whatever she feels burdens her life development process. This is to fill the gap or restore what she missed at that stage while she was left alone with her mother or severely raped by the babysitter’s son.

Conclusion:

As simplified by Childcareexchange. (2018)Trauma is defined as anything having taken place that fundamentally rattles our comprehension of life and where we stand in it. Our views on what is socially acceptable change after experiencing trauma. How we viewed life as it should go is violently changed, and life afterward is profoundly impacted. For example, we do our best to raise our children as decent and well-rounded persons. If they grow up to become menaces to society, it changes the way we feel about our parenting and commitment. It may alter how we think about the institution of the family altogether. We know we worked hard and sacrificed to love, protect, and provide for our children because we expected an inevitable outcome for their lives. Different results can cause us to question everything we ever believed. Since the period after trauma is riddled with anxiety, distrust, and other things, we feel even more vulnerable and adopt unhealthy and toxic behaviors to protect ourselves from experiencing the trauma again seemingly. We fight not to feel like victims; we further withdraw, worsening the problem (CASA. 2020).

References

Childcareexchange. (2018). What is a Neuro-relational Approach? | ChildCareExchange.com. Retrieved from https://childcareexchange.com/eed/view/4700/

CASA. (2020). Our Philosophy – Camino a Casa by Casa Pacifica. Retrieved from https://caminoacasa.org/our-philosophy/

Perry, B. Szalavitz, M.(2016) The boy who was raised as a dog and other stories from a child psychiatrist’s notebook: What traumatized children can teach us about loss, love, and healing new York. NY: Basic Books.

Turnbull, J., & Lillas, C. (2019). The Neurorelational Framework(NRF) Notes. Retrieved from http://www.csufresno.edu/chhs/ccci/documents/The%20Neurorelational%20Framework%20Final%209.25.13.pdf