Understanding Childhood PTSD and Complex Trauma: Implications for Legal Practice

Presented by Dr Alexandra Sewell, Educational and Child Psychologist

Dr Sewell is an HCPC-registered (PYL34070) Educational and Child Psychologist with nine years’ post-qualification experience across local authority and private practice settings, alongside senior lecturing and course leadership in SEND and inclusive education. She is highly experienced in conducting comprehensive psycho-educational assessments, integrating multi-source evidence, and producing clear, defensible reports to inform high-stakes decision-making for children and young people. She is skilled in translating complex psychological evidence into accessible, professionally neutral language for parents, schools and multidisciplinary audiences, with strong attention to accuracy, structure, and evidential reasoning. She is currently developing her expert witness practice and brings a rigorous, ethical, and objective approach grounded in established psychological assessment and evidence standards. She is available for hybrid/remote work and committed to high-quality communication with solicitors, counsel, and other professionals.

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    Understanding Childhood PTSD and Complex Trauma: Implications for Legal Practice

    Presented by Dr Alexandra Sewell, Educational and Child Psychologist

    This one-hour presentation, delivered by an Educational Psychologist, is designed to provide solicitors with a clear and applied understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex trauma in children and young people. The session will briefly revisit the nature of PTSD, before drawing on the research literature to distinguish between the educational and developmental impact of trauma responses associated with a single critical incident and those associated with chronic childhood trauma, including experiences commonly conceptualised through Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and complex PTSD (CPTSD).

    The presentation will focus particularly on how these different trauma profiles may affect children’s cognition, emotional regulation, behaviour, school functioning, potential school avoidance and educational progress.  A case study will be used to illustrate these issues in legal practice. 

    By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
    – Define PTSD in childhood and recognise some of its common features in younger populations
    – Distinguish between PTSD associated with a single traumatic incident and the broader developmental effects associated with chronic or repeated childhood trauma, including complex PTSD
    – Understand how trauma may affect cognition, including attention, memory, executive functioning, emotional regulation, and readiness to learn
    – Identify ways in which trauma-related difficulties may present within educational contexts, including through behaviour, attendance, learning, and school engagement
    – Consider the relevance of trauma-informed psychological understanding when working with children and young people involved in legal proceedings
    – Apply this understanding to a case example to support more informed professional interpretation