Small-t or micro-traumas are the more common traumas encountered by many of us. Examples of complex, large-T traumas, include on-going interpersonal violence, child physical or sexual abuse spanning several years, never-ending wars, or constant acts of terrorism. Large-T traumas can also include, what Judith Herman ( 1997) termed as “complex traumas,” and which others refer to as Complex Traumas and Disorders of Extreme Stress (DESNOS- disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified)-traumas that involve events of prolonged duration or multiple traumatic events (van der Kolk, Roth, Pelcovitz, Sunday and Spinazzola, 2005). There are many different kinds of traumas, ranging from what Francine Shapiro, the originator of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment approach (Shapiro 1995) has termed “large- T” traumas to “ small- t” or, what Straussner ( 2012) refers to as “micro-traumas.” Large-T traumas can impact individuals, families, groups and communities and include natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, or nuclear disasters, as well as human-caused disasters, such as deadly car accidents, individual and mass violence, and other one-time traumatic events. The differential impact of trauma on men and women, on immigrants, transgenerational transmission of trauma, the concept of resilience, and the implications for the treatment of traumatized individuals at the different stages of the life cycle are identified. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of common traumatic events and responses with a specific focus on the life cycle-identifying selected traumas encountered during childhood and adolescences, adulthood and late life. While trauma can impact an individual at any time in the life cycle, from pre-natal development through old age, the impact and the treatment approaches vary depending on the individual’s developmental needs and the psychosocial environment. 1995 Leskin and Sheikh 2002 Ringel and Brandell 2012). These may include panic disorders, depression, sleep disorders, substance use disorders, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Kessler et al. While most people will experience time limited reactions, such as acute stress disorder, a smaller percentage may continue to manifest more severe and often longer lasting trauma-related impacts. Traumatic stress can cause disorganization of thinking, awareness, impaired judgment, altered reaction time, hyper vigilance, and unhelpful attempts at coping. Although there is a lack of recent national epidemiological findings about trauma among adults, studies during the 1990s found that over 60 % of men and 51 % of women in the United States report having experienced at least one traumatic event during their lifetime (Giaconia et al. Unfortunately, the experience of trauma is not uncommon. 2009 Stamm and Friedman 2000 Straussner and Phillips 2004a). Such differential reaction is based on many factors, including the individual’s age, gender identity, pre-morbid ego strength, previous traumatic experiences, the chronicity of the trauma, family history of trauma, current life stressors, social supports, and one’s cultural, religious or spiritual attitude toward adversity (Amir and Lev-Wiesel, 2003 Brewin et al. Thus what might be a traumatizing, life-shattering event for one individual might have minimal effects on another. An event is thought to produce a traumatic response when the stress resulting from that event overwhelms the individual’s psychological ability to cope (McGinley and Varchevker 2013).Īlthough we often think of trauma as being synonymous with the identified objective cause of the trauma, such as a soldier losing his legs to a roadside bomb explosion, the effect of the trauma is always subjective and refers to the impact-the perceived “wound” or “hurt” as identified by the early Greeks-that it has on the individual (Miller 2004). Psychologically, “trauma” refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, and one that often has long-term negative mental and physical (including neurological) consequence. The term “trauma” comes from the Greek language meaning a “wound” or “hurt” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2013). As recognized by William Faulkner and Judith Herman, as well as by many other writers and mental health professionals, trauma can take a tremendous psychological toll that may not disappear even with the passage of time.