I appreciate this documentary's attempt to explain cumulative childhood trauma and shed light on its effects. The testimony of the father's friends are completely consistent with what it would be like to be a scapegoat child. The abusive behavior is hidden from all but the child. Everybody is surprised to learn what is happening, that's the point. It's called coercive power and control and a child has no psychological defenses against it.
Dissociating emotions in order to survive is a hallmark of childhood trauma symptomology, and every level of law enforcement and psychological help that deals with violence and victims, should be versed in what it looks like. It is one of the most misunderstood psychological concepts, including by most psychologists, as it is not taught even at the graduate level other than in the most cursory way.
How to be trauma-informed is going to become ever increasingly important in this complex world of ours. It's time we start understanding when someone's affect is completely flat and they're unable to tell their own stories about their own lives, you're looking at something complex, and it just could be that it's a childhood trauma victim in front of you, and not a stone cold killer. The uninformed attitudes of some of these law enforcement professionals was highly upsetting to watch. Let's become more trauma-informed, shall we?
