The Three E's: Events, Experience, Effects

3:08

Companion Slides

Trauma defined by three dimensions — why the same event impacts people differently.

Key Concepts

  • Events: acute, chronic, complex — not just single catastrophic moments
  • Experience: subjective — shaped by individual factors, context, power dynamics
  • Effects: long-term impacts on physical health, mental health, relationships
  • The same event can traumatize one person and not another
  • Broadening the definition beyond what we typically imagine

Part of

Module 1: Foundations

What trauma is, how it works in the brain, what the ACE study tells us, and why resilience matters.

Up next

The Three-Floor Brain

Dan Siegel's hand model: brainstem, limbic system, and cortex — and what happens under threat.