Voices

Yes, I have dealt with this.If it is just voices and not true pychosis, it may be a symptom of the PTSD. Work on treating the PTSD and the voices may subside. I assume she is in some type of trauma therapy.If it is truly psychosis, there are anti-psychotic meds that definitely help. Unfortunately, you have to try quite a few of them to find the one that works for your daughter.Yes, its overwhelming. I totally understand.

Overwhelming and terrifying, definitely. :(My FS heard voices a lot when he first came to our house. He wasn't violent, though. As far as the "fight or flight" response, he was definitely a "flight" kiddo. He would run and hide, and sometimes just run literally into walls or furniture because his mind was somewhere else.As he is feeling more secure, and has talked through his fears, the voices have gone away. It took a lot for him to get to the point of being able to talk about some of the scary things.Hopefully she will be able to talk through her fears in therapy and be able to share with you. That helps to take the edge off the sheer panic our kiddos feel.Can you figure out what her triggers are, and roleplay healthy, non-violent things she can do when she feels the episode coming on? That has helped us a lot, too. They feel so out-of-control when they have a panic attack, and if you can talk and rehearse behavior before-hand, it can help them to feel in control...

My son required anti-psychotic medication to stop the voices. He started hearing them at age 3(I was not told this when I adopted him at age nine) and was diagnosed at 18 with schizephrenia. He also suffured from PTSD and a multitude of other issues.

Thank you for all your replies, it is comforting to know i am not alone. You know somedays I have to stop and remind myself I am not responsible for all her pain and suffering , i have to stop feeling guilty and also have to stop feeling angry at all she has gone through and all we have been left to deal with. She has had her voices for a few years now, they were triggered by alot of abuse she went through a couple of years before we adopted her. There is one very dominate voice who is very aggressive and can cause physical pain to her and another who appears just scary to her. She says the aggressive one has friends but she can not understand them . We are trying to avoid triggers but it is hard as it seems that if it is going to happen it will happen. On the positive side she has started to write about her past and her thoughts and fears. I also acknowledge the voice that is present at the moment and this has helped her speak about it much more. It is very scary as this voice tells her to be bad and talks all the time, so we have given her an old mobile phone now and she likes to talk into it for long periods of time, some role playing and some of the time she is talking to the voice. My daughter was a healthy referal and we were not aware of any abuse history so not prepared to deal with a very traumatized child. Since she arrived home we have been trying to parent as if she had normal institutionalized behaviour and then were told it was possible RAD but that was before we knew about the voices. We are learning as we go along and trying to do the best for her. I guess I am hoping for some magic ingredient to help us but i need to face the reality of the situation and also the longevity of it all.

If it were me, I'd look into medication to quiet the voices so she can work on her issues. The voices can allow her to dissociate and prevent her from being able to work things through. If the voices are triggered by the trauma, the meds would be temporary until she had some time to explore other therapies. However, if the voices remained after the trauma is dealt with, then it's likely a life time thing that needs medicine. Hope you have good luck with the professionals working with your daughter.