The contri-bution aims to point out the injurious and pervasiveness of the complex trauma on the de-velopment of the child through the exposition of an illustrative clinical case, both for the analysis of the functional impairment of the victim and to pay attention to the limits of the current diagnostic classification system, which to date refers only to the diagnosis of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), considered insufficiently exhaustive to describe and rec-ognize, multiple early and chronic relational traumas, responsible for the various possible maladaptive outcomes. Otherwise, Traumatic Developmental Disorder (DTS), not yet included in diagnostic manuals, is considered more appropriate to describe the complexity of the effects of early and chronic interpersonal trauma, considering and including the multiple symptomatic expressions of the disorder and, consequently, identifying the most appropriate therapeutic pathways for children.
Keywords: Complex Trauma; Traumatic Developmental Disorder (DTS); child abuse; Com-plex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD); post-traumatic symptoms.