complex trauma therapy

You may find yourself here because you know you have complex trauma (also known as Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Complex PTSD, or CPTSD). You may be wondering what complex trauma is while also feeling some resonance with that term. Or, like many people, you might logically know you have CPTSD but can talk yourself out of it, believing “it really wasn’t that bad.”

 

Complex trauma survivors can feel overwhelmed, scattered, and mixed feelings about their experiences. They often have experiences where therapy was unhelpful or too overwhelming. It can be hard to engage in mindfulness, impossible to connect with your body and emotions, and very overwhelming to process memories. This can leave you feeling like you're doing something wrong. 

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You aren’t doing anything wrong, this is what complex trauma feels like.

 

 

Complex trauma can be healed. It’s important to work with a therapist who specializes in complex PTSD, otherwise therapy can feel too dysregulating or like it doesn’t help at all.

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Our bodies and nervous systems adapt to the world around us in order to keep us safe. When we go through a trauma, our body protects us with its defensive systems such as fight, flight, or freeze. These are normal responses to overwhelming situations, but they can get "stuck" and we experience them over and over again (sometimes for years). 

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signs your body has been affected by complex trauma:

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• Being constantly on edge

• Feeling “out of it”, numb, or dissociated

• Experiencing rushes of anger

• Tensing up or freezing in certain situations

• Being unable to relax

• Chronic pain, headaches, or other physical symptoms

 

In complex trauma, our nervous system might go a step further and shut down entire parts of our selves: our assertiveness, vulnerability, access to emotions and/or body sensations, and more. Complex trauma can occur from many different kinds of life events, which you may or may not have memories of. 

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life events that can cause complex trauma:

 

• Being raised in a strict/controlling family or belief system

• Being raised in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family system

• Abusive or domestic violence relationships

• Repeated lack of safety for a long period of time

• Experiencing a trauma without support you needed

 

If you read this and think, “None of this happened to me but I am still struggling – am I making it all up?” It is important to know that complex trauma often makes us act as though everything is fine. You likely have a strong part of yourself that can “get by” for a time, or perhaps many years, without thinking about these things. If this is true for you and you also have a hunch that there is something painful hidden deeply inside, complex trauma therapy is a good fit for you.

 

Traditional evidence-based therapies are not enough to successfully resolve complex trauma, and sometimes they can cause more harm. If you have tried traditional therapy and felt worse, working with a complex trauma therapist will likely feel like a better fit.