Complex Trauma (C-PTSD)
Helping women heal from complex trauma is a true passion of mine.
Most of us are familiar with PTSD. We know that soldiers who return from war, or folks that experience a horrific car accident can suffer long-lasting psychological effects from those single traumatic events.
However, as soon as I began doing therapy work with real humans in grad school, I quickly realized many more of us suffer from complex trauma (sometimes called C-PTSD). Complex trauma arises from repeated or prolonged exposure to adverse experiences. Things like growing up with emotionally neglectful parents or in a high-demand religion, being chronically bullied, living in a chaotic or financially unstable environment, suffering from chronic health issues, or having unsafe and unstable relationships, can all cause C-PTSD.
Pioneering work by folks like Peter Levine, Pia Mellody, and Bessel van der Kolk has helped us understand that this trauma we carry around manifests in the form of poor self-esteem, relationship struggles, chronic anxiety, inability to make decisions, unexplainable anger, and a long list of other symptoms that make us feel sick, tired, stuck and restless.
Sadly, we aren’t taught about C-PTSD in school, and it isn’t even part of the diagnostic manual we’re expected to use, so finding a therapist who seeks training on their own is really important. I have actively sought training in some of the best treatment modalities for complex trauma, including Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Coherence Therapy, Parts work, and DBT. And I consider myself a lifelong learner, continuously expanding my knowledge in important areas like polyvagal theory, attachment trauma, and somatic therapy.