Complex Trauma (C-PTSD)

What is Complex Trauma? Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) arises from prolonged, repeated exposure to events experienced as traumatic. This can take place at any time in our life, whether in early childhood or within an abusive relationship later on as an adult.

Forms of Complex Trauma

• caused in this lifetime and by prolonged exposure to an event experienced as traumatic
• transgenerational / intergenerational trauma: inherited – by nature or nurture – through the family lineage
• some people feel that they remember a past life, within which they recall something traumatic that happened to them
• continuous discrimination or oppression, whether systemic or through our greater personal community, can equally result in symptoms of complex trauma.

Symptoms of Complex Trauma

• Hypervigilance: the proverbial “waiting for the other shoe to drop”; constantly being on edge and bracing, with an inability to rest (including potential sleep disturbances) and recharge
• Dissociation: Living your life “outside of your body”. This can look like an over-intellectualized approach to life, or a difficulty to connect to one’s own body and emotion, and to express one’s emotional and physical/sensory experience.
• A person dissociating due to complex trauma may become a “doer”, i.e. overly active, possibly a “workaholic”, but struggle with their interpersonal relationships due to a difficulty to “receive” (to let oneself be influenced by their surroundings, also by their partner). 
• Or conversely, and depending on the individual’s preferred trauma response (fight, flight, freeze, fawn), their nervous system may settle into a default “freeze” state, where they become excessively contemplative, with a strong fear of doing anything in this world, for fear of visibility and potential repercussion. The so-called “persecution complex” can be connected with this.
• A person with complex trauma may become overly serious or rigid, and associate lightness and ease with shame or imminent danger. They may experience either intense or else a constant low-level anxiety, or struggle to experience true, deep, lasting joy outside of quick dopamine rushes.
• Feelings of isolation, loneliness, and feeling like you don’t belong anywhere
• Chronic emotional distress, health complications, heightened risk of burnout

Unlike single-incident trauma, complex trauma can (re-)shape core aspects of our identity, self-worth, and the ability to trust ourselves and others. Working with complex trauma presents unique challenges, which is why I use a blended approach of different trauma treatment modalities, such as EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and Kiloby Inquiries, embedded in the understanding of Depth, Existential-Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychotherapy.

Intersectional considerations

Complex trauma may present on its own, but may also show up in combination with other traits or aspects of identity, adding further complexity and depth to the experience. Some frequent intersections with complex trauma that I work with in my practice are 

• complex trauma and neurodivergence: high sensitivity (HSP), giftedness, autism, AD(H)D
• complex trauma and anxiety disorders: including phobias and panic disorders, but also obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD)
• complex trauma and immigration: being an immigrant or the child of immigrants (first generation), experiencing and/or escaping war and genocide, diaspora, exile; the loss of one’s place, culture, and language of origin
• complex trauma and the marginalized experience: individuals who are part of a minority group, e.g. an ethnic or racial minority (BIPOC and others), or part of the LGBTQIA+ community

The Work

• Processing and understanding what happened, and its impact on your life, Gradually and gently working through grief, anger, and fear, following your own pace.
• Increasing self-regulation of one’s nervous system and resourcing in stressful situations
• Supporting you to (re-)connect with your body and your emotions, reclaiming a healthy and fully embodied sense of self
• Experiencing safety in relationships again
• Safety and confidence in authentic self-expression without fear of repercussion
• Understanding healing as a practice that goes beyond the individual, and that will necessarily impact the greater collective as well
• Including your personal resources within an affirmative framework, including ancestral practices from within your lineage