Complex Trauma (C-PTSD)
Complex trauma (also known as complex PTSD) is a broad term that refers to repeated wounding within the context of a relationship.
A few examples that come to mind for me: childhood or adult sexual, physical, or emotional abuse (including neglect); surviving domestic violence; religious or spiritual abuse; having a partner or caregiver with narcissistic tendencies; and growing up with a parent or caregiver who was unpredictable and/or unable to meet your physical or emotional needs.
I think it’s also important to note the additional layer of relational wounding that often happens to people who are part of marginalized groups (BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folks, people who exist in larger bodies, disabled folks, neurodivergent folks, etc).
Trauma work should be done slowly, with a lot of care and focus on building safety, trust, and self-empowerment. What we know from an ever-growing body of research is that trauma is held not just in our minds, but in our bodies too. This means that effective healing from trauma includes a focus on somatic healing- developing an embodied sense of safety and healing the mind-body connection.
Some focus areas in our work together might include:
Rebuilding a sense of personal safety and self-trust
Exploring what it means to feel safe in a relationship
Learning how to recognize how emotions move through the body
Desensitizing and reprocessing traumatic memories with EMDR
Identifying trauma responses and developing supportive ways to move through them
Boundary setting (challenging the underlying core beliefs that make boundary setting difficult, as well as learning tangible, adaptive communication and conflict resolution skills)
Challenging non-supportive core beliefs about self and relationships
Developing mindfulness and self-compassion practices