Complex Trauma
Complex trauma is often described as experiencing cumulative and repeated traumatic events over a period of time and within specific relationships and contexts. Examples include severe childhood abuse, domestic abuse, long term exposure to community violence, or multiple military deployments to dangerous locations.
Complex trauma therapy utilizes several modalities to address different symptoms. The current method for treating complex trauma is a combination of talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy. By restoring self-awareness and learning to focus on what’s happening between your rational and emotional brains, you gain control of your reactions.
Complex trauma therapy utilizes several modalities to address different symptoms. The current method for treating complex trauma is a combination of talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy. According to Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, medical director and founder of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute and professor of psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine, “People get better by befriending themselves. People can leave the trauma behind if they learn to feel safe in their bodies—they can feel the pleasure to know what they know and feel what they feel. The brain does change because of trauma and now we have tools to help people be quiet and present versus hijacked by the past.”
