Written by Glintcare Clinical Team
Our multidisciplinary clinical team develops and reviews educational mental health content to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with current clinical practice.
Complex PTSD, or C-PTSD, is a condition that can develop after exposure to repeated or prolonged traumatic events, particularly those that occur during childhood or within relationships where escape is difficult. It shares many features with PTSD but includes additional symptoms that require specialised treatment.
How C-PTSD Differs from PTSD
While both conditions involve re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal, C-PTSD includes three additional clusters of symptoms: - **Emotional Dysregulation:** Difficulty managing emotions, intense reactions, emotional numbness - **Negative Self-Concept:** Deeply held feelings of shame, guilt, worthlessness, and being damaged - **Interpersonal Difficulties:** Problems with relationships, difficulty trusting others, and feeling disconnected
Common Causes of C-PTSD
- Childhood abuse or neglect - Domestic violence - Human trafficking or exploitation - Prolonged captivity or imprisonment - Living in a war zone - Repeated medical trauma
The defining feature is a sense of being trapped with no escape from the traumatic situation.
Treatment Approaches for C-PTSD
Phase-Oriented Treatment: First, stabilisation and safety; second, trauma processing; third, reintegration
DBT Skills: Build emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness
Narrative Therapy: Develop a coherent life story that integrates traumatic experiences
Somatic Approaches: Body-based therapies that address the physical manifestations of trauma
Schema Therapy: Addresses deeply ingrained patterns from early experiences
Recovery Takes Time
Healing from complex trauma is a gradual process that requires patience and self-compassion. There may be setbacks, but lasting recovery is possible. At Glintcare, our trauma-informed therapists provide the specialised, long-term support that C-PTSD recovery requires.
