Complex trauma and C-PTSD

How complex trauma can feel

When hurt has built up slowly, over many years, or reached us very early in life, it can settle into the body and the nervous system in ways that are hard to put into words. This is sometimes called complex, relational or developmental trauma, and where it follows prolonged or repeated experiences, especially in childhood, it is sometimes given the name complex post-traumatic stress, or ‘C-PTSD’. Whatever we call it, you may recognise a little of how it can feel.

If some of this feels familiar, please know that none of it means something is wrong with you. These are understandable responses to circumstances that asked a great deal of you, often when you were very young and had few other choices.

• A harsh inner voice, or a quiet sense of being not quite good enough, however much others reassure you
• Finding it hard to trust, or feeling safest when you keep a little distance from people
• Strong feelings that arrive quickly and are difficult to settle, or a numbness where feeling used to be
• Feeling easily overwhelmed, on guard, or braced for something to go wrong
• Carrying shame or self-blame that belongs, in truth, to what happened to you
• A sense of ‘stuckness’, of repeating old patterns even when part of you longs for something different

Not a disorder, but a way you have coped

I want to be gentle with the word ‘disorder’. I view the difficulties above not as disorders, but as signs of how we have historically coped, or are coping, in the circumstances life has given us. The wariness, the inner criticism, the keeping of distance: each of these once helped you get through something. They are not flaws to be removed, but protective ways of being that made sense at the time, and that we can come to understand with warmth rather than judgement.

So you will not find me treating you as a diagnosis or a set of symptoms. There is no label you need to carry, and no need to have everything explained before we begin. We can simply start where you are, and let understanding grow between us, slowly, over time.

How I might work with you

With complex trauma, pace is everything. Because the hurt often began in relationships, and often early, we go slowly and we build a sense of safety first. Before we approach anything painful, we spend as long as you need helping you feel steady and resourced, so that you stay within what feels manageable. It is always your choice how far we go, and when, and you are welcome to pause at any point.

My main way of working here is attachment-informed EMDR, a gentler, relationship-aware form of EMDR that pays close attention to early wounds and to keeping you grounded as we go. Alongside this I often draw on Internal Family Systems, a kind and curious way of getting to know the different ‘parts’ of us: the parts that criticise, the parts that protect, and the younger parts that may still be carrying old pain. Where experiences reach back before words, or feel too much to speak aloud, we can turn to art. Images and materials can hold and express what language cannot yet reach, and you do not need to think of yourself as ‘artistic’ for this to help.

I do not follow one method from a manual. I try to feel my way, with you, towards what helps, weaving these approaches together around you and what you bring. There is more about this on my page on how I integrate my work.

What can help, and what the evidence says

It matters to me to be honest about evidence, and about its limits. EMDR is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a trauma-focused therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in adults (guideline NG116, 2018). That research is strongest for PTSD following single or more recent events. Complex trauma, which tends to build up over time, usually asks for a slower, more carefully staged approach, which is one reason I lean towards the attachment-informed form.

Internal Family Systems is not currently recommended in NICE guidance, and I would not want to overstate it. It does have a growing evidence base, and it was listed as an evidence-based practice on the United States SAMHSA registry in 2015. Many people find it a compassionate and freeing way to relate to their inner world. Art psychotherapy, meanwhile, is a profession regulated in the UK by the Health and Care Professions Council, where ‘art psychotherapist’ is a protected title, and I am registered accordingly.

None of these is a quick fix, and I would never promise a cure. What I can offer is a steady, caring space in which many people find that the past loosens its grip a little, that the inner voice softens, and that trust, in themselves and in others, slowly becomes more possible.

Taking a first gentle step

If any of this speaks to you, there is no hurry and no pressure to decide anything today. You are welcome to take time to consider whether we might be a good fit. When and if you feel ready, I offer a free 20-minute introductory conversation, with no obligation, simply a chance to talk a little and see how it feels to speak with me.

I work in person from near Ashburton in Devon, and online across the UK and further afield, whichever suits you better. My fees are 90 pounds for a 60-minute session and 135 pounds for 90 minutes. I see adults and young people from the age of 16 upwards, and I am not able to work with children under 16.

One important note: I am not a crisis or emergency service, and I cannot offer urgent or out-of-hours support. If you are in crisis or worried about your safety, please do reach out for immediate help. You will find some options on my crisis page.

How I might work with you

• Attachment-informed EMDR: a gentle, relationship-aware way to work with early wounds, slowly and safely
• Internal Family Systems (IFS): a kind way to know the ‘parts’ that learned to protect us from hurt
• Art psychotherapy: images can hold what has no words yet, including very early pain
• EMDR: the NICE-recommended trauma therapy this draws on, taken at a steadier pace
• How I integrate my work: how I weave these together around you, rather than following one method