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Trauma Therapy in Charlotte, NC

Breaking the Silence: Understanding PTSD and Healing from Childhood Trauma

The National Council for Behavioral Health estimates that 70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.

Trauma can exhibit itself in symptoms such as flashbacks, recurring memories of past traumatic experiences, insomnia, nightmares / night terrors, memory gaps, guilt / sadness, and lack of focus, it can also bring about other symptoms such as:

  • Avoidance (avoiding specific locations, sights, things, situations, sounds, etc. that serve as reminders of the event)
  • Re-experience (nightmares, night terrors, flashbacks or intrusive thoughts)
  • Hyperarousal (anger, irritability, aggressiveness, reckless behavior / self-harm)
  • Negative Moods and Cognition Problems (loss of interest in once-enjoyable activities, difficulty remembering details the distressing event, and a change in habits or behavior since the trauma)

There is another common trauma response that shares many similarities  to PTSD, with a key difference: it develops in response to prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences rather than a single event. Common origins include childhood neglect, chronic abuse, or other sustained exposure to harmful environments or relationships. This condition is known as Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD).

How C-PTSD Shows Up

As noted earlier, the outward responses associated with C-PTSD can overlap with those seen in other mental health experiences. These responses may include:

  • Flashbacks and nightmares in which past traumatic experiences feel present again
  • Avoiding people, places, or situations associated with the trauma
  • Physical responses such as dizziness or nausea when recalling traumatic experiences
  • Hyperarousal — a state of heightened alertness that many people with C-PTSD have lived in for an extended period as a protective response
  • A learned sense that the world is unsafe, developed in response to repeated harm
  • Difficulty trusting oneself or others, often as a result of prolonged experiences of betrayal or harm
  • Disrupted sleep and difficulty concentrating
  • A heightened startle response to sudden loud noises
Woman Diagnosed with PTSD

Diagnosing C-PTSD

Accurately identifying C-PTSD can be challenging because many of the associated responses are also seen in other mental health experiences. For example, someone experiencing C-PTSD may also be living with anxiety or low energy — responses that can point in several directions.
Accurate identification is important because it directly shapes the healing process. A distinguishing feature of C-PTSD is that it develops in response to things that were done to a person — it is not an intrinsic characteristic of who they are. These responses developed for a reason, as adaptations to circumstances that were harmful and often beyond their control.

To help identify C-PTSD, a clinician will work to understand whether:

  • The individual experienced repeated or prolonged traumatic events lasting months or years
  • The source of harm was someone with whom the individual had a significant interpersonal relationship, or someone within their primary care network such as a parent or caregiver
  • The trauma felt like a permanent feature of daily life, with little or no visible end
  • The individual had limited or no power over the person or circumstances causing the harm

Treatment for C-PTSD

There are several approaches to supporting people experiencing C-PTSD:
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy can take place individually or in a group setting. The focus is on processing experiences, strengthening connections with others, and developing tools to navigate anxiety and flashbacks. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one evidence-based approach that has demonstrated effectiveness in supporting people through the responses associated with C-PTSD.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based approach that uses bilateral stimulation — most commonly guided eye movement — to help a person reprocess distressing memories. Over time, this process reduces the emotional charge associated with traumatic memories, allowing them to be recalled without the same level of distress.
Medication
Some individuals may benefit from medication support during their healing process to help manage anxiety or related responses. A physician or psychiatrist can evaluate whether this is an appropriate option, and our clinicians are glad to coordinate that referral when needed.

In his book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. explores how prolonged exposure to experiences such as violence, emotional abuse, and other forms of traumatic stress can reshape the brain, mind, and body — and what that means for healing.
At Montgomery Counseling Group, our licensed clinicians draw from a range of evidence-based approaches tailored to each person’s unique history and healing process. Among these, EMDR and CBT have a particularly strong research foundation for C-PTSD and are central to our work — though your clinician will work collaboratively with you to determine the approach that fits best.

Contact Us Today!

If you or someone you know is dealing with trauma, we can help, and invite you to contact us today for a free consultation. We encourage you to reach out and know that you are not alone and that It Gets Better!