Therapy for Complex and Relational Trauma
Many people have experienced some form of trauma. In addition to the more overt examples of trauma like abuse, violence, sexual assault, or combat trauma, trauma can take more insidious forms, including interpersonal trauma, poverty, racism, bullying, social rejection, and religious trauma.
What is Complex Trauma?
Trauma may be the result of a singular, one-time upsetting incident. In the case of complex trauma, it can also develop slowly over time, following a series of repeated insults, threats, or instances of instability.
Complex trauma is often developmental in nature, occurring (or at least beginning) in childhood. Complex trauma is often relational, occurring in the context of important relationships such as parents or other adult caregivers. Examples of forms of complex trauma include (but are not limited to) physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, bullying, death or abandonment of a caregiver, and parental substance abuse, or parental incarceration.
Various forms of complex trauma commonly co-occur and overlap. It may feel difficult to know where to start when it comes to disentangling these most vulnerable parts of your story.
How Can Therapy Help Me Heal From Trauma?
Healing trauma through therapy may be a long-term process and takes many forms. For example, trauma work may involve naming and exploring the impact of the trauma, processing shame, and exploring new ways of relating to the traumatic experience. It may also involve increasing felt safety in the body, examining relationships, and gently confronting our avoidance. We may use our therapeutic relationship as a sort of laboratory to try out new ways of relating to the trauma and to other people.
When we have been traumatized, our sense of freedom and choice is taken from us, so it is important that trauma work in therapy feels like a true collaboration between client and therapist. To support a collaborative relationship, I will often ask clients for their input, preferences, and reactions to our work. For example, I may frequently check in to see that the pace of therapy feels safe, the client feels understood, and the processing of uncomfortable emotions, while essential to healing from trauma, is not too overwhelming.
It is common to suffer post-traumatic stress after a difficult experience, which many people shoulder alone for far too long. It is also common, through therapy or other types of healing work, to attain post-traumatic growth and a satisfying life. If you are interested in exploring your trauma together, it would be an honor to be part of your healing journey!