Complex Trauma
Complex Trauma
Complex trauma comes from harm that is repeated or goes on for a long time, usually at the hands of people who were supposed to be safe. Ongoing abuse or neglect in childhood is the most common source. Domestic violence, trafficking, and growing up around addiction or violence can lead to it too.
A single frightening event can cause post-traumatic stress. Repeated harm often shapes something deeper: how a person sees themselves, whether they can trust anyone, and how their body reacts to stress years later. Some clinicians call this complex PTSD.
How it shows up
Emotions that hit hard and fast. Anger, panic or shame that feel out of proportion and are hard to come down from.
Always on alert. Trouble sleeping, startling easily, scanning every room.
Shutting down. Feeling numb, spacing out, or losing time.
Relationships. Pulling away from people, or getting close fast and then expecting to be hurt.
How a person sees themselves. A steady sense of being damaged, bad or different from everyone else.
The body. Headaches, stomach problems and chronic pain are common.
Researchers have found that the more adverse childhood experiences a person has, the higher their risk for health and mental health problems as adults. That is a risk, not a sentence. People heal from complex trauma, often with the right support over time.
Treatment
Good trauma treatment usually moves in stages: first safety and stability, then working through memories, then building the life a person wants. Rushing to the middle stage before the first is in place tends to backfire.
EMDR therapy is one of the best-studied approaches for processing traumatic memories. DBT skills help with intense emotions, and CBT helps loosen beliefs that formed during the trauma. Medication from a psychiatrist can ease sleep problems, depression or anxiety along the way.
What Sanare adds
Trauma doesn't stay in the therapy office. It shows up at the doctor's appointment, in a tense conversation with a roommate, in a crowded store. Sanare clinicians are there for those moments, at home and in the community, one to five times a week.
That might mean practicing grounding skills in the waiting room before a medical visit, or sitting together to write an email that has been too hard to send for weeks. Over time, the goal is for the client to need us less in those moments.
Our co-founder, Ali Pierucci, LCSW, is a trauma specialist and certified in EMDR. Every client works with at least two members of our team, and we coordinate with any outside therapist or psychiatrist.
Complex trauma treatment in Denver
We work with adults 18 and older in Denver, Boulder and the surrounding metro. Contact us or call 303.476.1974 to start with a short, private phone call. If you're in crisis, call or text 988.