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Complex Trauma & CPTSD Therapy at Emotion Clinic Notting Hill

Sometimes trauma doesn’t look like trauma. There isn't that one big traumatic event that changed everything, it's rather a stretch of events, all more or less hitting the same spot. For many clients this goes 'all the way back', as it was the way they grew up. It felt normal, it's still familiar, but it left marks and changed the auto-pilot settings significantly. 

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You may be doing well at work, managing relationships, looking after other people and generally appearing to cope. And yet underneath, there can be a persistent sense that something isn’t quite right. Certain situations, especially interactions, might feel upsetting, might make you wanting to leave, to fight, to please...

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You might find yourself becoming overwhelmed by situations that seem small, shutting down when things become too much, constantly anticipating what might go wrong, or finding relationships much harder than you think they “should” be.

For some people, these patterns are connected to complex trauma or Complex PTSD (CPTSD).

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What is complex trauma?

We often think of trauma as something caused by one frightening or catastrophic event. But trauma can also develop through experiences that happen repeatedly, particularly when they occur in relationships or during childhood.

Growing up with emotional neglect, criticism, unpredictability, conflict, a frightening parent, having to look after other people’s emotions, or simply not feeling sufficiently safe and understood can all leave their mark.

There may not be one particular event you can point to.

Instead, your nervous system may have learned ways of surviving that were extremely useful then, but are less helpful now.

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What can CPTSD feel like?

Complex trauma can show itself in many different ways.

You may recognise difficulties with regulating emotions, anxiety that seems to come from nowhere, perfectionism, shame, people-pleasing, feeling responsible for other people, difficulty trusting, or a tendency to withdraw when relationships become emotionally intense.

Some people feel constantly “on”. Others disconnect from their feelings altogether.

And many people move between the two.

Often, these reactions make much more sense when we understand what your emotional system originally learned to protect you from.

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Treating complex trauma

There isn’t one therapy that is right for everyone.

My approach draws on over 20 years of experience as a Clinical Psychologist and combines different evidence-based psychological approaches according to what you need.

This may include EMDR therapy, cognitive behavioural approaches (CBT) and emotion-focused work.

EMDR can be particularly useful when past experiences continue to trigger strong reactions in the present. With complex trauma, however, therapy often involves more than simply processing individual memories.

We may also work with patterns that have developed over many years: how you respond to closeness, conflict, rejection, responsibility, vulnerability and your own emotions. Relationship problems stemming from CPTSD can be addressed with couples therapy or individual. Both approaches are based on RLT Relational Life Therapy - an excellent, highly efficient way to frame and change relational patterns.

The aim is not to endlessly analyse your past.

It is to help your brain and emotional system recognise that what was necessary then may no longer be necessary now.

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Complex trauma therapy in London

I work with adults experiencing complex trauma and CPTSD at Emotion Clinic in Notting Hill, West London, as well as online where appropriate.

If you are unsure whether what you have experienced “counts” as trauma, you do not need to work that out before getting in touch.

That is something we can think about together.

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