PTSD vs Complex Trauma

When most people think of trauma, they imagine a single catastrophic event — a car accident, an assault, a natural disaster.

This is the kind of trauma we typically associate with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): an identifiable “before” and “after,” a rupture that leaves its mark.

But not all trauma looks this way.

Some wounds are quieter, slower, more cumulative. They happen over time, often in the very relationships where we were supposed to feel safest.

This is the territory of Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) — a terrain that many people carry inside them without having words for it.

PTSD: A Response to a Singular Event

PTSD often arises after a distinct, identifiable traumatic event.

Symptoms may include:

Flashbacks and intrusive memories
Nightmares
Hypervigilance and heightened startle response
Emotional numbing
Avoidance of reminders of the event

There’s often a clear “then” — the trauma — and a “now” — the aftermath.

The nervous system remains locked in survival mode, even long after the danger has passed.

In therapy, PTSD can sometimes be addressed by processing the traumatic memory, restoring a sense of safety, and helping the nervous system return to regulation.

Complex Trauma: The Accumulation of Unsafe Experiences

Complex PTSD isn’t rooted in a single event.

It grows in environments where safety, attunement, and protection were absent — or where there was chronic threat, emotional neglect, or relational betrayal.

Think:

Childhoods marked by emotional abandonment, criticism, or inconsistency
Ongoing exposure to violence, addiction, or instability
Relationships where love was entangled with fear, shame, or humiliation

Rather than a single “before” and “after,” complex trauma is woven into the fabric of development itself.

It’s not just an event that happened — it’s what didn’t happen:

the mirroring that didn’t occur, the safety that was never consistently offered, the love that wasn’t reliably given.

The symptoms often include PTSD-like signs, but they tend to run deeper:

Chronic shame and self-criticism
Difficulty trusting others
Persistent feelings of worthlessness or emptiness
Disconnection from the body and emotions
Fragmented sense of self

A Depth-Oriented Perspective: Trauma of the Soul

From a depth psychotherapy lens, trauma — especially complex trauma — is not just psychological injury.

It’s a wounding of the soul.

When early and repeated trauma occurs, parts of the self may go into hiding as a survival strategy.

These hidden parts — the tender, creative, feeling parts — often retreat into the unconscious, waiting for a time when it might be safe to return.

Symptoms, in this view, are not simply “problems to fix” — they are messages from the soul, signals that something precious was lost, and that healing requires more than coping strategies.

It requires deep witnessing, re-membering, and repair.

Healing Complex Trauma: Slow, Sacred Work

Healing from complex trauma is not linear.

It asks for patience, tenderness, and a relationship where trust can be gradually rebuilt.

In depth psychotherapy, we work gently with:

The inner child — the young parts that carry early pain and unmet needs
Dreams and imagination — doorways into the unconscious and forgotten parts of the self
The body’s wisdom — learning to listen to the somatic echoes of trauma
The relational field — experiencing, maybe for the first time, what it’s like to be seen, heard, and cared for without conditions

If you carry the invisible wounds of complex trauma, you are not broken.

You adapted the best you could in a world that didn’t offer you the safety you deserved.

Healing isn’t about “fixing” yourself — it’s about coming home to yourself, piece by piece, with compassion and care.