Trauma Therapy

Is trauma therapy right for you?

Trauma therapy can help if you struggle to cope with past events causing disturbing thoughts, intense emotions, or physical discomfort. Symptoms may include anxiety, nightmares, or difficulty managing emotions. If you find yourself directing intense feelings towards others or yourself, experiencing emotional outbursts, denial, or persistent sadness or anger, trauma therapy could be beneficial for you.

Compassionate Trauma Therapy

Iwona Florianowicz specializes in supporting individuals dealing with complex trauma and other forms of trauma. With extensive expertise, she helps adults and teenagers who have experienced relational or attachment trauma. Whether you are just beginning to notice trauma symptoms or are already on your healing path, Iwona is committed to providing safe space, acceptance and compassionate therapy.

What is complex Trauma?

Most of people are familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often developing as a result of one of traumatic event such as car accident, assault, natural disaster etc., What makes the PTSD complex, is that, C-PTSD includes several additional characteristics beyond of those described in PTSD. In addition, C-PTSD results form multiple events accruing over a period of time that are often repetitive, ongoing, exposure to extremely threatening events, from which escape is not possible. Complex trauma is relational in nature, and children are particularly at high risk of developing complex trauma, especially if it’s caused by a caregiver.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder, complex trauma or C-PTSD has generated significant interest in resent years among mental health professionals, medical doctors, and general public. Initially proposed by Judith Herman in 1980’s, C-PTSD was recognized by the World Health Organization in the International Disease Classification (IDC-11) in 2022, although it is not yet included in the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual, the DSM-5.

The prevalence of trauma is the United States is substantial, with an estimated 70% of adults experiencing at least one form pf trauma in their life (NCBH, 2013). The U.S. has one of the highest rates of gun violence globally, with more than 1,500 mass school shootings recorded between December 2012 and October 2017. Statistics are overwhelming, demonstrating millions of individuals experiencing violent victimization and childhood maltreatment, contributing to the widespread impact of trauma on individual, families, communities, organizations, and society.

Experiences that might elicit complex trauma include:

• Being abused, neglected or abandoned as a child.

• Witnessing domestic violence or experiencing domestic abuse.

• Living in captivity, being tortured, or enslaved.

• Genocide, or leaving in a war-torn area.

• Being separated from family or country as a refugee or immigrant.

• Experiencing discrimination or marginalization due to race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, or other factors.

• Being raised by a caregiver who struggles with their own mental health, addictions, or unresolved trauma.

• Being coerced into sex work.

Who’s more susceptible to develop adverse reactions to trauma?

The development and expression of trauma is multifaceted, and it’s not only caused by exposure to trauma, but also by many other factors including duration, intensity, and timing of trauma/abuse, genetics (such as biological predispositions) and environment (such as parenting and attachment style), in-utero experiences (e.g., mother experiencing traumatic event while pregnant), family dynamics, modeling, and lack of resiliency factors (e.g., lack of protective resources, or support). Some other factors include:

• Experience of trauma at early stages of development (early childhood or adolescence)

• The perpetrator was a primary caregiver (e.g., parent).

• Adults in abusive relationships, especially those with history of childhood abuse/trauma.

• Children growing up in the system

• Those who face(ed) severe social distress such as bullying, disabilities, or experience(ed) exposure to trauma in community without support or protection.

• Growing up with a parent/caregiver who’s behavior is overwhelming, chaotic, and/or abusive; or a parent who’s distant and disengaged, or inconsistent in responses to a child, intrusive and invasive.

Common Experiences in Individuals with C-PTSD.

Growing up afraid and traumatized has ramifications on all aspects of development and may persist into adulthood, until you find sufficient support to heal from your past.

You may experience the following:

• Believes about your-self, others, and the world that are inaccurate (e.g., I’m a bad person, others are to get me, or the world is unsafe and horrible)

• Emotional distress including feeling overwhelmed, anxious, helpless, hopeless, shame, despair, injustice, depression or suicidal triggered by loss, abandonment and disconnection.

• Experience disturbing body sensations such as physical pain

• Have difficulty distinguish beliefs, sensations, and emotions between the past and the present.

• Being hyper-vigilant to others body language, words, tone of voice or facial expression, to keep yourself safe.

• Avoiding uncomfortable sensations in the body, emotions, and memories with defenses such as denial, repression, dissociation or addictive behaviors.

• Noticing patterns learned in your early family system that are ineffective in your relationships such as withdrawing, blaming, pushing away, or criticizing.

• Experiencing social skills or academic deficits.

• Have health problems (e.g., autoimmune conditions, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, or cancer).

Additional symptoms common in individuals with C-PTSD include:

• Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness

• Impulsivity or recklessness, excessive risk-taking,

• Feelings of irritability or outburst of anger.

• Eating disorders or emotional eating.

• Social anxiety, agoraphobia, or paranoia.

• Addictions (sex/porn, gambling, substances etc.,).

• Difficulty maintaining job.

• Self-harm/self-injury (e.g., cutting, pulling hair etc.).

Common Misdiagnosis or Co-occurring Disorders:

Misdiagnosis and co-occurring disorders are common with complex PTSD and dissociation. Many with childhood trauma history face misunderstanding and inappropriate treatment due to C-PTSD and DTD not included in DSM-5. Overlapping symptoms make diagnosis challenging; abused children are at risk for depression, anxiety, learning disorders. C-PTSD symptoms may mimic other disorders; impulsive, anxious youth may be abuse victims, at risk for bipolar, anxiety, depression misdiagnosis.Common mistaken or co-occurring diagnosis include:

• Personality disorders, especially borderline

• Bipolar disorder

• Anxiety disorder

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Substance Abuse or Dependence

• Major Depressive Disorders or Dysphoria

• Learning Disabilities

• Sensory Processing Disorder

• Somatization Disorders

Treating Complex Trauma

Complex Trauma can disrupt mind and body, as well as a sense of self, the other, and the world, hence there’s no single approach known to treat C-PTSD. Therefore, a combination of psychotherapies has been used by therapist including:

• Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

• Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Somatic psychotherapy (involving body-centered work)

• Mindfulness

• Medications

Integrating psychotherapeutic interventions has thus far been the most effective treatment for complex trauma, when applied within a context of trusting therapeutic relationship.

If you suspect that you might be suffering with symptoms of C-PTSD, Iwona invites you to contact her for a free 15minutes consultation or to schedule appointment with her. Know that with the right help and treatment you can heal and lead a happy, healthy life.