Complex Trauma Counselling
Sometimes the effects of difficult experiences are easy to connect to the past. Other times, they show up as patterns you have lived with for so long that they simply feel like part of who you are. Complex trauma counselling can help you understand how repeated, long-term or early experiences may still be shaping the way you respond to stress, relationships, emotions and yourself.
Navigate Wellness offers virtual complex trauma counselling for adults in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
What is complex trauma?
Complex trauma can develop after repeated or prolonged experiences where you did not feel safe, supported, seen or in control.
Unlike trauma connected to one identifiable event, complex trauma is often connected to experiences that happened repeatedly or over a longer period of time.
These experiences may have occurred in childhood, relationships, family systems, workplaces, religious environments or other situations where leaving, speaking up or protecting yourself did not feel possible.
The effects can continue long after the original circumstances have changed.
What can complex trauma look like?
Complex trauma does not look the same for everyone. Sometimes it shows up in ways that are easy to recognize. Other times, it can look like everyday habits or personality traits that developed as ways of coping.
You may notice patterns such as:
constantly scanning for what might go wrong
difficulty relaxing or slowing down
people-pleasing or avoiding conflict
shutting down when emotions feel overwhelming
difficulty trusting yourself or other people
feeling responsible for other people's emotions
perfectionism or fear of making mistakes
feeling disconnected, numb or emotionally distant
struggling to set or maintain boundaries
intense reactions that feel bigger than the situation
feeling like you always need to stay busy or productive
repeating relationship patterns you understand intellectually but find difficult to change
Recognizing yourself in some of these experiences does not automatically mean you have complex trauma. Counselling can provide space to explore where your patterns came from and whether they are still serving you.
Why can the past still affect you when you know you are safe now?
You can logically understand that something is over and still notice your mind or body responding as though you need to protect yourself.
That does not necessarily mean you are choosing the reaction.
Patterns such as withdrawing, overthinking, staying hyper-alert, pleasing others or trying to control situations may once have helped you manage environments that felt unpredictable or unsafe.
The problem is that protective patterns do not always disappear when circumstances change.
Counselling can help you become more aware of those responses, understand what may be underneath them and develop greater flexibility in how you respond now.
How can complex trauma counselling help?
Trauma counselling is not simply about repeatedly talking through painful experiences. The work may involve understanding your patterns, developing a greater sense of safety, processing experiences that continue to affect you and learning new ways to respond when old protective reactions appear.
Depending on your goals and your counsellor, complex trauma counselling may include work around:
emotional regulation
boundaries
relationships and attachment
shame and self-criticism
nervous system responses
difficult or distressing memories
identity and self-trust
patterns of avoidance, shutdown or hypervigilance
The goal is not to erase your past. It is to help the past have less control over how you experience your present.
There is no single approach that works for everyone. Your counsellor will work with you to determine what feels appropriate for your needs, goals and pace.
Approaches we may use for complex trauma:
EMDR
EMDR may be used to help process distressing memories and experiences that continue to feel emotionally present.
IFS
IFS can help you explore different parts of yourself and understand the protective roles they may have learned to take on.
Depending on your needs and goals, counselling may include approaches such as EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS), along with mindfulness and nervous system regulation techniques.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
PTSD is a specific clinical diagnosis that can develop after exposure to trauma. Complex trauma generally describes the effects of repeated or prolonged traumatic experiences and may affect areas such as relationships, emotional regulation, identity and self-worth.
You do not need to determine which description fits before seeking counselling.
-
No. You can begin with what you are experiencing now.
Your counsellor can help you explore your history, current patterns and goals without requiring you to arrive with a particular diagnosis.
-
Yes. Navigate Wellness offers virtual counselling for complex trauma to eligible adults residing in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
-
No. You do not need to tell your entire story immediately or discuss experiences before you feel ready.
Counselling can move at a pace that feels manageable, and you and your counsellor can decide together where to focus.
-
Not necessarily. Complex trauma can develop from repeated experiences during childhood, but it can also develop from prolonged or repeated experiences later in life.
-
Depending on your needs and circumstances, your counsellor may incorporate approaches such as EMDR or Internal Family Systems as part of complex trauma counselling.
Your counsellor can help determine which approaches may be appropriate for you.
You are more than the patterns that helped you survive
The responses that keep you stuck today may have developed for very understandable reasons. Counselling can help you understand those patterns with more curiosity, process what continues to affect you and begin creating responses that fit the life you are living now.