Understanding Complex Trauma

Navigating complex trauma requires a comprehensive treatment approach that acknowledges the profound impacts of repeated traumatic experiences. Complex trauma often involves interpersonal events that deeply affect emotional and psychological well-being, leading to challenges such as emotional dysregulation, trauma symptoms, impaired coping mechanisms and highly impacted interpersonal relationships.

Effective treatment involves recognizing how trauma shapes attachment styles and interpersonal relationships (Brewin CR; Atwoli L; Bisson JI; Galea S; Koenen K; Lewis-Fernández R;, 2025). Evidence-based therapies like Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and trauma-focused therapies are essential for addressing conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).

Using an integrated approach that combines these therapies enhances resilience and recovery. According to the Mental Health Services Administration, tailoring interventions to address both the neurobiological impact and psychological effects of trauma/traumatic memories is crucial. Client best outcomes result from working with clinicians who are trained in more than one type of trauma treatments/approaches.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Let’s talk about how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be a powerful tool for healing from traumatic experiences.

CBT helps you recognize and change negative thought patterns and behaviors that may be holding you back from moving forward. As we see it, CBT is a first step in trauma work that allows people to “clean up” the way they think about daily events.

CBT for Trauma Healing

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, evidence-based therapeutic approach recognized by the American Psychological Association for its effectiveness in treating various mental health conditions, including trauma-related disorders. CBT integrates several therapeutic modalities to address the complexities of trauma, memory, and its impact on daily life (primarily by way of shifting thought patterns).

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy emphasizes identifying and managing trauma triggers, challenging cognitive distortions, and developing effective coping strategies to enhance emotional regulation. This combination of changes can greatly improve a person’s interpersonal relationships.

Narrative therapy within CBT and trauma therapy allows individuals to reconstruct their trauma stories, a process that promotes healing, resilience, and empowerment. This approach is particularly valuable for those recovering from traumatic incidents, who need a shift in how they view their future and future self.

In collaboration with a treatment team, CBT fosters a trauma-informed care environment where individuals can rebuild their sense of safety and resilience. Addressing past traumas  and traumatic memories while enhancing coping mechanisms for present challenges, CBT can serve as a foundational piece of trauma treatment for healing and growth.

Benefits of CBT in Combination with Other Therapies

Moving on from the discussion of CBT as a tool for trauma healing, let’s explore how various psychological treatments support recovery and can be effective treatment from the aftermath of trauma. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps individuals reframe negative thought patterns, promoting healthier coping mechanisms and emotional regulation. Trauma-informed therapy, which integrates cultural considerations, enhances the healing process by acknowledging diverse experiences and backgrounds.

New approaches like Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) and Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy (ARET) can offer innovative ways to confront traumatic memories in safe, controlled environments. Meanwhile, Commitment Therapy and Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) promote acceptance, mindfulness, and emotional understanding, essential for rebuilding resilience. There are many evidence-based treatments to help people who have trauma histories, and the “best” trauma treatment plan varies by person.

Occupational therapy in combination with work with a trained mental health professional can play a crucial role, particularly for those recovering from natural disasters, providing practical strategies to restore daily functioning. Addressing dissociative symptoms and developing resilience, these therapies (among many others) empower individuals to regain control, build confidence, and move forward with renewed strength and improved quality of life.

Mindfulness Practices

Now let’s explore the powerful benefits of mindfulness practices in managing complex trauma. We all hear about mindfulness endlessly in the media, after all.

Incorporating grounding techniques, you can learn to stay present and connected to the present moment. These are easy to search for on the internet, but many people need support, teaching and guidance before the techniques are helpful in a big way.

These mind-body connection techniques can help you cultivate a sense of awareness and self-compassion throughout your healing journey. Often these techniques are best combined with talk therapy (and other modalities) to dig deep related to self-compassion, which can be hard for people.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Using cognitive-behavioral techniques like mindfulness can be highly effective when dealing with complex trauma. Within cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness promotes present-moment awareness, essential for managing overwhelming emotions and memories linked to trauma. In combination with Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Brainspotting or Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), CBT and Mindfulness can be very healing. 

This trauma-informed therapy process and approach can be constructive for individuals with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder or Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a form of exposure therapy, mindfulness, Brainspotting, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and ART enhance emotional regulation and promote healthier responses to triggers. Mental health care providers can utilize mindfulness and bilateral stimulation to improve emotional regulation, increase self-compassion, and foster healthier coping mechanisms when working with people who have complex trauma histories.

Incorporating mindfulness and an overall integrative approach into a healing process can improve people’s resilience, helping you break free from negative patterns and build inner peace despite the complexities of trauma.

Techniques for Grounding

Incorporating CBT, Mindfulness, Brainspotting, EMDR and ART (among other) techniques can effectively treat symptoms of complex trauma and support healing from anxiety and PTSD. Grounding techniques, such as breathing exercises, help center the mind, calm the nervous system, and promote relaxation and help people to avoid fight or flight responses within their environments.

Sensory awareness, such as noticing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, anchors you in the present moment. Body scanning helps release tension by guiding your attention through each part of your body. Again, these techniques are most helpful after learning to utilize them within a therapeutic relationship first.

Nature immersion offers peace and connection, while visualization techniques create comforting mental images of safe spaces. Holding grounding objects, such as a smooth stone or soft fabric, provides a sense of security. These are all techniques, tools and skills that are taught in therapy when working with a therapist who is trained in multiple trauma modalities.

Creative expression through art, writing, or music can also foster emotional regulation and healing. These techniques are valuable tools for care in mental health and substance abuse settings, supporting adult survivors, justice-involved emerging adults, and those on a journey of healing from childhood sexual trauma and other traumas.

Mind-Body Connection Techniques

Engaging in mind-body connection techniques through mindfulness practices can significantly enhance your journey in navigating complex trauma. Incorporating these techniques into your daily life can allow you to develop a deeper connection between your body and mind, promoting healing and resilience.

Mind-Body Connection Techniques:

• Breath Awareness: Utilize focused breathing exercises to anchor yourself in the present moment and cultivate a sense of calm.
• Body Scanning: Focus your attention on different parts of your body, noticing sensations without judgment, to increase self-awareness.
• Movement Meditation: Engage in mindful movement practices such as yoga or tai chi to connect with your body and release tension.

Each of these mindfulness practices offers a unique way to tap into your inner experiences, promoting emotional release, sensory integration, and self-compassion. Again, they are most effective when integrated into therapy (or other forms of teaching) and then utilized by oneself. The therapeutic relationship within therapy helps these techniques to be grounding and effective because the emotional mind is integrated into this learning (as opposed to only the rational mind). This allows people to heal within the context of human relationship, which is very powerful and important to the human experience.

Somatic Experiencing Techniques

Navigating complex trauma involves integrating many healing modalities and therapeutic approaches to treat symptoms and promote healing. Techniques like Somatic Experiencing focus on body awareness, helping individuals release stored trauma and improve emotion regulation. This approach emphasizes the importance of fostering healing relationships and caring for adult survivors of trauma, including those who experienced child sexual abuse.

Incorporating practices like movement therapy and breathwork allow individuals to connect with their bodies, which enhances emotional regulation and encourages post-traumatic growth. Following clinical practice guidelines, these methods help clients build resilience and develop self-compassion. Again, within the context of a therapeutic relationship, these modalities can be very healing.

Benefits of Integrated Therapies

Steering through the complexities of trauma involves exploring various therapeutic approaches that can complement and enhance healing. Integrated therapies offer a thorough approach to addressing trauma, incorporating different modalities that work together to support individuals on their journey to recovery.

Here are some benefits of integrated therapies:

• Trauma-Informed Care: Integrated therapies are rooted in trauma-informed care, which means that all interventions are designed to take into account the impact of trauma on an individual’s life. This approach guarantees that therapy is provided in a safe and supportive environment, taking into consideration the unique needs of each person.
• Holistic Healing: Integrated therapies focus on holistic healing, addressing not only the psychological aspects of trauma but also the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. This thorough approach aims to promote overall well-being and balance, allowing individuals to heal on multiple levels.
• Complementary Modalities: Integrated therapies often combine various modalities such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices, art therapy, ART, EMDR, Brainspotting and body-based techniques. This blend of approaches offers a diverse toolkit for individuals to explore and find what works best for their healing journey.

Navigating the Healing Journey

Healing from trauma is a challenging and courageous journey. Growth and resilience that are learned, nurtured and developed can be transformative. The aforementioned trauma treatments can effectively treat symptoms of trauma-related disorders in people, providing a safe environment for people to process their experiences.

Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia (of Harvard Psychiatry) emphasizes the importance of improved emotion regulation (which can take a long time, much patience and a lot of skill-building), while the late Francine Shapiro highlights the need for people to have access to a supportive environment for healing. Marylene Cloitre’s analysis of psychotherapy underscores the need for tailored approaches to care for adult survivors and examines the impact of childhood trauma. Recognizing unhealthy patterns, setting boundaries, and building emotional resilience are essential steps in overcoming past wounds and fostering personal growth. All of these skills require much support, learning and safety after repeated trauma that results in a C-PTSD diagnosis.

Implementing Holistic Approaches

Embracing holistic healing and being in therapeutic relationships with therapists and healers can provide a comprehensive framework for recovery, integrating various aspects of oneself into the healing process. Incorporating integrative modalities that address people as a whole, allows people to cultivate a more profound sense of well-being and resilience in the face of trauma.

• Mind: Engage in mindfulness practices to foster self-awareness and emotional regulation. Trauma therapists will help people learn coregulation, which can be an integral part of healing from complex trauma.
• Body: Explore somatic therapies, such as yoga or massage, to release stored trauma in the body. A trusted human witness to these experiences is part of what makes them therapeutic.
• Spirit: Connect with nature, meditation, or spiritual practices to nurture inner peace and a sense of purpose.

A Journey Towards Healing and Resilience

At the heart of healing lies a compassionate approach that acknowledges your unique experiences and empowers your journey towards recovery. This approach is often different for people, based on their unique experiences and needs. With the proper support and integrated therapeutic methods, you can overcome traumatic experiences and complex trauma and build a life rooted in strength and resilience. Sentier Therapy is dedicated to guiding you through this transformative process with empathy, expertise, and personalized care. Let us help you reclaim your sense of safety, hope, and joy. Reach out to Sentier Psychotherapy today to begin your journey toward healing, growth, and personal peace.

Blog contribution and edits by Megan Sigmon-Olsen, MSW, LICSW, Sentier’s owner.

 

Sources

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (n.d.). Effect of Complex Trauma. https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/complex-trauma/effects 

Brewin CR; Atwoli L; Bisson JI; Galea S; Koenen K; Lewis-Fernández R (2025, February 24). Post-traumatic stress disorder: Evolving conceptualization and evidence, and future research directions. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39810662/