Most people are at least passingly familiar with PTSD and recognize the difficulties it entails. However, when several traumas are experienced over an extended period, this can result in acutely disruptive and intense symptoms outside the scope of what is seen in conventional PTSD. This variant of PTSD is termed complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or C-PTSD. C-PTSD arises as a response to severe and continuing violence, neglect, or suffering, and without intervention, it can have an extremely harmful effect on a person’s long-term health. Although C-PTSD can be difficult to manage, it can also be effectively addressed through a PTSD treatment program.
At Atlanta Center for Mental Health, we provide stability, facilities, and support our clients need to heal from traumatic events. The Atlanta Center for Mental Health staff understands the difficulties of complex PTSD treatment and is committed to our client’s long-term physical and mental health. At our Atlanta complex PTSD treatment center, clients build a strong foundation from which they can begin the lifelong recovery process. If you have been struggling with multiple traumatic events, relief can be found with Atlanta Center for Mental Health. Call 833.625.0458 to learn more.
Signs to Seek Complex PTSD Treatment
There is a wide degree of overlap between symptoms of PTSD and C-PTSD. However, since C-PTSD occurs over a long period and features compounding traumas rather than a singular event, these symptoms can express differently. In addition to typical PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks or insomnia, those with C-PTSD may experience symptoms such as:
- Isolation and withdrawal
- Explosive anger
- Suicidal thoughts
- Sense of defilement or stigma
- Feeling helpless, shameful, guilty, or blaming yourself
- Dissociation
- Forming a preoccupation with a perpetrator
- Preoccupation with revenge against the perpetrator
How a Complex PTSD Treatment Center Can Help
Due to the complex origins and features of C-PTSD, it often requires an intensive, long-term treatment plan. The client must be removed from the traumatic environment for long-term recovery. A complex PTSD treatment center offers a safe and supportive environment for clients to recover away from the source of the trauma. In our residential PTSD treatment program, clients have access to a wide range of treatments and qualified staff of professionals, all of which are prepared to help clients heal from traumatic experiences. Healing also takes time and patience, and at a complex PTSD treatment center, clients are given the time necessary to build strong support networks and settle into their therapy relationships.
How Is Complex PTSD Treated?
Complex PTSD treatment guidelines are often variable since every person’s experience with trauma is unique, and each person will respond to different treatment methods. Though there is no single answer to how complex PTSD is treated, treatment will usually involve individual counseling and may often include medication management. Some of the treatments used for C-PTSD include:
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) focuses on teaching skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, and coping with conflict.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps clients identify and reshape negative thought patterns that reinforce C-PTSD symptoms.
- Neurofeedback monitors and trains brain waves to better regulate the brain’s function and retrain its response to trauma.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing or EMDR is a form of exposure therapy that helps clients reprocess traumatic experiences by removing the emotional distress associated with the trauma.
- Experiential therapy uses expressive activities or techniques to explore, process, and release traumatic experiences. These include art, music, role play, pet care, or even yoga.
Begin Treatment With a Complex PTSD Treatment Center Today at Atlanta Center for Mental Health
If you’ve been exposed to multiple traumatic incidents, you understand how debilitating and destabilizing C-PTSD can be. Complex PTSD treatment can help bring peace, health, and stability back into your life. Your healing can begin today with Atlanta Center for Mental Health. To learn how a complex PTSD treatment center can help you, call 833.625.0458 or fill out our online contact form.
