CPTSD.
When it happened again and again.
“Something happened, again and again, and it shaped who you became.”
Complex trauma from prolonged or repeated experiences, often relational, often beginning in childhood. It shapes how you regulate emotion, trust others, and see yourself, long after it ended.
- Overwhelm and numbness, swinging back and forth
- Shame that won't shift
- A deep sense of worthlessness
- A harsh inner critic
- An unstable sense of who you are
- Tension you can't explain
- Fatigue that doesn't match your life
- A persistent void
Why CPTSD needs a different approach.
Standard PTSD treatment targets a single event. CPTSD comes from cumulative, relational injury, so this work builds safety and regulation first, then addresses identity and attachment, not just memory.
See the full approach →Therapy widens the window: the swings become smaller, and more of life can be felt without tipping over.
Parts of you still frozen in an earlier moment: still bracing, still protecting, long after the danger has passed.
Feeling undeserving of success, repeating the same partner pattern, parenting on autopilot, or burnout that won't lift are often that same protection, still running.
Safety first. Then the memories. Then the rest of your life.
Stabilise
We start with what keeps you functioning today: sleep, overwhelm, shutdown, the inner critic. You learn to notice when your system tips out of your window of tolerance, and how to bring it back. This is not a waiting room before the “real” work. For many people it is the first time their body feels any safer.
Process
Once there is enough stability, we work with the experiences that still feel present: EMDR for the memories and body states, and schema therapy for the beliefs they left behind, such as “I am too much” or “I am on my own”. The pace is set by what your system can hold, not by a fixed number of sessions.
Rebuild
The last phase is about identity and relationships: trusting people again, feeling your own needs, and living in a way that isn't organised around threat.
What people often ask.
Is CPTSD a “real” diagnosis if it's not in the DSM-5?
Yes. It's recognised in the ICD-11 (2022) as distinct from PTSD, so it has formal clinical grounding even though the US diagnostic manual hasn't caught up yet.
Why does the shame feel so constant, not occasional?
Because it usually isn't a reaction to something you did. It's a chronic, background sense of being fundamentally wrong or unworthy, and it often formed as protection: believing “it was my fault” can feel safer to a child's mind than accepting there was nothing they could have done.
How is CPTSD different from PTSD?
PTSD usually follows one event or a limited set of events and centres on flashbacks, avoidance and feeling on guard. CPTSD includes all of that, plus lasting difficulties with emotion regulation, a deep sense of shame or worthlessness, and trouble feeling close to people. Those extra difficulties are why the treatment is paced and phased.
How long does CPTSD therapy take?
It depends on your history, your support and what you want from therapy, so I won't promise a number. We review together regularly how the work is going, so you always know where you are. Intensives can shorten parts of it.
Can CPTSD therapy be done online?
Yes. Research on online trauma therapy, including EMDR, shows results comparable to in-person work for most people. We plan together how you can keep yourself safe and grounded at home, before and after each session.
Do I need a diagnosis before we start?
No. Many people come with a sense that something is wrong rather than a label. If a formal assessment would help you, for example for insurance or your own clarity, we can do that as part of the first sessions.
How to Talk to Your Inner Child
A gentle first introduction: what the inner child is, how to recognise when it's speaking, and how to begin making contact.
