What is Complex Trauma?
Multiple and Compounded Traumatic Events
Complex trauma or complex PTSD involves exposure to more than one traumatic events that are often interrelated resulting in adaptive behaviours, nervous system reponses, thinking, and emotions that support survival during these traumatic events. Complex trauma often occurs in childhood, but can also happen in adulthood. In adults, complex trauma can leave one with having feelings of shame, guilt, lack of self-worth, emotional dysregulation, and relationship challenges.
What is Grief?
Natural Response to Loss
Grief is the response to loss, any type of loss. Changes in life often contain an element of loss, even if they are generally positive changes because change implies something new is coming in, while something that has been, is leaving. Grief is also an evolving emotion that can be triggered anytime in life. It can be difficult to identify feelings of grief because grief entails a mix of many emotions. Complex trauma can create feelings of grief for losing one's sense of self due to the series of traumatic experiences. The grieving process is unique to each individual and it evolves differently for different people.
What is Trauma Informed Practice?
Care and Empathy
Trauma informed practice involves practitioners ensuring the understadning of how trauma impacts individuals. It is having the knowledge that any individual has the possibility of having trauma history, therefore therapy practices and appraoches applied by the practitioner are informed with ensuring client care and empathy. A trauma informed practitioner works in collaboration with the client, respecting client autonomy by requesting ongoing consent, supporting client safety, and encouraging client empowerment.
What is Trauma Focused Practice
Processing Trauma
Trauma-focused work in therapy involves processing various traumatic experiences using different therapeutic modalities. For example, at Irish Oak Wellness, some therapeutic modalities used include psychodynamic, mindfulness-based, therapeutic arts and more, as ways to process experiences that have left a traumatic imprint.
