COMPLEX PTSD
COMPLEX PTSD
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Theoretical Approaches
Theoretical Approaches
CLIENTS:
There are several approaches to treating Complex PTSD that have been studied and proven effective. Often, the most effective approaches will depend upon the unique identity of the client. For example, play therapy is often used with children while trauma-focused CBT has shown to have great success with adults. Other factors may also come into play. For a client or their family, it is a good idea to become familiar with a few different approaches. If one doesn't work, another can be tried.
Mental health clinicians may have a background in social work counseling, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, or a degree in counseling. They may be called therapists or counselors as well as clinicians. Clients can look at the website Psychology Today which has a database of clinicians and their specialties for each locale. Be sure to find a clinician who has experience in trauma and PTSD.
CLINICIANS:
Maerker, et. al. (2022) published an overview of C-PTSD and a meta-analysis of empirical studies on treatment modalities for C-PTSD.
One study reported that trauma-focused therapies provided better outcomes compared with non-trauma-focused treatments regarding all complex PTSD symptoms. However, analyses also indicated that treatment outcomes were consistently less positive for individuals with childhood trauma, a type of trauma that is strongly associated with complex PTSD.
A second meta-analysis found that "results provided some evidence that multicomponent interventions including distress tolerance and emotional self-regulatory strategies along with trauma-focused strategies provided the strongest reductions in PTSD symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal problems" (p. 66).
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) for PTSD has been specifically designed for people with borderline personality disorder, however it has also shown to be highly effectives with complex PTSD.
International guidelines and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2018) both recommend TF-CBT for children 5 and older as well as adults (Maerker, et. al., 2022; Smith, et. al., 2019)
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