Complex Trauma with Sealing Cove Counseling

Complex trauma is a term that describes the deep and lasting impact of repeated or prolonged exposure to traumatic experiences, often occurring during childhood or in situations where escape was impossible. Unlike a single traumatic event, complex trauma stems from ongoing stressors like abuse, neglect, domestic violence, prison, military, war, or sex trafficking. It shapes how individuals see themselves, relate to others, and navigate the world.

Complex trauma is often called chronic, developmental, or attachment trauma. 

Complex trauma goes beyond a one-time incident. It’s rooted in relationships and environments where safety and trust are repeatedly broken. Therefore, human development is at stake. Whether you have spent years in a prison cell, months or years in war, or years in the captivity of childhood abuse, the impact is substantial. Over time, these experiences wire the brain and body, affecting emotional regulation, worthiness, existential pain, and even physical health. Systematic dissociation of entire societies is a common theme for survivors. 

The impact of complex trauma can vary but some common themes include:

• Emotional overwhelm: Intense feelings like rejection, abandonment,  sadness, or fear can be hard to control. 
• Relationship difficulties: Trusting others, fear of abandonment, attachment injury, or patterns of isolation.
• Self-perception: A deep-seated belief of being "broken" or unworthy of love. This can cause feelings of shame, guilt, and self doubt. 
• Physical symptoms: Chronic fatigue, headaches, or unexplained tensions, unexplained pains, and sexual dysfunction is common. 
• Hypervigilance or Hypoarousal: Always feeling on edge, as if danger is around the corner. This is due to the nervous system being wired to fight, flight, shut down, or feign death. 

Complex trauma often begins early in life, when a person’s sense of safety and identity is still forming. It might come from ongoing maltreatment, such as emotional, sexual, spiritual, or physical abuse, or from living in chaotic environments where needs like food, shelter, or affection are not consistently met. In adulthood, it can also emerge from prolonged exposure to things like war, systemic oppression, prison, or toxic relationships.

The key factor is duration and repetition. When trauma happens over and over, it can disrupt the natural process of coping and recovery, leaving lasting imprints on the mind and body.

Recovery from complex trauma is a journey, not a race. It includes building a sense of safety and learning how to use resources that you already embody. Some approaches that many find helpful include:

• Therapy: Trauma-informed therapies,  like sensorimotor psychotherapy, can help process body memories and help clients feel safe. 
• Support systems: Trusted friends, family, or support groups can provide belonging and healthy connection and attachments. 
• Self-care: Small, consistent practices—like journaling, mindfulness, yoga, or somatic movement—can ground and soothe the nervous system. Yoga and somatic movement is available during sessions upon request. 

Email to schedule your first appointment. We are licensed in Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado. 

Angela@SealingCoveCounseling.com