Choosing Effective Complex Trauma Recovery Professionals and Resources: 

One of the things I've noticed when researching on the internet is that there are a number of courses originally produced for PTSD who have now added into their descriptions that they also heal CPtsd. 

As someone who has professional qualifications and continues to study up to date information and has lived experience I want you to be assured that healing from Ptsd and healing from Complex Ptsd is NOT the same thing.

Life Coaching and Certified Trauma Recovery Coaching are poles apart in their ability to deliver effective, quality information to you for Complex Ptsd. I know life coaches who've done the Trauma Recovery Coaching, and they affirm they are poles apart. Choose a professional trained in Trauma, specifically complex trauma. 

Specialists, doctors, psychiatrists etc would be fortunate if they even heard the word Trauma during their study years. I have psychologists globally as clients and they have affirmed this to be true. 

Seek Trauma Trained, not Trauma Informed, professionals. 

When looking online for Courses and Recovery Materials research if the person is:

a) Professionally Qualified in Complex Trauma and

b) has lived experience. 

This way you know you will be able to relate to the information and they understand your process. You want value for money, and if anyone offers a quick process run far, far away. 

Complex Ptsd is named Complex for a reason. 

The identification of your individual needs, the needed NeuroEducation, PsychoEducation, the integration into daily living, and more need to be done properly to be effective and for you NOT to be spending decades in recovery. There needs to be an understanding homework is essential for integration into our daily life of all the new information, strategies and structure we need to effectively recover. 

Be aware also it does not have to take decades to make progress in your recovery. 

Talk therapy is not the answer to Complex Ptsd Recovery as we need language for each of our internal processes to help us identify what is happening for us internally and externally AND let our professional know the collective impact in and around us, we need effective strategies personalised for us as individuals and skill sets for our unique life. There is so much we never learnt in childhood, and now we have to learn and integrate for recovery essential information for our health, and our family's health. 

When choosing a professional feel welcome to ask questions and get the answers you need because recovery is all about YOU. 

Specific Areas to ask a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach/Therapist for Complex Trauma Recovery: 

Know what stage of Trauma Recovery you are in as it will impact the type of therapist you will need. You can read the different stages here https://healingfromcomplexptsd.com/stages-trauma-recovery/ 

How to Consider what YOUR needs are for Therapy/Certified Trauma Coaching.

- Make a list of what you need then determine your individual questions from this starting point.

- Ask if the Professional has been trained in Complex Trauma Recovery i.e. not Ptsd, specifically for Complex Trauma as they are two different things.

- Ask if they have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences themselves and have they sought Professional help for their own recovery.

- Ask if they give homework, and what type of homework i.e. Books to read, worksheets, videos, work through a CPtsd book with you - you will need to know what type of homework suits you and can they adapt to YOUR needs.

- Ask if they work with Dissociative Disorders and what type of dissociate disorders they can work with. Complex Ptsd can include Structural Dissociation, and if you have D.I.D. you will to need to know if they can work with YOU to meet your goals.

- Ask if they believe in repressed memories. Traumatic amnesia is very real. Doing our work we can have memories come up, especially those related to betrayal trauma. It's vital to know if this happens you will be believed and supported through this process.

- Ask what is your general philosophy and approach to helping? Are you more directive or more guiding? Do you have a client centred approach?

Above everything else trust your gut instinct about what is right for you at any given point in time. 

You can email your possible Trauma Recovery Coach or Therapist to give you time to think things through.It's important to note Talk Therapy does not work for Complex Ptsd Recovery. Whether we like it or not, and believe me there are days we don't like the things we have to do for recovery, we need a professional who's there for us and with us through this journey who understands with compassion, empathy and kindness the incredible courage it takes just to make one next step. If you're being treated like a textbook then it is not effective Complex Trauma recovery. We all have individual needs to make our recovery effective.