Therapy for Complex PTSD
Care for trauma-related distress, difficult emotions, and patterns that affect trust and relationships.
After repeated or prolonged trauma, the effects may extend beyond memories of what happened. You may struggle with self-worth, feel easily overwhelmed, or find closeness difficult even when you want connection.
Complex PTSD therapy begins with understanding your experience and current needs. You do not have to organize your history perfectly or describe every event at the start.
Book a Complimentary ConsultationBased in Miami, with telehealth available across 40+ PSYPACT states.
Your experience
Old experiences can affect present relationships.
You might expect rejection, feel ashamed, struggle to settle after a reminder, or alternate between wanting closeness and pulling away. A clinical assessment helps clarify trauma-related symptoms and other concerns that may also be present.
You may recognize some of these concerns and not others. What matters is how your own experience is affecting you and what you would like help with.
Difficult emotions
Feelings may become intense or hard to understand.
Self-worth
You may carry beliefs about yourself shaped by harmful experiences.
Trust and connection
Closeness can bring both longing and fear.
Understanding your care
Your experience deserves careful attention.
Complex PTSD is recognized in ICD-11 and includes PTSD symptoms with additional difficulties in emotion regulation, self-concept, and relationships. Diagnostic systems differ. Treatment should be based on an individual assessment, not an online label alone.
At Embody Health Psychology, our clinical health psychology perspective considers physical health, emotions, relationships, and daily life together. That biopsychosocial perspective helps us understand your concerns without reducing them to a single cause.
An Integrative Approach
Our integrative approach considers how physical health, emotional experiences, relationships, and daily life influence one another. We draw from different psychological approaches to shape care around your concerns and goals.
We discuss current symptoms, safety, functioning, and treatment preferences before choosing the approach. Care can address coping and relationships as well as trauma processing when clinically appropriate. Your clinician will explain the plan and pacing.
You do not need to arrive with a perfect explanation. Your clinician will ask questions, discuss treatment options, and help you choose goals that fit.
Depending on your needs, somatic therapy techniques can support grounding when reminders bring tension, shutdown, or disconnection. Body attention is optional, and therapy is paced with you rather than around a demand to relive events.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) may help you understand protective patterns and approach difficult emotions with less shame. We discuss treatment options and what fits your needs.
Your goals may include:
Understanding trauma-related responses
Make sense of reminders and patterns without blaming yourself.
Developing more workable coping
Practice responses to distress that fit your needs.
Building choice in relationships
Explore trust, boundaries, and communication.
Addressing related distress
Discuss anxiety, low mood, or other concerns when they are part of your experience.
Finding a useful pace
Set priorities that fit your clinical needs and current circumstances.
Choosing next steps together
Review what is helpful and whether other care or support is needed.
Common questions
What you may want to know.
Do I need a complex PTSD diagnosis before contacting you?
No. You can describe the concerns you want help with. Assessment can clarify trauma-related symptoms and whether our services fit.
Will I have to relive everything immediately?
No. Treatment planning should consider your readiness and clinical needs. Your clinician will discuss how trauma work is approached before proceeding.
How does coordination with other providers work?
When coordination would be helpful, your clinician can discuss it with you. Sharing confidential clinical information requires appropriate authorization. Together, you can decide what is relevant to share.
Is telehealth available?
Embody Health Psychology is based in Miami, with telehealth available across 40+ PSYPACT states through appropriately authorized psychologists. Availability depends on the clinician, your location, and the service. Confirm the fit during your consultation.
A place to begin
Let’s Talk About What You Need
If you are considering therapy, a complimentary consultation gives you a chance to share what you are looking for, ask questions, and discuss whether our services may be a fit.
Book a Complimentary Consultation15-minute phone consultation