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1020 E. Jefferson Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
2340 Commonwealth Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22901
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as complex PTSD or C-PTSD, is a mental health disorder that people may develop after experiencing or witnessing a series of traumatic events. As with regular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex post-traumatic disorder causes recurring nightmares, flashbacks, and disturbing memories about past trauma. However, C-PTSD develops from repeated trauma over a significant period of time, whereas PTSD often forms from a single incident (single-incident trauma). Complex PTSD typically involves relational and developmental trauma from an unsafe relationship or environment. For example, someone who has endured inescapable childhood abuse or neglect may be diagnosed with C-PTSD.
While mental health care professionals have diagnosed patients with C-PTSD, it is not an officially recognized condition in the DSM-5. C-PTSD may occur in people who have lived through persistent trauma, such as:
People who are exposed to trauma and abuse at an early age or for prolonged periods of time are more likely to develop C-PTSD. C-PTSD symptoms typically appear three months to multiple years after trauma. People with C-PTSD often display all of the same symptoms of PTSD, which are separated into four main categories:
Symptoms more unique to C-PTSD include the inability to form stable and long-lasting attachments. Those with C-PTSD often have difficulty trusting others even years following their trauma. They may self-isolate and avoid socialization or deliberately seek out abusive relationships. People with C-PTSD are often unable to develop the relationships and support systems necessary to heal from their trauma. This lack of support makes C-PTSD recovery increasingly difficult.
The most common treatments for C-PTSD are psychotherapy and oral medications. Psychotherapy for C-PTSD can include cognitive therapy (therapy to change thought patterns), exposure therapy (therapy to confront memories of the traumatic incident) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR). EMDR integrates exposure therapy with guided eye movements to help patients confront and process their trauma. Certain oral medications may help with C-PTSD, such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Self-care, support groups, and relaxation may also benefit those with C-PTSD.
The path to overcoming PTSD can be long and challenging and people with C-PTSD can benefit greatly by seeking professional treatment from a mental health care provider. Treatment can reduce PTSD symptoms, provide essential coping strategies, and improve one's quality of life.
Depression
Everyone knows what it feels like to get the blues once in a while. But depression is a serious illness that is more severe than a bad day and lasts much longer. Symptoms of depression stop a person from being able to function and enjoy daily activities for weeks or months at a time. It can happen to anyone, and it isn't something that people can control by force of will or "snap out of it."
Some common symptoms of depression include:
We don't yet know what causes depression, but it's thought that it is a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and social influences. Because of this, the most effective treatments for depression combine medication with psychotherapy. Therapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy, can be extremely helpful in resolving the negative thoughts and feelings that come with depression. It gives patients new tools that they can use themselves to cope when their depression is making them feel down.
Some of the common medications used to treat depression include antidepressants such as SSRI's (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft) or atypical antidepressants (Cymbalta, Wellbutrin). It's important to remember that these medications have different effects on everybody, and no one medication works right for everyone. Patients may have to try a couple before finding the one that works just right for them. If the first medication they try doesn't work, they should talk to their doctor about trying something else. In extreme cases where medication is not enough, electro-convulsive therapy and hospitalization may be the answer to keeping a severely depressed person safe.
Depression is a difficult illness to deal with, but it is more common than believed and there are many people who can help. With the right treatment, individuals with depression can get back to fully enjoying life again.
Family Therapy Services
Family therapy is sometimes also called family counseling or marriage and family therapy. It is a form of mental health care and therapy that treats a couple or entire family as a unit, paying special attention to how the members of the family interact with each other. Each family has a unique personality, communication style, and unique problems they face together. In family therapy, all members of the family attend counseling sessions as a group, and together they learn how to identify conflicts within and without the family, as well as how to communicate better and problem-solve together.
Some topics commonly addressed in family therapy include:
Family therapists may work in group practices, private practices, schools, or hospitals. They work with families of all different kinds to help them live together as a stronger unit.
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