![]() ![]() ![]() The Four F’sĪlthough complex trauma can manifest in different ways, one way the effects that often emerges is in our responses to stressful experiences when we are scared or hurt. Many people who begin therapy may not think of themselves as having experienced anything specifically traumatic, yet realize that they have numerous invalidating or painful experiences that have cumulated over time to effect their reactions or views of the world. These experiences are often characterized by pervasive feelings of lack of safety and stability, or an inability to escape the situation. ![]() Ĭomplex trauma is defined as prolonged exposure to multiple traumatic events, such as abuse or neglect, over an extended period of time. This is what we now understand to be complex trauma. While a singular traumatic event can definitely have a strong impact, we’ve also realized repeated exposure to numerous, sometimes smaller, painful or traumatic experiences over a lifetime can also have long-term effects. As our knowledge on this topic has grown, clinicians and researchers realized that our conceptualization of traumatic experiences can actually be much more complicated. Oftentimes when we think of trauma, we imagine a singular traumatic experience. ![]()
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