Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

About Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Complex post traumatic stress disorder is a diagnosis included in ICD-11, the World Health Organization classification. It typically follows exposure to extreme, prolonged or repeated trauma from which escape is difficult or impossible, such as torture, slavery, prolonged domestic violence or repeated childhood abuse. People experience the core symptoms of PTSD, namely re experiencing, avoidance and a persistent sense of current threat, together with disturbances in self organization: problems regulating emotions, a persistently negative self concept including feelings of shame or worthlessness, and difficulties sustaining relationships and feeling close to others. The concept was developed in the early 1990s, notably by the American psychiatrist Judith Herman. DSM-5-TR does not include it as a separate diagnosis. Treatment usually involves trauma focused psychotherapies, sometimes delivered in phases that begin with stabilization and emotion regulation skills, and many people experience meaningful improvement.