According to Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a respected trauma expert and author of The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, trauma can be defined as any experience that overwhelms the nervous system’s ability to process and recall memories [1].
When trauma goes unresolved, it can lead to the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Although these trauma disorders share common aspects such as intrusive memories and heightened emotional responses, they differ in their nature.
Understanding the difference between PTSD and CPTSD helps guide treatment, making it more tailored and effective.
Understanding How Trauma Disorders Develop
According to van der Kolk, “trauma disorders develop through complex interactions between the brain, the body’s stress response systems, and an individual’s environment and history”. When someone is exposed to a traumatic event, it activates and alters brain circuits related to emotional regulation, impulse control, and memory. It also impacts hormonal responses that can make it more challenging to process fear and self-regulate [1].
Trauma also impacts attachment and identity development, particularly early childhood trauma that is ongoing. This can lead to patterns of behavior or personality that make relationships and daily functioning difficult during adulthood. Trauma leads to disorders such as PTSD and complex trauma, as well as other mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, and addiction.
PTSD comes from a single, traumatic incident such as being a victim of a school shooting or natural disaster. Complex trauma often develops over time, especially during brain development or childhood.
Acute Trauma → PTSD
Acute trauma is a single, isolated experience that usually only happens once over a short period of time and leads to PTSD. The brain understands the trauma has stopped, even if the traumatic responses carry on. Experiences that may lead to PTSD include:
- Car accident
- School shooting
- Natural disaster
- Physical assault or getting mugged
- Traumatic childbirth
- Kidnapping or hostage event
- Medical emergency or serious illness (e.g., life-threatening stroke or heart attack)
- Rape or sexual assault (isolated incident)
- Combat exposure (single battle/one-time event)
- Terrorist attack (isolated event)
Complex Trauma → C-PTSD
With CPTSD, trauma is ongoing, often lasting for months or even years. People who experience complex trauma, especially as children, may never know if it will end or cannot escape, and it becomes a reality for the brain. Experiences that may lead to complex post-traumatic stress disorder typically include:
- Domestic violence or abuse
- Workplace trauma
- Chronic illness or ongoing medical trauma
- War, torture, or living in a combat zone
- Human trafficking
- Religious or cult abuse
How CPTSD and PTSD Manifest: Signs and Symptoms
With both disorders, symptoms such as intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance of the trauma, mood disturbance, and hyperarousal symptoms (e.g., being easily startled or difficulty sleeping) must be present for a diagnosis. In both PTSD and complex trauma, symptoms interrupt daily functioning and cannot be better explained by another mental health disorder, medical condition, or substance use [2][3].
There are some additional signs that are more common in complex PTSD, these include:
- Difficulty managing emotions. Explosive anger, deep sadness, or emotional numbness.
- Intense feelings of shame, guilt, worthlessness, or feeling inherently damaged.
- Trouble managing relationships, struggle to trust others, isolation, unhealthy or abusive patterns of relationships.
- Feeling detached from oneself or surroundings.
- Chronic feelings of emptiness or detachment.
Both victims of single-incident and complex trauma also struggle with an increased risk of chronic health problems such as heart disease, digestive disorders, immune system dysfunction, and sleep disorders due to elevated levels of cortisol. Both are also at an increased risk of developing co-occurring mental health problems such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, and addiction.
Key Differences Between Treatment for PTSD and CPTSD
Both PTSD and C-PTSD share therapeutic approaches, but complex trauma often requires additional interventions to address deeply rooted identity or personality issues. Treatment for PTSD may be short-term and effective with 1 or 2 interventions (e.g., EMDR treatment course), while complex trauma often requires a phase-based, integrative approach (e.g., combination of behavioral therapy, medication, and peer support) and is longer-term [4].
Understanding the key differences between these disorders helps ensure treatment is tailored and effective.
Trauma Disorder | PTSD | Complex PTSD |
Type of Trauma | Single incident (e.g., car crash) | Ongoing, repeated (e.g, childhood abuse) |
Symptoms | Re-experiencing trauma, avoidance, negative mood, and hyper arousal | All PTSD symptoms plus mood dysregulation, negative core self-image, and interpersonal struggles |
Onset | Usually, after a concrete traumatic event | During or after ongoing trauma, it may begin in childhood |
Treatment Focus | Trauma-Informed CBT, EMDR | Trauma therapies like CBT and EMDR, plus peer support, family therapy, and other interventions to address deeper emotional or attachment issues |
The 6 Principles of Trauma-Informed Care and How TIC Supports Recovery
Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a growing philosophy in mental health care that focuses on empowering individuals to feel safe and confident enough to actively participate in their own healing journey. It takes a personalized approach, recognizing that no two experiences or recovery journeys are the same. It is effective in helping patients recover from both PTSD and CPTSD, as well as other mental health disorders and substance abuse.
TIC was first promoted by trauma researchers Maxine Harris and Roger Fallot in 2001, seen as a much-needed shift in how care was provided. TIC emphasized the need for understanding a person’s past trauma and advocated for universal trauma screenings and addressing the biological and social impacts of trauma [5].
In the early and mid-2000s, SAMHSA began funding research on TIC and formed the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, which created the six core principles of trauma-informed care [6].
- Safety. Patients should feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually safe in their interactions, environment, and treatment sessions.
- Trust and Transparency guide all decision-making at both operational levels and client interactions to maintain a level of integrity.
- Peer Support helps establish trust and safety in friendship, fosters a sense of mutual understanding, and can build community resilience.
- Collaboration is encouraged between patients and providers to form a clinical partnership, recognizing that trauma healing often happens in safe and healthy relationships.
- Empowerment, Voice, and Choice build self-esteem and give patients back a sense of autonomy and control, which many trauma victims have had taken from them.
- Cultural and Gender Awareness addresses societal biases and collective trauma. Staff are trained to be sensitive to historical trauma, systemic racism, and the unique mental health needs of demographics who have experienced prejudice.
Is Trauma Therapy the Same As Trauma-Informed Care?
It’s important to keep in mind that trauma therapy is not the same as trauma-informed care. Many confuse the two, for understandable reasons; however, trauma therapy is a specialized form of treatment, while TIC is an approach and philosophy to care.
Trauma therapies or trauma-focused therapies are specific therapies designed to help patients process and integrate memories of trauma. These often include:
- Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
- Prolonged Exposure (PE)
Trauma-Informed Care at Anchor Behavioral Health in New Mexico
At Anchor Behavioral Health, we are dedicated to providing compassionate, trauma-informed care to the Albuquerque community. We combine clinical excellence with lived experience to empower individuals on their recovery journey from addiction and co-occurring mental health challenges.
Principles like safety, trust, transparency, and collaboration guide our decision-making and strengthen our partnerships with clients, supporting their personal growth and path to a healthier future. Our empathetic team provides a combination of behavioral interventions, psychiatric services, and holistic healing activities to help you find lasting recovery.
Contact our admissions team today.
Sources
[1] van der Kolk, B. The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
[2] SAMHSA. 2014. Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services.
[3] Larsen, S. 2025. Complex PTSD: History and Definitions. National Center for PTSD.
[4] Modi, S. et al. (2023). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Narrative Review of Pharmacological and Psychotherapeutic Interventions. Cureus, 15(9), e44905.
[5]. SAMHSA. 2014. Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective.
[6] CDC. 2025. 6 Guiding Principles to a Trauma-informed Approach.