Complex trauma

Complex trauma describes both a specific type of trauma - exposure to multiple, chronic, and prolonged developmentally adverse traumatic events, most often of an interpersonal nature (e.g., childhood abuse, neglect, domestic violence, human trafficking) – and the long-term impacts of this exposure. Historically, the concept faced skepticism or was conflated with standard PTSD, but modern psychiatric standards (such as the ICD-11) have formally validated it as a distinct clinical entity. Unlike single-incident trauma, complex trauma fundamentally alters an individual's core personality, neurological development, and capacity for emotional attachment.

Sources:

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (n.d.). Complex trauma. Retrieved from: https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/complex-trauma

D’Andrea, W., Ford, J. D., Stolbach, B. C., Spinazzola, J., & van der Kolk, B. A. (2012). Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: Why we need a developmentally appropriate trauma diagnosis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(2), p. 187–200. h