Sufferer Complex PTSD: where to start treatment

[OceanEyes]

Hi, I’m new here and I’m hoping to connect with a community who understands what I’ve been going through because I feel very alone. I received an email from a psychiatrist I saw recently. He said he believes I have Conplex PTSD. I’ve done a fair bit of reading on it and it all fits with my symptoms. I don’t know how to feel or where to start. I guess first things first I need to find a clinical psychologist. I’ve been seeing someone and I feel as if I’m building trust and a relationship with him, but he’s swam for 4 months and is not trained in EMDR. Things are getting bad again and I don’t know if I should find a new therapist or wait until he gets back.
Thanks for reading

 

[Roland]

Hi, I’m new here and I’m hoping to connect with a community who understands what I’ve been going through because I feel very alone. I received an email from a psychiatrist I saw recently. He said he believes I have Conplex PTSD. I’ve done a fair bit of reading on it and it all fits with my symptoms. I don’t know how to feel or where to start. I guess first things first I need to find a clinical psychologist. I’ve been seeing someone and I feel as if I’m building trust and a relationship with him, but he’s swam for 4 months and is not trained in EMDR. Things are getting bad again and I don’t know if I should find a new therapist or wait until he gets back.
Thanks for reading

Hi, welcome to the forum! You’ll likely find this forum to be exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve found it to be invaluable. Good luck finding a new therapist, it’s exhausting but worth it I guess.

 

[Sideways]

Welcome to the forum! The thing about a diagnosis is it changes nothing about who you are, or who you’ve been. It just gives you some better direction about the best kinds of treatment.

Things are getting bad again and I don’t know if I should find a new therapist or wait until he gets back.

These aren’t mutually exclusive. If you have an established relationship with a T, then that’s a support that you can hang on to while you find a more qualified T to do some harder, trauma-focused work.

I’ve worked with a lot of psychologists over the years, most of them weren’t trauma specialists. But they all had the same focus - helping me cope better with the symptoms I had. I wouldn’t be where I am without the tools that I’ve learned from different psychologists I’ve had over the years.

For example - if you’d like to try EMDR (excellent decision!), the therapist that you’re already seeing can probably help you learn how to ground yourself, which is something you need to be able to do before you start EMDR. They can probably also help you with other strategies to help you cope betterment with other symptoms that are making your life harder than it needs to be.

If it were me? I’d find a trauma-focused therapist to work with, and have a few appointments with them to establish if I felt comfortable working with them, and then consider stopping with the T I already have an established relationship with.

 

[Freddyt]

These aren’t mutually exclusive. If you have an established relationship with a T, then that’s a support that you can hang on to while you find a more qualified T to do some harder, trauma-focused work.

That and because most people (a lot of doctors included) don't know:

Psychiatrists - diagnose (general diagnoses and disorders) and medicate
Psychologists - Treat, and finalize what you really have. It can take months until you get to a real PTSD or CPTSD diagnoses as they need to find the specific things that make it PTSD. On the flip side of the coin - they can tell when it is very likely present and usually fairly quickly. My T said it took 10 whole minutes for them to know......

So you see a psychiatrist who will diagnose things like generalized anxiety disorder, etc. and recommend the type of therapy most likely to help you. That was how it went for me......in the dark days of Covid. Did the psychiatrist appointment over the phone and was recommended to in person EMDR.

If it were me? I’d find a trauma-focused therapist to work with, and have a few appointments with them to establish if I felt comfortable working with them, and then consider stopping with the T I already have an established relationship with.

This.....for sure. I have been exceptionally fortunate in finding T's I can work with, but it can take time......

 

[arfie]

hello oceaneyes. welcome to the forum. sorry for what brings you here, but glad you are here.

by my measure, you are already several steps into your treatment. 1) realizing you need help. 2) first contact with a pro network (your current therapist and the psychiatrist). 3) first contact within the peer support network. the first steps are the hardest, so congratulations on having the hardest steps behind you. within my own recovery, when i am ready for the next step, it is typically obvious to me which step to take. rushing the process nets me entirely too many dead ends. it's worth the wait for the next step to become obvious.

i'll add my voice to the choir about shopping for a new therapist being okay while you wait for your established therapist to get back. it takes a village to heal and all the therapists i respect value second opinions highly. monogamy is not a therapy requirement. shop freely. shop often.

 

[SinEater]

Hi, I’m new here and I’m hoping to connect with a community who understands what I’ve been going through because I feel very alone. I received an email from a psychiatrist I saw recently. He said he believes I have Conplex PTSD. I’ve done a fair bit of reading on it and it all fits with my symptoms. I don’t know how to feel or where to start. I guess first things first I need to find a clinical psychologist. I’ve been seeing someone and I feel as if I’m building trust and a relationship with him, but he’s swam for 4 months and is not trained in EMDR. Things are getting bad again and I don’t know if I should find a new therapist or wait until he gets back.
Thanks for reading

Hi, OceanEyes. I’m brand new to the whole support group thing. I wanted to share with you that I also have C-PTSD. I’ve been told by psychiatrists/therapists for years that I had a myriad of other things like BPD, of course. However, the lightbulb went off when I read Dr. Judith Herman’s book, Trauma and Recovery. It is so helpful. If you haven’t read it, please do. She pioneered the movement to accept C-PTSD and is still working to get C-PTSD included in the DSM-V. Her book helped me so much. If you feel you need EMDR and things are bad right now, I‘d find a new therapist, especially if the one you have isn’t trained. I know that sucks, but it would be worse for you not to get the help you need. Hope things are better! Here if you need support. :)

 

[Bobbyrobbydo]

Hi, I’m new here and I’m hoping to connect with a community who understands what I’ve been going through because I feel very alone. I received an email from a psychiatrist I saw recently. He said he believes I have Conplex PTSD. I’ve done a fair bit of reading on it and it all fits with my symptoms. I don’t know how to feel or where to start. I guess first things first I need to find a clinical psychologist. I’ve been seeing someone and I feel as if I’m building trust and a relationship with him, but he’s swam for 4 months and is not trained in EMDR. Things are getting bad again and I don’t know if I should find a new therapist or wait until he gets back.
Thanks for reading

OceanEyes, the very best thing you can do for yourself is begin researching everything you can find on Complex-PTSD, and get to know the foundational information so you can better identify and learn your not by yourself, by a long shot. The more you can learn about trauma and the degrees in which it can affect a person, based on the various stages of growth and development they were in, the more you will understand and be productive in your therapeutic healing. I say this from experience and have come from some very, very dark places in my life. I believe our healing progresses at varying paces because we're all different. I don't expect it's a quick work for anyone but am sure healing time varies. Good luck and remember that you're valuable and you matter, whether believed or not.

 

[Riley Jones]

Hi there and welcome to myptsd.com! I'm glad you found us, and I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling with PTSD/CPTSD symptoms. It's not an easy thing to deal with, and it can feel very isolating when you don't have a support system who understands what you're going through. I want you to know that you are not alone, and there are people here who do understand and who are willing to lend an ear and offer support.

It sounds like you're taking some important steps towards finding the right help for you, which is great. Finding a therapist who is trained in EMDR can be very beneficial for individuals with PTSD/CPTSD, as it's a evidence-based treatment that can help with processing and healing trauma. If you feel like your current therapist is someone you trust and have a good relationship with, it might be worth discussing with him the possibility of working with someone who is trained in EMDR when he comes back. You could also look for a therapist who is trained in EMDR while you wait, and have a conversation with your current therapist about what your plans are.

In the meantime, please feel free to explore our forums and participate in conversations with other community members. You might find it helpful to visit our "Finding a Therapist" forum, where you can get advice and support from others who have been through similar experiences. We also have forums for different topics related to PTSD/CPTSD, such as "Abuse and Bullying" and "Relationships and Coping."

Remember: you are not alone, and there is hope for healing and recovery. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or just need someone to talk to.

 

[Lionheart]

Well, there are many places to start a healing journey. I personally think the most important thing you can do is to start, ...somewhere. I say this because there exists a belief, (that I agree with), that states that once you place your feet on a healing path you will remain on a healing path. I don't know if it is true but I like to believe that it is.

There are many healing modalities. I started with cognitive processing therapy and moved into cognitive-behavior therapy with a trauma specialist who helped me tremendously. That journey to healing began in 1998... so. 25 years ago, for me. and I must tell you that the exposure therapy and peer therapy here at MyPTSD as well as having a private online journal have been very effective. I have been a member here for going on 14 years, and I hope you will stay with us.