What Is the Difference Between PTSD and CPTSD?

Trauma is a serious condition that can impact various aspects of life. The correct treatment is needed to ensure optimal wellness, and that involves knowing what type of trauma you are dealing with.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) are two common types. They are often confused, but there are differences. The main difference is that PTSD is typically linked to one traumatic event or a series of events, while CPTSD is linked to long, inescapable repeated trauma.

Let’s look at how of these are considered in treatment approaches.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder vs. Complex PTSD

As mentioned, PTSD is typically linked to one traumatic event, such as:

• A serious car accident
• A natural disaster
• A single assault or attack
• A combat incident

Complex trauma is often tied to events that started in childhood and continued over months or years. Examples include:

• Childhood sexual abuse
• Domestic violence and physical abuse
• Captivity, trafficking, prostitution
• Long-term emotional and psychological abuse

CPTSD and PTSD Symptoms

While the cause of both PTSD conditions differs, the core symptoms are the same and include the following:

• Intrusive memories that can manifest as flashbacks and nightmares
• Avoidance of people, places, activities, and conversations that remind the individual of the traumatic event
• Negative changes in thoughts and mood, such as guilt, shame, negative beliefs, feelings of detachment, and loss of interest
• Arousal and reactivity, including hypervigilance, irritability, and anger outbursts, and difficulties sleeping and concentrating

Additional Symptoms of CPTSD

While basic symptoms con look the same, individuals with CPTSD may have additional symptoms that requiere extra care. Here are some examples:

• Difficulty with Emotional Regulation: Emotions may shift rapidly, ranging from emptiness and numbness to hard-to-control anger to risky behavior.
• Self Concept: An individual with CPTSD often has low self-esteem, experiencing frequent feelings of guilt, shame, worthlessness, and being ‘broken’ or ‘beyond help’. They may see themselves as fundamentally different from other people.
• Relationships: The person may have difficulties trusting others, repeatedly ending up in abusive relationships, be unable to connect on a deeper level, and have a strong fear of abandonment or rejection.

How They Feel Different in Everyday Life

Posttraumatic stress disorder and CPTSD also vary in how they play out in everyday life, as follows:

PTSD

There’s a clear ‘before and after’. The individual will look at life, comparing how it was before and after the big event. They have specific triggers tied to that event.

CPTSD

With complex post-traumatic stress, trauma feels woven into your entire life, especially your early life. It defines you. Long-term patterns of emotional instability, toxic and unstable relationships, shame, and self-blame may feel normal to the point that you don’t even consider your experiences es traumatic.

Official Diagnosis Status

Both mental Disorders are diagnosed differently, as follows:

PTSD

Fully recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical (DSM-5) under the category Trauma and Stressor Related Disorder, with a clear list of symptoms, how long they last, and how they affect daily life. Also recognized by the International Classification System of Diseases (11th Revision) (ICD-11) published by the World Health Organization (WHO) described in simpler but similar terms.

CPTSD

Recognized by the ICD-11 with all the symptoms of PTSD but with ongoing disturbances, clearly distinguishing between PTSD and CPTSD. However, it is not listed  as a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5. Rather, it may be diagnosed as PTSD alongside borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, dissociative disorder, or anxiety disorder.

Treatment Approaches

PTSD and CPTSD also differ in their treatment approach.

PTSD

Trauma processing for this condition typically focuses on one or a few traumatic events to address symptoms. Techniques used may include:

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This approach causes you to identify negative thought processes connected to trauma and see them in a more controlled way, reducing fear and avoidance and improving everyday functioning.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR): The patient thinks about traumatic events while engaging in bilateral stimulation. This helps them put their event in the past, so it doesn’t affect the present.
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE): Involves detailed retelling of the traumatic event and exposure to safe but previously avoided memories, so the individual no longer views the event as traumatic.
• Cognitive Processing Therapy: Focuses on how you ‘make sense’ of the trauma through journaling, art, and worksheets.

CPTSD

This therapy is typically longer-term and focuses more on safety, emotions, relationships, and identity rather than on a specific event. Instead of a specific approach, therapy goes through stages, as follows:

• Stage 1: Stabilization and Safety: This stage focuses on helping the individual feel grounded so they are less affected by traumatic events. There is a focus on emotional regulation, grounding skills, crisis and self-harm management, and building safe relationships. Therapies often include dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), somatic or sensorimotor therapies, ego and state work, and family therapy.
• Stage 2: Trauma Processing: Once there is enough stability, therapy continues to reduce the power of intrusive memories. It requires gently revisiting traumatic events in a controlled environment, monitoring stress, disassociation, and safety. Therapies may include CBT, EMDR, and narrative and integrated approaches.
• Stage 3: Integration and Reconnection: After memories lose their effect, trauma-focused therapy shifts to help the person build the life they want with meaningful relationships and the ability to pursue healthy goals. The focus is on identity and self-worth, affective and interpersonal regulation, and future-oriented work. Integrated techniques include ego state work, somatic therapies, schema therapy, relational therapy, and psychodynamic work.

BNI Treatment Centers Can Help You Reach Your Recovery Goals

At BNI Treatment Centers, we understand that no two disorders are aliked. We consider the symptoms related to the condition we are addressing and how they affect the individual. This customized approach is proven to support long-term recovery.

We specialized in teen mental health conditions, ensuring we relate to their specific needs. Whether treating chronic trauma or another disorder, we meet them where they are with a high level of relatability. Our Academic support means they won’t fall behind on their schoolwork.

Contact us to learn more about how we help young adults move on to a brighter future.