Trauma-Informed Blog
Content relevant to survivors, mental health professionals, partners, and anyone interested in reading about CPTSD and mental health.
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New posts 4-5 times per week
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Survivor stories, research articles, poetry, and more
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Everyday survivors, clinicians, coaches, and mental health professionals
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Remember...
CPTSD Foundation is not crisis care. If you ever feel you are in crisis please reach out to an online or local crisis resource, or contact your mental health or medical provider. CPTSD Foundation provides a tertiary means of support; adjunctive care. Our industry-leading ancillary products and services are intended to supplement individual therapy. Nothing on this website or any associated CPTSD Foundation websites, is a replacement for or supersedes the direction of your medical or mental health provider, nor is anything on this or any associated CPTSD Foundation website a diagnosis, treatment plan, advice, or care for any medical or mental health illness, condition, or disease.
CPTSD Must Be Better Addressed in DSM To Help Autistic People and Others
The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) should better address Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), a serious mental health condition that is...
What I’ve Learned About Trauma Survivors in My Quest to Demystify CPTSD
After more than a decade of searching for answers within the traditional medical model, I found myself with more questions than when I started. Eventually, I realized that understanding Complex...
The Courage to Awaken
Waking up from toxic systems and the side effects they create demands courage. Upon reflection, you’ll spot the misaligned messages—ideas that never fit, gnawing at your gut yet somehow seduce...
The Hidden Signs of Unresolved Trauma in Everyday Life
Many trauma survivors are unaware that their everyday habits—such as over-apologizing, struggling with decision-making, or maintaining hyper-awareness of others' moods—may be linked to past experiences rather than personality traits. Research in behavioral psychology suggests that these patterns are often adaptive responses shaped by past environments. From chronic procrastination to an unconscious attraction to chaotic relationships, unresolved trauma can influence a person’s choices in ways they may not recognize. Understanding these subtleties is key to recognizing how past experiences continue to shape the present.
Coming into the Body (Part 2 of 2)
Part 2 of 2 (Part 1: https://cptsdfoundation.org/2025/03/20/coming-into-the-body-part-1-of-2/) Eugene Gendlin’s Felt Sense Process The practice of mindful felt sense is important for helping you...
Five Recommended Reads on Complex Trauma
Certain books have become required reading for every trauma-informed mental health clinician and survivor of complex trauma. Dr. Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ The...
The Red Flags of Child Sexual Abuse What We Missed and What I Wish We Had Known
***TRIGGER WARNING: This article discusses sexual trauma and abuse to children and could be triggering*** Afraid To Go To SchoolAt the beginning of third grade, our usually happy and confident...
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Benefit the Worker, the Workplace, and the World
Our workplaces have the power to be spaces where people thrive—not just professionally but as a whole, complex human beings. Yet, for so many, work is where trauma shows up the loudest. Not...
Coming into the Body (Part 1 of 2)
Trauma is an octopus. L'dor vador. These Hebrew words, one of the most fundamental tenets of Judaism, translate to “Generation to generation”. —You cannot rush the healing process— “I wanted my...
How Does Therapy Work? Back to Basics
People tend to reach out for therapy when they are struggling – often after feeling like they have exhausted all other resources to feel better. The coping mechanisms that once ‘worked’ to manage life and make them feel better, or even just feel less badly, have stopped working. In these trying and scary times, more is needed – feeling like there is nowhere else to turn. Therapy may feel like a last resort.
Building Resilience: The Key to Unlocking Career Success for Trauma Survivors
Introduction Resilience is a crucial skill for everyone navigating the challenges of the professional world, but it is especially vital for trauma survivors. As someone who has experienced...
Designer Identity
Designer IdentityBy Jesse B. Donahue 2024 ©Designer identity… you either love me or you don’t. I either love myself or I don’t. I could not love myself for being something or someone I am not. It...
What is Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
“Complex PTSD comes in response to chronic traumatization over the course of months or, more often, years. This can include emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuses, domestic violence, living in a war zone, being held captive, human trafficking, and other organized rings of abuse, and more. While there are exceptional circumstances where adults develop C-PTSD, it is most often seen in those whose trauma occurred in childhood”.
