ASSISTING CLIENTS

WITH COMPLEX PTSD

Interventions

LaShaun Williams, PsyD

Complex PTSD
Symptom Clusters 1. Re-experiencing
2. Avoidance/Numbing
3. Hyperarousal
~~~
1. Affective dysregulation
PTSD 2. Impaired attention and
consciousness
3. Impairment in interpersonal
Complex PTSD functioning
4. Somatization &/or medical problems
5. Compromised systems of meaning
 Phasic PHASE I
Treatment Stabilizing safety
Psychoeducation
Effects of trauma
Responses as adaptations
Cummulative nature
Treatment process
Develop therapeutic alliance
Reducing symptom acuity
PHASE II
Review and reconstruction of
trauma memories
PHASE III
Engagement in community life
 Phasic
Treatment
SAFTEY: Theme of Phase I
PHASE I
What does safety mean?
~~~~~~~~

Feeling Safe versus Being Safe

Very Unsafe 1-------------------------------------------Very Safe 10
Perceived Safety Actual Safety
Stress
Responses
2 9
Dissociation
9 2
Vermilyea (2000)
 Phasic
Treatment
SAFTEY: Theme of Phase I
PHASE I
Survival Mode
Need to react
No time to think

Recovery Mode
Need to respond
Must Reflect & Consider
 Ongoing process
Psychoeduation Facilitates transparency
Facilitates collaboration
Reinforces differences in
therapeutic relationship
OK to ask Why?
OK to expect explanation
OK to expect thoughtfulness
OK to question the rationale
OK to disagree
Grounding Using the 5 Senses
SIGHT SOUND TOUCH SMELL TASTE
Look Notice Pillow Lotions Tea
around sounds
the room in the Rock Scented Gum
room candles
Look at a (e.g. fan) Frozen Mints
specific orange Essential
object Listen to oils Ginger
soft Pets candy
Notice a music Clean
specific laundry
features Nature
(e.g. sounds
How
many
blue
things?)
 Grounding Orienting Self to Present
I am safe.
Mentally
Today is Monday, May 20th, 2013
Im at my therapists office.

Observation Games
How many windows in this room?
How many brown things are there?
How many circular things?
Whats the distance between me
and the bookshelf?
Whats the length of the table top?
 Orienting to Separating Past and Present
Present SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES
In You Feel scared Adult
Comparisons Feel alone Have help
Could get More able to
disappointed handle it

In the Wish its Pictures on wall

Environment different Lots of people
Cramped around

In the Feel attacked I made the

Situation Feel trapped decision to be
here
Not trapped
In Others Have power over People listen
me Can find out the
Couldnt reason why
disagree
 Containment
Skills
Physical temporarily put experiences
aside, rather than allowing
them to remain unconscious
 Containment
Skills
Using Imagery Removing Yourself from the
Situation

Safe Places
 Containment
Skills
Using Imagery Removing the Distressing
Material
 Containment
Skills
Journaling
Contains experiences
Facilitates Other Treatment
Activities
Grounding
Developing awareness
Exploration
Pros versus Cons
 Containment Level 1: surface, factual
Skills Grounding
Managing time loss
Journaling Increase awareness of day to
day events
Level 2: present thoughts,
feelings, impulses
Therapy assignments
Containment
Self soothing
Level 3: present-focused
writing related to trauma
material
 Cognitive
Restructuring
Systematically identifying and
Challenging
challenging cognitive distortions
Trauma Based and replacing them with more
Distortions positive and accurate thoughts.

Can be simple consideration of

evidence for and against the
ghts thought.

Can be a more involved process

Just because we think it doesnt make it true.

Assessing Thoughts: Accurate?
DATE SITUATION AUTOMATIC EMOTIONS RATIONAL OUTCOME
/TIME THOUGHTS RESPONSE

-At the shelter. There is Bored Actually, there Belief in

No money in nothing to (90%) are plenty of automatic
my pocket. do. things I could do; thoughts
(85%) for example go (10%)
Anxious to a meeting,
-Thinking about (95%)
some people I I cant write in my
journal. Bored
used to hang stand this (30%)
with. boredom. It is not true that
(80%) there is nothing Anxious
-Start craving to do but the
cocaine. (20%)
pain of boredom
makes it hard to
see other things
I could do.

Adapted from Beck, et al (1993)

Assessing Thoughts: Functional?
Helpful Thinking Harmful Thinking
Constructive Destructive
Puts you together Tears you apart & destroys you.
I can learn. I dont know anything.

Necessary Unnecessary
Helps you do what you need to. Does not change anything.
To find out if I am HIV +, I need a What if Im HIV +?
blood test.
Negative
Positive Makes you feel worse.
Makes you feel better. Theres so many things wrong with
I can focus on what is good in my my life, and theres nothing that I
life or what I can do. do about it.
Label Dysfunctional Thinking Patterns
Overgeneralizations She cut me off
when I was talking. No one wants to
listen to what I have to say.
Personalizations Taking responsibility for
negative events, beyond your control. I ruined
the evening because I chose the restaurant
with the bad service.
Dichotomous (All or Nothing) Thinking If I
cant make money like I used to, whats the
point in living.
Label Dysfunctional Thinking Patterns
Mind Reading The counselor doesnt like
me, he ignored my question in group.
Negative Future Telling Thinking that you
can see how things will be in the future and
its bad.
Negative Mental Filter Focusing
solely on the negative and
ignoring the positive.
 Dialectical
Behavior Therapy
(DBT) Skills

Mindfulness

Affect Regulation

Distress Tolerance

Interpersonal Effectiveness
 Identifying and
Managing Triggers
Small things set me off, and
before I know it, Im thinking of
suicide.

When I see someone light up, the

world narrows and all I can feel is
the need to get high.

Najavits (2002)
Dialectical Behavior
Therapy (DBT)
1. Describe the specific TARGET EVENT
Behavior Chain 2. Identify the specific PRECIPITATING
Analysis EVENTS
3. Explain in general the VULNERABILITY
FACTORS influencing the event
4. Describe the CHAIN OF EVENTS leading
to the TARGET EVENT
5. Identify the CONSEQUENCES of the
event
6. Describe in detail alternative
SOLUTIONS
7. Outline in detail PREVENTION
STRATEGIES
8. Identify REPAIR options
 Crisis
Continuum LEVEL OF DISTRESS
1 2 3 4 5
Thoughts

.
Feelings
Behaviors
Sensations

Symptom Management/Coping SKILLS

. 1
Thoughts Feelings Impulses Sensations

. 3
4
5
Between Trigger
and Reaction Between stimulus and response
there is a space. In that space is
our power to choose our
response. In our response lies
our growth and our freedom.

-Victor Frankl (Mans Search for Meaning)

Bibliography
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 THANK YOU

Image from Louisiana Tech University Counseling

LaShaun Annette Williams, PsyD

(202) 361-5992
Drlashaunwilliams.com
info@drlashaunwilliams.com