I just left my talk therapist after several years to try somatic experiencing. Over the years, I’ve had several therapists before learning about trauma-informed therapy, none of whom helped me with C-PTSD, leaving me feeling not heard. Now that I’ve started with a therapist who is trauma-informed, I feel like it’s a very helpful way to deal with childhood trauma and is a good fit.
Thank you so much for sharing this — what a powerful shift you’ve made! It’s never easy to leave a therapist, especially after years together. That feeling of starting over can be overwhelming — but choosing support that truly meets your nervous system is such a brave and healing step.
I’m so glad you’ve found someone who feels like a good fit and understands what Complex PTSD really needs. You deserve to feel heard, supported, and safe in every step of this work. 💫🩷
This is so important. Thank you for taking the time to detail this. I have spent years trying to make a therapist understand or defending my trauma or wondering why I felt too sensitive in therapy. Ive been called “willfull” and “non-compliant“ when I was just seeking safety. And all after I was told that these were “trauma informed and neuroaffirming” therapists. I am learning.
Wow — thank you so much for sharing this. What you described is so common and so rarely talked about. The fact that you were labeled “willful” or “non-compliant” while simply seeking safety is EXACTLY why I wrote this. I’m really sorry you experienced that. You were NOT being difficult — your nervous system was doing its BEST to protect you.❤️
It’s heartbreaking how often survivors have to defend their trauma instead of being supported in it — ESPECIALLY by people who claim to be trauma-informed.
I’m so glad you’re learning to trust yourself now. You deserve support that honors YOUR pace and sees your strength.
I am at the very beginning of my healing journey and this has been very helpful! Starting to feel seen for the first time ever and realizing why I do what I do. Thank you!!
I’m honored that you felt seen by my writing and I just want to say, it’s incredibly brave to even begin this work.
Feeling seen for the first time can be emotional and disorienting, but it’s also such a powerful step forward. 🩷
You’re not alone, and there’s nothing wrong with the way you’ve been coping — your body has been trying to protect you. Again, I’m truly honored to be part of your healing start. 🌸 Keep going — you are doing great! ✨
For me, financially affording a therapist's time would come first.
Abroad, we Canadians are often envied for our supposedly universal healthcare, yet, in a significant way, it comes second to the big-profit interests of industry.
Besides ‘treating’ mental illness, pharmaceutical companies (a.k.a. a largely sedation and ‘happy’-pill industry) greatly profit from the continual and even addictive tranquilization and concealment, via antidepressants and/or tranquilizers, of symptoms of cerebral disorders like ADHD and higher-functioning autistic spectrum disorder, along with the notable anxiety and/or depression that often accompany them — especially when there’s related adverse childhood experience trauma.
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if profit-motivated industry representatives have a say in the composition, including revisions/updates, of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
In Canada at least, it's also a case of relatively few physicians integrating adverse childhood experience or other PTSD science into their diagnoses and treatments of patients. Meantime, the only two health professions’ appointments for which Canadians are fully covered by the public plan are the two readily pharmaceutical-prescribing psychiatry and general-practitioner fields.
[Indeed, over the last 18 years or so, Health Canada has diverted a large portion of its resources from consumers’ health/wellbeing and onto the pharmaceutical industry’s business interests. Health Canada places about four times more of its resources, such as staffing and funding, toward getting new drugs onto the market than it does on consumers’ safety, the latter which includes monitoring and recording adverse effects caused by the drugs.]
Such non-Big-Pharma-profiting health specialists as counsellors, therapists and naturopaths (etcetera) are not covered at all by the public healthcare plan. Psychotherapy, for example, costs $150-$200 an hour, for who-knows-how-many sessions, which likely makes it inaccessible for most Canadians, including me.
Thank you for sharing this so thoughtfully. You’re absolutely right - financial access is a huge barrier, and it’s heartbreaking how often the most trauma-informed care isn’t covered at all.
I hear from so many people (especially in Canada) facing this same struggle - caught in a system that over-prioritizes medication while underfunding the kind of long-term support that actually helps people heal.
I also 100% agree with what you said about the DSM. I’ve often felt that profit-driven industry influence plays a much bigger role than most people realize — especially when it comes to what gets included (or excluded).
And I truly believe that’s one of the main reasons Complex PTSD still isn’t officially recognized. It doesn’t generate profit in the way certain other diagnoses or treatments do, even though the lived experience and research are overwhelmingly clear.
That’s part of why I created this space - to offer trauma-informed education and tools for those who want to heal but can’t afford thousands of dollars in therapy.
You’re definitely not alone in this. ❤️
Can I ask - have you found anything that has felt supportive or helpful on your healing so far?
Great post! One modality that I feel really resonates for folks with C-PTSD is called NARM- Neuro-affective Relational Model. I've felt really tremendous regulation and progress in my work with that. :)
Thank you so much! I love that you brought up NARM — it’s such a powerful modality, especially for Complex PTSD. That focus on present-moment regulation and deep relational healing really meets people where they are. I’m really happy to hear it’s been helpful for you.🙌
We’ll actually be diving into a range of trauma-healing modalities — including NARM, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and more — in just a few weeks as part of our Rewired series. Thank you for being here!💫🩷
Accidentally deleted a message! I’m so sorry- in response that mentioned they felt more seen by my post than by their last two therapists:
Thank you for sharing this- I’m so incredibly happy this post helped you finally feel seen. You absolutely deserve a therapist who makes you feel that way every time you meet with them. ✨
I just left my talk therapist after several years to try somatic experiencing. Over the years, I’ve had several therapists before learning about trauma-informed therapy, none of whom helped me with C-PTSD, leaving me feeling not heard. Now that I’ve started with a therapist who is trauma-informed, I feel like it’s a very helpful way to deal with childhood trauma and is a good fit.
Thank you so much for sharing this — what a powerful shift you’ve made! It’s never easy to leave a therapist, especially after years together. That feeling of starting over can be overwhelming — but choosing support that truly meets your nervous system is such a brave and healing step.
I’m so glad you’ve found someone who feels like a good fit and understands what Complex PTSD really needs. You deserve to feel heard, supported, and safe in every step of this work. 💫🩷
This is so important. Thank you for taking the time to detail this. I have spent years trying to make a therapist understand or defending my trauma or wondering why I felt too sensitive in therapy. Ive been called “willfull” and “non-compliant“ when I was just seeking safety. And all after I was told that these were “trauma informed and neuroaffirming” therapists. I am learning.
Wow — thank you so much for sharing this. What you described is so common and so rarely talked about. The fact that you were labeled “willful” or “non-compliant” while simply seeking safety is EXACTLY why I wrote this. I’m really sorry you experienced that. You were NOT being difficult — your nervous system was doing its BEST to protect you.❤️
It’s heartbreaking how often survivors have to defend their trauma instead of being supported in it — ESPECIALLY by people who claim to be trauma-informed.
I’m so glad you’re learning to trust yourself now. You deserve support that honors YOUR pace and sees your strength.
I’m honored you’re here!🩷
I am at the very beginning of my healing journey and this has been very helpful! Starting to feel seen for the first time ever and realizing why I do what I do. Thank you!!
I’m honored that you felt seen by my writing and I just want to say, it’s incredibly brave to even begin this work.
Feeling seen for the first time can be emotional and disorienting, but it’s also such a powerful step forward. 🩷
You’re not alone, and there’s nothing wrong with the way you’ve been coping — your body has been trying to protect you. Again, I’m truly honored to be part of your healing start. 🌸 Keep going — you are doing great! ✨
For me, financially affording a therapist's time would come first.
Abroad, we Canadians are often envied for our supposedly universal healthcare, yet, in a significant way, it comes second to the big-profit interests of industry.
Besides ‘treating’ mental illness, pharmaceutical companies (a.k.a. a largely sedation and ‘happy’-pill industry) greatly profit from the continual and even addictive tranquilization and concealment, via antidepressants and/or tranquilizers, of symptoms of cerebral disorders like ADHD and higher-functioning autistic spectrum disorder, along with the notable anxiety and/or depression that often accompany them — especially when there’s related adverse childhood experience trauma.
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if profit-motivated industry representatives have a say in the composition, including revisions/updates, of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
In Canada at least, it's also a case of relatively few physicians integrating adverse childhood experience or other PTSD science into their diagnoses and treatments of patients. Meantime, the only two health professions’ appointments for which Canadians are fully covered by the public plan are the two readily pharmaceutical-prescribing psychiatry and general-practitioner fields.
[Indeed, over the last 18 years or so, Health Canada has diverted a large portion of its resources from consumers’ health/wellbeing and onto the pharmaceutical industry’s business interests. Health Canada places about four times more of its resources, such as staffing and funding, toward getting new drugs onto the market than it does on consumers’ safety, the latter which includes monitoring and recording adverse effects caused by the drugs.]
Such non-Big-Pharma-profiting health specialists as counsellors, therapists and naturopaths (etcetera) are not covered at all by the public healthcare plan. Psychotherapy, for example, costs $150-$200 an hour, for who-knows-how-many sessions, which likely makes it inaccessible for most Canadians, including me.
Thank you for sharing this so thoughtfully. You’re absolutely right - financial access is a huge barrier, and it’s heartbreaking how often the most trauma-informed care isn’t covered at all.
I hear from so many people (especially in Canada) facing this same struggle - caught in a system that over-prioritizes medication while underfunding the kind of long-term support that actually helps people heal.
I also 100% agree with what you said about the DSM. I’ve often felt that profit-driven industry influence plays a much bigger role than most people realize — especially when it comes to what gets included (or excluded).
And I truly believe that’s one of the main reasons Complex PTSD still isn’t officially recognized. It doesn’t generate profit in the way certain other diagnoses or treatments do, even though the lived experience and research are overwhelmingly clear.
That’s part of why I created this space - to offer trauma-informed education and tools for those who want to heal but can’t afford thousands of dollars in therapy.
You’re definitely not alone in this. ❤️
Can I ask - have you found anything that has felt supportive or helpful on your healing so far?
Great post! One modality that I feel really resonates for folks with C-PTSD is called NARM- Neuro-affective Relational Model. I've felt really tremendous regulation and progress in my work with that. :)
Thank you so much! I love that you brought up NARM — it’s such a powerful modality, especially for Complex PTSD. That focus on present-moment regulation and deep relational healing really meets people where they are. I’m really happy to hear it’s been helpful for you.🙌
We’ll actually be diving into a range of trauma-healing modalities — including NARM, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and more — in just a few weeks as part of our Rewired series. Thank you for being here!💫🩷
Accidentally deleted a message! I’m so sorry- in response that mentioned they felt more seen by my post than by their last two therapists:
Thank you for sharing this- I’m so incredibly happy this post helped you finally feel seen. You absolutely deserve a therapist who makes you feel that way every time you meet with them. ✨
I’m honored you’re here!
Great piece. Thank you.