Fact sheets

Complex trauma can affect many aspects of our daily lives. This includes how we feel; how we think; how we respond; how we relate to ourselves and to one another, and how safe we feel.

When you experience trauma, you are often in fear, confused, and feeling helpless and trapped in the moment. Many people with trauma experiences cope well and quickly become calm again.

Many people who have experienced abuse, neglect, or repeated trauma can feel intense emotional pain and distress at times. If this is happening for you or someone you know, support is available and you don’t have to manage it alone.

Many survivors find relationships challenging. Trauma, violence and abuse can damage relationships within families of origin or other domestic arrangements. Some survivors are estranged from their families for this reason.

It can be very hard to choose a counsellor or therapist who is right for you. It can be especially challenging if you have been abused or traumatised.

Survivors see all sorts of practitioners for counselling. Some work privately and others work in agencies or organisations. There are lot of different approaches to healing that survivors find helpful.

It is your decision to lay charges if you are the victim. It is important to know that once that decision is made, all further decisions about the case will be in other hands.

Complex trauma describes repeated or ongoing experiences of abuse, violence or neglect, and the effects these experiences can have. The experiences can occur at any age, or across different ages.

It is behaviour which is not accidental and which is not considered ‘normal’ (outside of norms of conduct). It can be caused by parents, caregivers, other adults or older adolescents.

Trauma in early childhood can be especially harmful. Early childhood trauma generally means trauma between birth and the age of six.

The coping strategies survivors adopt as a child or young person are often used into adulthood. They help manage the strong feelings which are common with trauma. While coping strategies are often protective at first, they can become less helpful over time.

People who have experienced complex trauma, including from childhood, can live full and constructive lives. Some people who experience complex trauma live fulfilling lives from the time of the trauma, while others face different barriers.