Trauma & Complex PTSD

When the past continues to affect the present.

Trauma can affect how you feel, how you see yourself and how safe you feel with other people. Sometimes its impact is clear; at other times, you may have spent years coping, carrying on or putting others first without fully recognising how much you've been affected.

You might feel constantly on alert, become overwhelmed by emotions, struggle to trust others or feel disconnected from yourself.

When difficult experiences happen repeatedly, particularly during childhood or within important relationships, their effects can continue long after the experiences themselves have ended.

Counselling offers a supportive space to begin understanding these experiences and finding a way forward, at a pace that feels manageable for you.

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Counselling in Potton, Bedfordshire & online

Perhaps some of this feels familiar

Trauma affects everyone differently. You may recognise some of these experiences, or your own difficulties may feel quite different.

Feeling constantly on alert or finding it difficult to relax.
Becoming overwhelmed by emotions, or feeling numb or shut down.
Finding it difficult to trust others or feel safe in relationships.
Worrying about upsetting people, struggling to say no or putting others' needs first.

Experiencing shame, self-doubt or a feeling that you're somehow not good enough.
Feeling disconnected from yourself, your emotions or your body.
Being affected by difficult memories or physical reactions that seem to come out of nowhere.
Finding yourself repeating relationship patterns you don't fully understand.

Understanding trauma

When difficult experiences leave a lasting impact

Trauma doesn't always come from one particular event. Sometimes it develops through repeated experiences, especially when there has been little opportunity to feel safe, supported or understood.

You may have grown up around criticism, conflict, emotional unpredictability or neglect, or experienced controlling relationships or other overwhelming events later in life.

We often develop ways of coping that help us get through difficult circumstances. Staying alert to other people's moods, keeping the peace, hiding our feelings or putting our own needs aside may once have helped us feel safer.

But these patterns can continue long after circumstances have changed, leaving us feeling anxious, exhausted, disconnected or unsure of ourselves.

The important message: These responses often developed for a reason. Counselling can help you understand them with compassion, rather than blaming yourself for the ways you've learned to cope.

Relationships & Your Sense of Self

How trauma can affect the way you relate to yourself and others

Difficult experiences can shape how you see yourself and how safe you feel in relationships.

You might worry about upsetting others, find it difficult to express your needs or feel responsible for other people's emotions. You may long for closeness while also finding it hard to trust or fully relax with someone.

You may also question your own feelings, doubt your judgement or carry a deep sense of shame or not being good enough.

Counselling offers space to explore these patterns, understand where they may have come from and gradually develop a stronger sense of your needs, boundaries and self-worth.

Working Together with Trauma

A gentle, trauma-informed approach

My approach to trauma counselling is guided by safety, trust, choice and respect for your pace.

I hold a CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Somatic Trauma Therapy, which included learning about single-event trauma, developmental and transgenerational trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD.

My training brings together psychodynamic trauma theory and somatic psychology. This means we can explore not only your thoughts, emotions and relationships, but also how difficult experiences may continue to affect your body.

Where helpful, our work may include grounding, breathwork and gently noticing bodily responses such as tension, feeling constantly on alert or becoming overwhelmed or disconnected.

We can also explore how earlier experiences and relationships may have shaped your sense of self, boundaries and relationships today.

You won't be expected to revisit difficult memories or talk about anything before you feel ready. We work together to find an approach that feels appropriate and manageable for you.

You don't have to make sense of everything on your own

If experiences from the past are still affecting how you feel, your relationships or the way you see yourself, counselling may help you begin to understand what you're experiencing.

You don't need to know whether what happened was “traumatic enough”, have a diagnosis or know where to begin.

We can start with what's happening for you now and take things one step at a time.