Mere moments of trauma can change a person’s psychological well-being for life, and complex trauma has an even greater, more tangled impact. The clinical psychology field is working toward a better understanding of complex trauma and more effective ways to treat it. One of the most cutting-edge techniques, called NARM, could be a life-changer.
What Is Complex Trauma and CPTSD?
You probably know that trauma refers to extreme or painful events that affect your mindset or your psychological well-being. Complex trauma is a term that refers to traumatic events that happened when you were a child, or often multiple, repeated traumatic events in childhood. People who have experienced complex trauma may be diagnosed with CPTSD, or complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
Trauma experienced in childhood or adolescence is more complicated because your brain is still developing at that age. Going through trauma in your developmental years can impact the patterns and reactions your brain develops and affect your mental health throughout life. Because of this, complex trauma needs to be treated differently than trauma you experienced as an adult.
What Are the Symptoms of CPTSD?
Each person’s mind can react to complex trauma differently, so everyone will be unique. However, common symptoms of CPTSD include:
- Anger or lack of trust in the world
- Difficulty controlling your emotions
- Feeling as if your mind works differently from others
- Difficulty forming friendships and other relationships or avoidance of relationships
- Physical symptoms of stress and anxiety-like headaches, chest tightness, and stomach aches
Feelings of emptiness or hopelessness
What Is NARM?
NARM stands for “NeuroAffective Relational Model.” This treatment model is specifically designed to treat people with complex trauma – especially attachment, relational, and developmental trauma. NARM is a treatment approach that merges mindfulness and mind-body techniques with traditional psychotherapy.
How Does NARM Work?
NARM is a multi-faceted treatment approach because complex trauma affects your psyche in several ways. While using NARM, your therapist will help you to:
- Recognize and connect with the aspects of your psychology that are healthy and functional
- Explore your psychology to identify how your complex trauma has affected you, such as your ability to form emotional attachments, your ability to trust, and so on
- Directly improve those parts of your psychology that were impacted by your trauma
- Develop the ability to better regulate your body’s reactions to triggers so you can reduce and control your CPTSD symptoms
Another hallmark of NARM is that you do all of this work while focusing on the present time. NARM doesn’t take you through reliving and unpacking every detail of your trauma. It helps you deal with your mental health today and improve it for tomorrow.
Could NARM Potentially Help You?
NARM is designed to treat patients with CPTSD and complex trauma. In fact, NARM is one of the first treatment models developed specifically for complex trauma. It is particularly beneficial for patients with childhood trauma and developmental trauma.
If you have been diagnosed with CPTSD or complex trauma, or if you believe you may suffer from complex trauma, we’re here to help you understand and empower your mental health. Schedule an appointment today with our exceptional providers who specialize in complex trauma.