Other clients have disclosed during their intake process that they have been diagnosed as having a personality disorder ( Borderline Personality Disorder, especially) or an attachment disorder. In addition to the above disorders, clients in my practice also report they were diagnosed in the past with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Agoraphobia. They may have been diagnosed in the past with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and even Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Rarely will their most distressing symptoms be recognized as Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) secondary to growing up in an unstable, non-nurturing, dangerous, rejecting, or abusive family environment.įor example, many adult survivors of dysfunctional family systems and childhood abuse who enter my psychotherapy practice suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, and anger management issues. With the recognition of complex PTSD (C-PTSD) by the World Health Organization (WHO), healthcare providers around the world are slowly gaining access to critical information about complex/chronic forms of trauma experienced by children and adults, including adult survivors of childhood abuse and neglect.Īdult survivors of child abuse have historically been diagnosed with one or more mental health conditions that ignore the trauma symptoms they are regularly experiencing. Complex PTSD ( which is sometimes interchanged with terms such as complex relational trauma, developmental trauma, and interpersonal trauma ) is a relatively recent concept.

Complex ptsd dsm 5 criteria