Complex Trauma: Approaches to Theory and Treatment

In this article on complex trauma, the author looks at how biology, attachment, and belatedness form a core of symptoms and fragmentation in individuals who are victims. The source of the victimization is not limited to family violence and neglect. Wars, accidents, and disease fall into the enlarged view of “polytrauma,” and the emotional and physical manifestations share commonalities. The naming and connection to a new story, the healing within the context of the therapeutic relationship, and the nature of implicit memory are all examined as important to the victim's recovery and re-creation of self and soul.