c-PTSD & Neurodivergence

HONOURING THE LAYERS

What is cPTSD?

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) is a response to prolonged and repeated relational trauma, usually in childhood. Some types of relational trauma include chronic invalidation, emotional neglect, shaming, criticism, control and isolation. Unlike PTSD which can result from a single traumatic event, cPTSD is often subtle, layered and pervasive. This can result in developmental issues such as low self-worth, trust, identity and emotional regulation.

What is neurodivergence?

Neurodivergence refers to natural variations in how brains function, process information, perceive external stimuli and experience the world in ways that are different to neurotypical brains. Examples of neurodivergence include autism, ADHD and auDHD and dyslexia among others. A non-pathologising view does not see neurodivergence as disordered or something to be fixed, just simply different, natural and diverse.

Why the overlap?

The exact prevalence of cPTSD and neurodivergence together is still emerging, but the overlap being shown is clinically significant. Neurodivergent people often live in environments that don’t accommodate their needs which can lead to being chronically misunderstood, invalidated and isolated, all key ingredients for cPTSD.

Emotional dysregulation, executive dysfunction and sensory overload can mimic or mask trauma symptoms or vice versa. Also, in the past, autism and ADHD were often underdiagnosed, especially in females, leading to lack of support and further traumatisation of being shamed or criticised for being different instead of being supported.

Misdiagnosis

Many neurodivergent people are misdiagnosed with anxiety, depression or borderline personality disorder, when the root cause is actually cPTSD. This adds yet another layer to the already existing trauma as traditional treatments incorrectly pathologised people as being broken, unfixable or chemically imbalanced, placing misdirected blame on the individual, instead of considering their environments and trauma history.

Untangling the layers

Complex PTSD and neurodivergence often coexist, as a neurodivergent-affirming and trauma-informed counsellor specialising in attachment, I start by gently untangling the layers, mapping out your attachment system, understanding your protective strategies and behavioural patterns shaped by complex trauma or neurodivergence. Together, we can bring awareness to your internal system, laying the foundations of healing.

Deeper healing

Once the groundwork has been laid, further processing and integration is often the next step, particularly when working with parts of the self that hold intense trauma, dissociation, attachment ruptures or somatic imprinting. For deeper healing, it is beneficial to engage in specialised modalities such as EMDR (trauma reprocessing) IFS Level 1 therapy (unburdening exiles) or Hakomi (somatic mindfulness psychotherapy) as such I can provide recommendations or referrals to specialised providers as required.

Ready to start your journey? Neurodivergent-affirming counselling sessions are available to be booked online below.

*Please note I do not offer diagnosis or testing