Effective Treatment of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Early Attachment Trauma

Research on and disagreements regarding the appropriate treatments for various types of traumas have existed throughout the history of psychotherapy. While approaches have differed over the years, current research suggests that prolonged exposure therapy, long considered the most efficacious treatment for single incident trauma, may be at best ineffectual for treating the condition known as Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and at worst possibly even deleterious. This project examines the recent literature on Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Early Attachment Trauma. The project then examines literature that suggests a more effective phase-oriented approach for treatment of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and finally offers an original group curriculum that can be used to work with parents and survivors of Complex PTSD when the underlying issue is early attachment trauma.