What You Need to Know About Relational Trauma
What is relational trauma?
Relational trauma, also referred to as interpersonal trauma, is the result of harm caused by chronic, repetitive, or enduring dysfunction within close trusting relationships, often ones with power imbalances and dependency by victim toward abuser.
Is relational trauma the same as PTSD?
Complex relational trauma is not an official medical diagnosis. Rather, it is a type of trauma with a particular set of symptoms similar to the diagnosis PTSD—sometimes called relational PTSD—or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Sometimes relational trauma can overlap with CPTSD or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a modifier of PTSD, because of the repeated, ongoing nature of interpersonal trauma that happens in the context of attachment relationships of unequal power.
What are the causes of relational trauma?
Unlike traumatic accidents caused by a singular isolated event that can lead to a PTSD diagnosis, relational trauma involves ongoing abuse, neglect, inconsistency or enmeshment within attachment relationships leading to challenges with trust, self-worth and emotional regulation.
Some common causes of relational trauma include abuse, neglect, inconsistent parenting, growing up in a chaotic household, or an abusive intimate relationship.
Some examples of relational trauma experiences
Caregivers or guardians that are chaotic, unstable, unsafe, inconsistent, unpredictable, and overwhelming;
Domestic violence
Codependent relationships
Sibling abuse
Neglectful, apathetic, or emotionally unavailable caretakers
Caregivers or partners with mental illness, personality disorders such as narcissism and borderline, or addiction
How do I know if I have relationship trauma?
If you’ve had any of the experiences listed above, or struggle with some of the challenges mentioned, you may have an interpersonal trauma. While there's no single relational trauma test, the signs below can help you recognize if your experiences have impacted you:
difficulties with self-esteem
social or generalized anxiety
problems with setting or maintaining boundaries
codependency, dependency or neediness in relationships
avoidant behavior
dissociation, developmental delays and cognitive difficulties
How does relational trauma impact my current relationships?
Trauma in a relationship doesn't just affect that relationship—it shapes how we show up in future ones. The unconscious drive to choose adult relationships that are reminiscent of familiar, but often painful, childhood relationships was first identified by Freud as a “repetition compulsion.” Repeating the same patterns with a different people instill false hope of a different outcome, one that will help sooth or overcome the initial injury fulfilling previously unmet needs.
How do you heal relational trauma?
Healing from relational trauma is possible and usually involves therapy. Some good modalities are mindfulness, somatic, narrative and interpersonal therapeutic approaches. Therapy helps with regulating emotions, rebuilding trust, establishing boundaries and make meaning, but can take some time because building trsut can take time if there is interpersonal trauma. Journaling, breathwork and therapeutic supportive groups can also be effective parts of holistic treatment plans.
Get in touch today for a complimentary consultation on how to heal your relationship trauma.
Because at The Consultation Room we believe that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our relationships.
Learn more about trauma therapy here.
Sources
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735817301460
Cloitre M. (2020). ICD-11 complex post-traumatic stress disorder: Simplifying diagnosis in trauma populations.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/icd11-complex-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-simplifying-diagnosis-in-trauma-populations/E53B8CD7CF9B725FE651720EE58E93A4
Cloitre M, Hyland P, Bisson JI, Brewin CR, Roberts NP, Karatzias T, Shevlin M. ICD-11 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the United States: A Population-Based Study. J Trauma Stress. 2019 Dec;32(6):833-842. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22454Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Epub 2019 Dec 4. PMID: 31800131.
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https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/complex_ptsd.asp
Draczyńska D. Relational trauma. Psychiatr Pol. 2024 Jun 30;58(3):529-539. English, Polish. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12740/PP/OnlineFirst/156722. Epub 2024 Jun 30. PMID: 37535850.
World Health Organization. (2021). 6B41 complex post traumatic stress disorder. International classification of diseases for mortality and morbidity statistics (11th revision).
https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/585833559