Understanding Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is a severe and multifaceted mental health condition that can arise from prolonged exposure to traumatic experiences. Unlike traditional PTSD, individuals with C-PTSD often exhibit an intricate set of symptoms, encompassing those of PTSD alongside additional, enduring psychological effects.
Difference Between C-PTSD and PTSD
Before the split in definitions of C-PTSD and PTSD, mental health professionals defined PTSD as the result of short-term trauma. Short-term trauma often means a singular or a group of singular events, for example, a natural disaster, childhood abuse, or sexual assault. As they studied PTSD, they realized that those who experience prolonged, repeated trauma have the symptoms of PTSD as well as additional symptoms.
While both C-PTSD and PTSD have symptoms linked with behavioral and psychological stress responses, what makes them different is the length of time since the traumatic event occurred and the types of trauma symptoms. Those with C-PTSD have wide-ranging and chronic symptoms related to complex trauma.
Your brain’s structure and chemistry change when it experiences traumatic stress. Studies discovered trauma is linked with permanent changes in specific areas of your brain. These areas include:
While both C-PTSD and PTSD have symptoms linked with behavioral and psychological stress responses, what makes them different is the length of time since the traumatic event occurred and the types of trauma symptoms. Those with C-PTSD have wide-ranging and chronic symptoms related to complex trauma.
Your brain’s structure and chemistry change when it experiences traumatic stress. Studies discovered trauma is linked with permanent changes in specific areas of your brain. These areas include:
- Amygdala: Processes fear and other emotions
- Hippocampus: Responsible for memory and learning
- Prefrontal cortex: Responsible for decision-making, planning, expressing your personality, and regulating your social behavior
Additionally, some neuroimaging studies show that brain changes are more severe in those with a diagnosis of PTSD than in those diagnosed with C-PTSD.
Symptoms of C-PTSD
People with C-PTSD can experience symptoms similar to PTSD. These symptoms are different from PTSD because they have an inescapable impact on:
- Relationships
- Controlling emotions and behaviors
- Self-perception
The symptoms of complex PTSD that are similar to PTSD include:
- Re-experiencing traumatic experiences with flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event
- Staying away from people, places, or situations that remind you of the traumatic event
- Difficulty with sleeping
- Experiencing hyperarousal often with feelings of anger or irritability
- Relationships are challenging and complicated to maintain
- Negative thoughts about yourself, others, your community, or the world
Other, more complex symptoms of C-PTSD include, but aren’t limited to:
- Difficulty with emotion regulation or dysregulation: Having intense emotional responses to situations, people, or events that you can’t control
- Negative self-perception: Experiencing feelings of worthlessness, shame, or guilt
- Dissociation: Feeling disconnected from reality, feelings, thoughts, emotions, traumatic memories, and self-identity
- Physical symptoms: Pain, such as headaches or stomachaches
- Relationship issues: You may avoid being in a relationship or be involved in an abusive relationship
- Dangerous thoughts: Self-harm or thoughts of suicide
- Hypervigilance: Extreme attention to the potential for danger
- Excessive anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating
- Extreme fatigue
How Symptoms of C-PTSD Impact Daily Life
The symptoms of C-PTSD can disrupt your daily life because of their broad range of effects on your emotions, cognition, and relationships. The inability to regulate your emotions and the increased risk of mood swings make social and intimate relationships difficult.
Getting Started Is Easy
Step 1: Contact Our Admissions Team
Contact our admissions team to speak with an Intake Coordinator.
Step 2: Verify Insurance
When you talk with one of our admission team members, you will answer a few questions while they verify your insurance.
Step 3: Schedule Admission
Once your insurance is approved, we will determine how to best accommodate your needs.
How Our Program Differs
We know you’re different from anyone else, so we offer acute mental health care that meets your unique needs. With Ocean View, you’ll experience stabilization-focused care that provides structure and support without stigma. With your input, we build partnerships with medical and behavioral health services so you can transition from us to your daily life. We do this through providing comprehensive mental health services that are accessible to everyone.
- On-site Team of Psychiatrists: Our on-site psychiatrists provide medication stabilization, monitoring, and management. Your well-being is vital throughout your stay in our inpatient mental health crisis facility and our outpatient services.
- Case Management & Aftercare Support: Case management begins when you’re admitted to either our inpatient or outpatient program. Our case managers and social workers ensure you have a safe place to go, whether that’s housing or a facility, once you leave us.
- Transportation Coordination Provided: We offer transportation services coordinated with a trusted provider that takes you to and from inpatient intake, discharge destinations, as well as transportation to/from our onsite outpatient programs. *Transportation is provided to patients within a 50-mile radius
- Stabilization for Managing Psychiatric Symptoms: Ocean View provides 24/7 inpatient psychiatric care. We also have outpatient treatment programs.
- Patient Resource Network: Transitioning from inpatient or outpatient treatment can be overwhelming. That’s why we have an opt-in patient follow-up option. You don’t have to be alone in managing your symptoms.
How Our Levels of Care at Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility Help Treat Symptoms of C-PTSD
The severity of your mental health problems will determine the level of psychiatric crisis stabilization intervention you need. Once you have completed a comprehensive evaluation of your medical, psychological, and family history, Ocean View’s mental health professionals will admit you to either our acute mental health care unit, partial hospitalization program (PHP), or intensive outpatient program (IOP). Each level offers personalized care tailored to your specific needs.
Inpatient Psychiatric Care
Individuals presenting with psychiatric symptoms can be admitted to Ocean View’s inpatient unit. Because mental health challenges present in a variety of ways, some of the criteria for admission include:
- Insomnia, racing thoughts, impulsivity, rapid or pressured speech
- Abnormal bouts of euphoric energy
- Reckless behavior or making decisions that affect an individual’s safety or well-being
- Inability to provide shelter, food, and safety as a result of mental impairment
- Helplessness, hopelessness
- Suicidal or homicidal ideations
- Psychosis
- Self-harming behaviors
Once you’re admitted, your team will develop a treatment plan that includes aftercare planning. Your treatment plan will be evaluated daily to reflect clinical improvement and make adjustments as needed.
Personalized Care
Ocean View’s inpatient program provides personalized, empathetic, comprehensive care. Our care team provides:
- Licensed Psychiatric Care
- 24/7 Nursing and Monitoring
- 6 Daily Group Sessions
- Psychoeducational Groups
- Therapeutic Recreation
- Coping Skills Development
- Patients are placed in groups based on the severity of their symptoms
Medication Stabilization
Antipsychotic drugs are the preferred medications for acute psychosis. These are proven to be more effective in treating positive psychosis symptoms and less effective for negative psychosis symptoms. The most common antipsychotics are atypical antipsychotics (second generation) and typical antipsychotics (first generation) medications, reviewed and prescribed based on your medical history, experience with antipsychotics, and the side effects. If you are experiencing agitation, a health professional may give you an antipsychotic with sedation properties.
Adverse effects can determine the type of antipsychotic medication you will receive. Some medical conditions, for example, dementia, prevent a patient from being prescribed an antipsychotic.
An essential component of our inpatient crisis stabilization is monitoring and adjusting your medication if necessary.
Adverse effects can determine the type of antipsychotic medication you will receive. Some medical conditions, for example, dementia, prevent a patient from being prescribed an antipsychotic.
An essential component of our inpatient crisis stabilization is monitoring and adjusting your medication if necessary.
Outpatient Levels of Care
Ocean View’s outpatient levels of care consider the severity of your symptoms. Once your symptoms are evaluated, you will be admitted to either our partial hospitalization program (PHP) or intensive outpatient program (IOP). Both levels of care provide a safe, structured care that supports your symptom management.
Partial Hospitalization Program
Our PHP is a more structured level of care than our IOP. While here, you will engage in care that increases your coping skills and independence. The structured care includes:
- Four group sessions a day that meet five days a week. These sessions include a psychoeducational group led by a social worker and a therapeutic recreation support session led by a recreation therapist.
- Case management
- Snacks and lunch
Intensive Outpatient Program
While our IOP is a structured level of care, we focus on providing the same secure, enjoyable, and compassionate care found in our inpatient and PHP levels of care. However, we also include:
- Focused Coping Skills
- Community Reintegration
Continued Medication Management Support With Our PHP and IOP
After your acute psychosis symptoms and medication are stabilized, you will transition to a lower level of care, and you will receive medication management services. Both our PHP and IOP provide continued medication management under the care of our psychiatric team.
Aftercare & Opt-In Patient Follow-Up
Your aftercare plan isn’t developed as you approach returning to your life away from us. When you first create your treatment plan, you start planning your transition back into the real world. Our treatment team understands the importance of an individualized aftercare plan that addresses issues you face in the real world. Our personalized approach includes:
- Case manager support
- Outpatient transitions
- Housing or facility placements
- Community support referrals
Our Opt-In Patient Follow-Up (Patient Resource Network) continues to provide support and encouragement after you transition back into your life. You can remain involved in your clinical improvement with:
- Routine Check Ins
Insurance and Payment Options
Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility is in-network for most insurance plans, including Medicare. We also accept private pay clients. Some of the companies we work with include:
Medicare, Tricare, Carelon, BlueCross BlueShield, Humana, MHN
Medicare, Tricare, Carelon, BlueCross BlueShield, Humana, MHN
Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility: Moving Forward With C-PTSD Treatment in Los Angeles
The symptoms of C-PTSD are treatable at Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility. Our mental health and medical professionals provide empathetic care to help you stabilize your acute psychiatric crisis.
Deciding if Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility Is Right for You
Deciding where to go for complex post-traumatic stress disorder treatment can be overwhelming. You can contact our admissions team to learn more about our levels of care and services.
If you’re a family member wondering if a loved one needs crisis stabilization, our admissions team is available 24/7 to answer any questions you may have about Ocean View.
If you’re a family member wondering if a loved one needs crisis stabilization, our admissions team is available 24/7 to answer any questions you may have about Ocean View.
Our Admissions and Referral Process
Ocean View welcomes referrals from medical and psychiatric professionals. When you contact our admissions team, they will guide you through our referrals and admissions process. We also make it easy for you to get the care you need by simply contacting us.
Our Long Beach Location
Our facility offers expert inpatient psychiatric stabilization. Our specialized team is dedicated to empowering you or your loved ones to understand mental health concerns, manage symptoms effectively, and restore stability with dignity and safety.