Complex PTSD and trauma-informed care

Also known as Complex PTSD · cPTSD · CPTSD · Disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified · DESNOS · Disturbances of self-organisation · DSO · Trauma-informed care · STAIR Narrative Therapy · DBT-PTSD · Phase-based trauma treatment

Fellowship reference on ICD-11 complex PTSD: definition, evidence for the PTSD and complex PTSD split, the BPD differential, ITQ and PCL-5, NICE care for complex needs, phase-based debate, therapy and drug evidence, and trauma-informed principles. FRANZCP-primary, globally tagged.

high25 referencesUpdated 25 July 20268 min readSource-verified · Oct 2026

Checked against its sources on 23 Oct 2026

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10 MCQs

Meet the patient

A 34-year-old woman sits in your clinic twisting a tissue. Her childhood was a decade of abuse by a stepfather; her adulthood has been a series of relationships that end the same way. She has nightmares of being back in that house, flinches at raised voices, and says — quietly, and with total conviction — "I am still there. I destroy every relationship. I am worthless."^[2]^[5]

The examiner's questions write themselves: PTSD or complex PTSD? BPD or both? And when her therapist proposes two years of "stabilisation" before any trauma work — do you agree?^[6]^[10]

References25Show

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