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What You Need to Know
Complex PTSD (CPTSD) results from prolonged or repeated trauma, such as childhood neglect, ongoing abuse, or unsafe environments. Rapid Emotional Reset is a body-based therapy that helps process complex trauma without requiring detailed retelling. Sessions are available inperson across Melbourne and online. No diagnosis or referral is required.
CPTSD vs PTSD — What’s the Difference?
PTSD
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Usually stems from a single traumatic event
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Flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance
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Can develop immediately after trauma
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Processing a specific traumatic memory or event
CPTSD
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Results from repeated, prolonged, or ongoing trauma
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All PTSD symptoms PLUS emotional dysregulation, negative self-perception, relationship difficulties, dissociation
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Develops over months or years
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Addressing layered, interconnected trauma patterns
Both are real. Both are valid. And both can benefit from the right support
If CPTSD resonates with your experience, you’re not alone
Signs You May Be Experiencing CPTSD
CPTSD can show up in ways that don’t always feel like ‘trauma.’ You might recognise these patterns:
Emotional Flashbacks
Sudden intense feelings — fear, shame, sadness — that seem out of proportion to the present moment. Often triggered by reminders of past experiences.
Toxic Shame & Self-Criticism
A persistent feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with you. Harsh inner dialogue that never seems to quieten.
Relationship Difficulties
Patterns of attracting or staying in unhealthy relationships. Difficulty trusting. Fear of abandonment or engulfment.
Dissociation
Feeling disconnected from your body, your surroundings, or your sense of self. ‘Checking out’ when things feel overwhelming.
Chronic Hypervigilance
Always scanning for threats. Difficulty relaxing. Feeling unsafe even in safe environments.
Difficulty Regulating Emotions
Intense mood swings. Overwhelming anger, sadness, or anxiety that feels hard to control or predict.
Recognising these patterns is the first step. You don’t have to have all of these signs — even a few can indicate that complex trauma is affecting your life.
How RER Approaches Complex Trauma
CPTSD involves deeply woven patterns — often formed in childhood or over years of ongoing stress. Talk therapy can help you understand these patterns, but understanding alone doesn’t always shift them.
RER works directly with your nervous system, helping your body release stored trauma responses at their source. Because it doesn’t require you to retell your experiences, it’s particularly suited to layered, complex trauma where the full story may be hard to put into words
Many clients with CPTSD find that RER creates a sense of internal safety they haven’t felt before — a foundation from which deeper healing becomes possible.
Early trauma & core wounds
Relationship patterns & beliefs
Current triggers & symptoms
What CPTSD Sessions Look Like
Every session moves at your pace. There’s no pressure and no expectation.
Building Safety First
The first priority is establishing trust and safety. Nev understands that for people with CPTSD, feeling safe with a practitioner takes time. There’s no rush
Working Through Layers
As sessions progress, RER helps your nervous system release trauma held at different layers — from recent triggers to deep, early patterns. You remain in control throughout.
Building a New Baseline
Many CPTSD clients report feeling a new sense of internal calm and safety. From this place, relationships, work, and daily life become more manageable.
Did Your CPTSD Begin in Childhood?
For many people, complex trauma has roots in childhood — neglect, instability, unsafe environments, or attachment disruptions. If this resonates, our childhood trauma page may offer additional insight.
Nev works with adult clients who are processing childhood experiences — always at a pace that feels safe for you.
From a CPTSD Client
I’d been diagnosed with CPTSD after years of therapy. I understood my patterns intellectually, but nothing had actually changed in my body. RER was different. I didn’t have to explain my childhood again — Nev worked with what my body was holding. After three sessions, I felt a calmness I’d never experienced. My relationships are improving and I finally feel like myself.
Emma R. (South Yarra, Melbourne)
Verified client
Individual results vary. This is a personal account.
