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Learn more about PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, such as an accident, assault, disaster, or combat. PTSD involves four groups of symptoms: intrusive memories or flashbacks, avoidance of reminders, negative changes in mood and thinking, and a heightened state of alertness. Not everyone who goes through trauma develops PTSD, and developing it is not a sign of weakness; it reflects how the brain's threat system responds to overwhelming experiences. PTSD is treatable, and trauma-focused therapy helps many people recover fully.
PTSD can emerge soon after a traumatic experience or surface months or years later. The symptoms describe how the aftermath shows up in daily life.
Common signs include:
- Intrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares related to the experience
- Avoiding places, people, or conversations that act as reminders
- Feeling constantly on guard, jumpy, or easily startled
- Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
- Emotional numbness, or feeling detached from people and activities
- Persistent guilt, shame, or negative beliefs about yourself or the world
- Irritability or sudden anger that feels out of proportion
Trauma-focused approaches have the strongest evidence for PTSD, and several are available depending on what suits you. For PTSD, therapy works best alongside appropriate clinical care, particularly where symptoms are severe.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they lose their emotional intensity. It's one of the most researched treatments for PTSD.
Trauma informed care shapes the whole therapeutic relationship around safety, choice, and trust, so therapy itself never repeats the dynamics of the trauma. It underpins good practice across other approaches.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) in its trauma-focused form addresses the thoughts, beliefs, and avoidance patterns that keep symptoms in place. It has strong evidence for PTSD.
Somatic experiencing works with the body's stress responses directly, helping release the physical patterns trauma leaves behind. It can help when symptoms show up as tension, hypervigilance, or feeling unsafe in your own body.
IFS (Internal Family Systems) approaches the different parts of you that developed to survive the trauma with curiosity rather than judgement. It can suit people for whom trauma is tangled with self-criticism or inner conflict.
Choosing an approach isn't something you have to do alone. IC's matching can pair you with a therapist whose approach suits your situation. Get matched.
It's Complicated is a therapist-founded mental health platform connecting clients with verified practitioners across Europe and globally, in over 60 languages. The platform is free to use, with over 2,500 vetted therapists offering in-person sessions in cities including Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Vienna, alongside online sessions worldwide.
After trauma, trust matters more than anything, and that includes trusting the person you work with. Our matching service is built around that. You complete a short survey, our psychologists combine data-driven insights with human judgement to identify the right therapists for your situation, and you choose from a shortlist of strong candidates. You can also browse our directory directly if you'd prefer to choose yourself.
Get matched with a therapist who specialises in PTSD, or browse all PTSD therapists in the directory.
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