EMDR for Complex PTSD: A Somatic and Parts-Based Approach to Deep Healing
If you’ve experienced chronic abuse, neglect, or relational trauma—especially in childhood—you might resonate with the term complex PTSD (CPTSD). Unlike a single-incident trauma, CPTSD stems from repeated, prolonged exposure to situations that felt inescapable. The result is not just painful memories, but deeply entrenched survival strategies, negative self-beliefs, and body-based symptoms that can persist for years.
The good news? Healing is possible—and approaches like EMDR therapy, especially when combined with somatic therapy and parts work, can support real, lasting change.
What Is Complex PTSD?
Complex PTSD differs from traditional PTSD in that it often includes symptoms like:
Chronic emotional dysregulation
Persistent feelings of shame or guilt
Negative self-perception (“I’m broken,” “I’m too much,” “I don’t matter”)
Difficulty trusting others or maintaining relationships
Dissociation or a sense of disconnection from the body
Cycles of burnout, freeze, or people-pleasing
These symptoms don’t show up overnight—they are the natural result of your nervous system doing its best to protect you in overwhelming situations. And while they once served a purpose, they don’t have to run the show forever.
How EMDR Therapy Helps Heal CPTSD
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful, evidence-based approach to trauma therapy that helps the brain and body reprocess unintegrated experiences. For those with complex PTSD, EMDR offers a way to safely process trauma without needing to retell the story over and over again. Here’s how EMDR therapy can support healing for CPTSD:
1. EMDR TargetS Core Negative Beliefs
Many survivors of complex trauma carry painful, limiting beliefs like:
I’m not safe.
I’m unlovable.
It was my fault.
I don’t deserve to have needs.
These beliefs aren’t just thoughts—they’re deeply held truths formed during trauma. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess these experiences and install more adaptive beliefs that align with your present-day truth (not your past pain).
2. EMDR CAN HELP YOU PROCESS Layers of Traumatic Memory
CPTSD rarely stems from just one event. EMDR can help process a series of traumas over time, including preverbal or somatic memories that may not be fully accessible through words.
With the right therapist, EMDR becomes a flexible tool to work through:
Repeated emotional or physical abuse
Childhood neglect or abandonment
Relational trauma or betrayal
Attachment wounds that impact current relationships
3. EMDR CAN PROVIDE Symptom Relief + Nervous System Regulation
Common symptoms of CPTSD—like hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, and dissociation—can be addressed directly through targeted EMDR protocols. But the deeper work often involves reconnecting with the body, which is where Somatic Experiencing (SE) and IFS therapy come in.
In my work, I often integrate EMDR with somatic therapy to help you:
Track body sensations in real time
Complete survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn)
Rebuild your capacity for regulation, safety, and embodiment
4. EMDR SupportS Your Inner Parts with Compassion
Complex trauma often fragments our sense of self. Through parts work (like IFS), we explore the protective strategies you developed over time—like perfectionism, emotional numbing, or over-accommodation—not as problems, but as parts of you doing their best to help.
By combining EMDR with parts work, we can:
Build relationships with protective parts before processing trauma
Help younger parts feel safe enough to unburden old pain
Re-integrate lost or exiled parts of your identity
Deepen your connection to your Self—the calm, compassionate center of who you are
Healing complex trauma is delicate work.
AN EMDR TRAINED THERAPIST CAN Support YOUR CPTSD HEALING
Healing complex trauma is delicate work. It requires attunement, pacing, and a therapist who respects your nervous system’s boundaries.
If you’re looking for a trauma-informed therapist trained in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and IFS therapy, I’d be honored to walk alongside you on this journey.
Whether you’re just beginning to explore therapy or are deep in your healing process, please know: your symptoms make sense—and healing is absolutely possible.
Based in Pasadena, Clara Mackinlay provides EMDR therapy and somatic trauma recovery programs for clients across California, blending evidence-based practices with parts work (IFS) for deep healing.
