Helpful Tools for Healing and Understanding Complex Trauma
Please note that these resources will be growing and expanding as time permits.
Resources
Books on Complex PTSD & Relational and Developmental Trauma
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
A practical, compassionate guide that explores C-PTSD, common symptoms, and how to recover, written by a therapist who also experienced it.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
A landmark book on how trauma impacts the body and brain, and how somatic and relational therapies help heal.
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors by Janina Fisher
Focuses on parts work and understanding trauma symptoms as adaptations, offering tools for integration.
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté
Looks at how trauma shapes individuals and societies, with deep insight into developmental and relational wounding.
It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn
Explores inherited family trauma and how patterns get passed through generations.
Running on Empty by Jonice Webb
Focuses on childhood emotional neglect and how it impacts adult life, relationships, and self-understanding.
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson
Helps identify and heal from growing up with emotionally unavailable or self-absorbed parents.
What Happened to You? by Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey
A conversational look at how early trauma shapes brain development and behavior, with an emphasis on compassion.
Attachment Styles
Use this free online assessment to see what attachment styles you have in your primary relationships.
Note that the assessment is meant to offer general insight and spark self-reflection. No online tool is 100% accurate or a substitute for professional evaluation. Consider it a helpful starting point for exploring your patterns in relationships.
Attachment Style Quiz
Adam Young- The Place We Find Ourselves Podcast
The Power of Attachment by Diane Poole Heller
This book explains how early attachment patterns shape our relationships and sense of safety. Diane Poole Heller offers practical ways to heal old wounds, build secure connections, and deepen intimacy with ourselves and others. This is a helpful guide for anyone recovering from relational trauma.
Books on C-PTSD within Spirituality and Religion
Local 12-Step Programs
Adult Children of Alcoholics
Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA or ACA) is a 12-step group for people who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes, which can contribute to complex PTSD. It helps members heal the lasting effects of childhood trauma, build healthier relationships, and find support through shared experiences and the 12 steps.
AA Nashville
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a 12-step fellowship for people who want to stop drinking and stay sober. It provides a supportive community and practical steps for recovery. For those with complex PTSD, AA can also help address the ways alcohol has been used to cope with past trauma and build healthier patterns of managing stress and emotions.
Codependents Anonymous
Codependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a 12-step group for people who struggle with codependency, often rooted in childhood trauma or complex PTSD. It offers a supportive space to explore patterns like people-pleasing, losing oneself in relationships, and difficulty setting boundaries. CoDA helps members build healthier relationships and a more secure sense of self.
Al-Anon of Middle TN
Al-Anon is a 12-step group for people affected by someone else’s drinking. It offers support, understanding, and tools to cope with the stress of living with or loving someone struggling with alcohol. For those with complex PTSD, Al-Anon can help address patterns of codependency, hypervigilance, and emotional overwhelm rooted in childhood or ongoing family dynamics.
SLAA Nashville
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) is a 12-step group for people who struggle with compulsive patterns in relationships, sex, or fantasy. It offers support and tools to break cycles that often stem from early attachment wounds or complex PTSD. SLAA helps members build healthier connections and develop a stronger sense of self.
Overeaters Anonymous
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a 12-step fellowship for people who struggle with compulsive eating, food obsession, or patterns of restriction and bingeing. It offers a supportive community and a structured path to recovery. For those with complex PTSD, OA can help address using food to cope with emotional pain and provide tools to build a healthier relationship with both food and oneself.