Residential Treatment for Complex Trauma and C-PTSD
For adults carrying trauma from childhood or from a relationship that went on for years. Residential, PHP and IOP with a trauma therapist on your team and the time this kind of work needs.
- Childhood and relational trauma, including dissociation
- Four individual sessions a week in residential, two with a trauma therapist
- EMDR and other trauma therapies, at your pace
- Separate programs for men and women
- Works with many PPO plans, and verification is free
If this is a medical emergency, call 911. For a mental health or suicide crisis, call or text 988.
Complex trauma: not one event, but years of it
Complex trauma builds up over time, usually where you could not get away. It shapes how you feel, how you see yourself and how close you let people get, long after it ends.
Usually after one event
An assault, an accident, combat or a call on duty. Memories, nightmares and alarm tied to what happened.
- Reliving it
- Avoiding reminders
- Always on alert
Over months or years
Abuse or neglect in childhood, or a relationship you could not leave, often from people who should have kept you safe.
- Everything in PTSD, plus:
- Emotions that flood or shut down
- A deep sense of shame or being broken
- Relationships that are hard to trust
How complex trauma shows up in adult life
Many people with complex trauma are first treated for depression, anxiety or drinking. The trauma underneath can go unnamed for years.
Emotions that flood or shut down
Going from calm to overwhelmed in seconds, or feeling nothing at all.
Shame that will not lift
Feeling worthless, different or to blame, however much people reassure you.
Hard to trust
Keeping people at a distance, or staying close to people who hurt you.
Losing time
Spacing out, feeling unreal, or gaps in memory when something is too much.
Never fully at rest
Poor sleep, nightmares and a body that stays braced for danger.
Coping that costs you
Drinking, drug use, eating or self-harm to get through what you feel.
Dissociation: when your mind goes somewhere else
Dissociation is the mind's way of getting away when the body cannot. It can feel like spacing out, watching yourself from outside, or losing time. It is common with complex trauma, and it changes how trauma work is done.
Grounding before anything else
Skills to come back to the room, practiced until they work under stress.
You set the pace
Trauma work moves as fast as you can stay present, not faster.
Therapists who look for it
Your team watches for signs you are drifting and slows down when you do.
Complex trauma treatment in two phases, starting with stabilization
Trauma that took years to build does not resolve in a week. Complex trauma is treated in two phases: stabilization first, then trauma processing. Moving from residential to PHP and IOP with the same therapists gives each phase the time it needs.
Phase 1 · Residential
Safety and stabilization
Medication, sleep, routine and coping skills, with a team you start to trust, before deeper trauma work.
Residential
Phase 2 · PHP
Trauma processing
More time on what happened and what it left behind, with daily support and the same therapists.
PHP
Phase 2 continues · IOP
Processing, closer to daily life
Trauma sessions continue while you go back to work, home and relationships.
IOP
Length of stay is set clinically, reviewed as you progress, and depends on what your plan authorizes. Admissions can explain what your plan covers.
Two therapists, trauma therapies and daily skills
- 1
A primary therapist and a trauma therapist
Four individual sessions a week in residential, two of them with a trauma therapist.
- 2
Trauma therapies
Therapists trained in EMDR, Brainspotting and Internal Family Systems (IFS), depending on your therapist and your plan.
- 3
Skills groups
DBT, CBT and ACT skills for the emotions, urges and sleep that come with complex trauma.
- 4
Weekly psychiatry
A medication visit every week, including for sleep, nightmares, mood and anxiety.
Treated in a program only for women, or only for men
Sexual abuse and assault are among the most common roots of complex trauma, for women and for men. At Wings, groups are never mixed, and you decide what to share and when.
For womenThe women's program
Trauma work in groups only with other women, at a separate office on Faraday Avenue.
Learn more
For menThe men's program
Men are often the last to be asked about abuse. Groups only with other men, on Grand Avenue.
Learn more
Inside the men's and women's offices
The men's and women's programs each have their own office, the same two locations shown on the maps below. Open a photo to see it larger.
Map and directions ↓Visit our offices in Carlsbad
Office hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m., seven days a week
Wings Recovery on Google Maps ↗Areas we serve: Carlsbad · San Diego · North County San Diego · Los Angeles · Orange County
The map is provided by Google, which may set cookies, so it loads only once you allow Functional cookies.
Wings works with many PPO insurance plans
Admissions verifies your benefits before admission, free and confidential. For Medi-Cal or Medicare, admissions can point you to programs that accept them.
Questions about complex trauma treatment
C-PTSD, length of stay, dissociation, what you have to share, and insurance.
Don't see your question?
Admissions answers calls 9 a.m.–5 p.m., seven days a week. Calls are confidential.
Call(760) 388-6369Visits, phones, what to bring and more in the admissions FAQ →All the ways to reach Wings →What is the difference between PTSD and complex PTSD?
PTSD usually follows one event. Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) comes from trauma that went on for months or years, often in childhood or in a relationship. It includes PTSD symptoms plus trouble with emotions, a deep sense of shame and difficulty trusting people.
Why does complex trauma need more time?
Trust and steadiness come before deep trauma work. Rushing can make things worse. Residential, then PHP and IOP with the same therapists, gives that work time. Length of stay is set clinically and depends on what your plan authorizes.
What is the treatment for complex PTSD at Wings?
A primary therapist and a trauma therapist, trauma therapies such as EMDR, DBT, CBT and ACT skills groups, and weekly psychiatry. Skills to feel steadier come first.
I dissociate. Can I still do trauma therapy?
Yes. Your team starts with grounding skills and watches for signs you are drifting. Trauma work moves at the pace you can stay present.
Do I have to talk about what happened right away?
You and your therapists decide when and how much. You do not have to share details in group.
Are men and women treated together?
Wings runs a men's program and a women's program, each with its own office and groups.
Will insurance cover complex trauma treatment?
Wings works with many PPO plans, including Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. Admissions verifies your benefits before admission at no cost. If you have Medi-Cal or Medicare, admissions can point you to programs that accept them.