Complex Trauma: When They See Us

By: Adrienne Aaron, Professional Counselor - New Leaf Counseling Group - Charlotte, NC

Trauma responses characteristic of complex trauma (CPTSD) often accompany these images for many African American community members.

Just to think, 5 children were arrested and charged falsely of a crime they didn’t commit. Their parents couldn’t protect them. And with the recent release of the Netflix miniseries “When They See Us”, I’ve heard clients, family members and friends express their pain and confusion (now recognized as symptoms of Complex Trauma) for such a horrific act happening a little less than 30 years ago.

The transference of energy amassed by fear, that takes place watching the series has stagnated some, while being all too painful for others to view. This is a common experience for someone going through Complex Trauma.

Watching the story of five boys, being imprisoned is just too close to home for many. Identifying that this could happen today propels an anxiety that we seldom see in television.

We are left experiencing symptoms what I know as a Professional Counselor who happens to also be a Black Professional, that this feeling is powerlessness; the sense that we are unable to fight. This is complex trauma.

Yet we are faced with depressing imagery each time we turn on our televisions, computers, tablets, or smartphones.

Forced to look at children in cages at our borders, violence in our communities, schools, workplaces, and oftentimes at the hands of police officers prompts viewers to respond with a trauma response.

It has become all too much, as we watch and listen in an attempt to be informed. The question is, “what happens to our minds and hearts after they are filled with these heartbreaking images”?

The transference of energy amassed by fear, that takes place watching the series has stagnated some, while being all too painful for others to view. This is a common experience for someone going through Complex Trauma.

We are left experiencing symptoms what I know as a Professional Counselor who happens to also be a Black Professional, that this feeling is powerlessness; the sense that we are unable to fight. This is complex trauma.

And when we feel powerless, how do we combat systems of oppression or stop racism? How do we send our children to school, when school violence has become a regular occurrence? What do we do with these images of horror?

I’ve noticed we tend to only make the trauma responses characteristic of Complex Trauma worse by carrying it around silently - ruminating on the faces and situations as potential threats that are right in front of our noses.

We are left experiencing symptoms what I know as a Professional Counselor who happens to also be a Black Professional, that this feeling is powerlessness; the sense that we are unable to fight. This is complex trauma.

They distract our workdays.

We ignore it or most commonly become numb to it.

There are so many negative images, that most people can’t take it anymore.

We fill our minds, hearts and souls with sadness that these types of programming erupts without finding ways to deal with it.

We have become powerless and we don’t know how to fight police injustice 30 years after the Exonerated 5. This also is revealed when we are unsure what to do when we hear about immigrant children dying at the borders. When exposed to the next story of violent injustice waiting around the corner - it is common to just completely shut down.

When exposed to the next story of violent injustice waiting around the corner - it is common to completely shut down. when complex trauma gets stirred up. Are you a Black Professional looking for help in Charlotte, NC?

But in these false feelings of helplessness we do have power. Our power comes in recognizing the injustice and the impact it has.

Complex Trauma is treated in part by allowing room to talk about our pain & loss of control through healthy dialogue. It matters how much we internalize these issues and an ability to process them externally is the beginning of a healing process for complex trauma.

Being willing to stand up through civic action, voting, donating your time and resources to causes that matter is not only advocacy, but empowers healing.

When the images become overwhelming and too much to bear, which even happens for the strongest Black Professional at times, it is essential to seek out support from another trained professional who specializes in these issues. New Leaf Counseling Group has a diverse counselor and therapist team in Charlotte, NC with room for you to grow.

When the images become overwhelming and too much to bear, which even happens for the strongest Black Professional at times, it is essential to seek out support from another trained professional who specializes in these issues.

Sometimes these images trigger traumas that we didn’t know existed. If these images keep you up at night, lead to obsessive thoughts, or prevent you from functioning in your day to day life, it's time to seek out professional support to cope.

If you are in the Charlotte Area and are looking for another Black Professional to provide support for complex trauma, New Leaf Counseling Group has a diverse counselor and therapist team with room for you to grow.

We are left experiencing symptoms what I know as a Professional Counselor who happens to also be a Black Professional, that this feeling is powerlessness; the sense that we are unable to fight. This is complex trauma. New Leaf Counseling Group is here to offer support from a diverse counselor and therapist team in Charlotte, NC.

Adrienne Aaron Pihlgren is a Professional Counselor with New Leaf Counseling Group, LLC in Charlotte, NC. As a Black Professional herself, she specializes in working with other Black Professionals who are looking for support with mental health symptoms as a result of complex trauma, or even working through transitions of both a personal and/or professional nature. Are you in the Charlotte area and looking for a professional counselor? Follow this link to book with Adrienne today. She has room for you to GROW.