Evidence-based treatment for the lasting impact of trauma, loss and complex or developmental adversity — working at depth, not just at the level of symptoms.
Trauma — whether a single significant event or sustained difficult experience over time — can shape how safe the world feels, how relationships are navigated, and how the body and mind respond to ordinary stress long after the events themselves have passed.
A dysregulated nervous system cannot access the same therapeutic processes as a regulated one. This is why trauma work has a sequence: stabilisation first, then processing, then integration — not the reverse.
Complex or developmental trauma in particular often does not present as a single identifiable memory, but as longstanding patterns in relationships, self-worth and emotional regulation that can be harder to recognise as trauma-related at all.
My approach draws on trauma-focused CBT, schema therapy and compassion-focused approaches, sequenced according to what the nervous system can actually process at each stage — stabilisation before exposure, exposure before integration.
I work with both single-incident trauma and complex or developmental trauma, including presentations that meet criteria for PTSD or Complex PTSD under DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 frameworks, as well as trauma-related difficulties that fall outside formal diagnostic categories.
This is depth-oriented work. The aim is not simply symptom reduction but a genuine change in how the trauma is held — so it no longer organises your present life the way it currently does.
"Trauma work is not about reliving what happened. It is about changing the relationship between what happened and who you are now."
Dr Sanya Krljes · Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Trauma work done without adequate stabilisation can retraumatise rather than help. The order of treatment — what comes first, what becomes possible later — is not a formality; it is clinically essential.
This requires genuine expertise, not a generic talking-therapy approach. Trauma-focused treatment is a specific evidence base, and complex trauma in particular requires training beyond standard single-incident protocols.
I am a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with doctorates in cognitive neuroscience (Imperial College London) and clinical psychology (UCL), with extensive experience working with trauma across NHS secure and community mental health settings as well as private practice.
My neuroscience background informs how I understand and explain the physiological dimensions of trauma — why the body responds the way it does, and what genuine regulation and recovery actually require.
Qualifications
MSc Neuroscience — King's College London
PhD Cognitive Neuroscience — Imperial College London
DClinPsy — University College London
HCPC Registered · BPS Chartered Psychologist & AFBPsS
A free 30-minute consultation — by phone or video — where you can tell me a little about what has brought you here. No pressure, no obligation.
hello@praxispsychology.uk · London & Online