Complex Trauma in Ginny and Georgia Part III: Treatment Plan (plus reading recommendations!)
“Not Broken, Just Surviving”: What Therapy Might Look Like for Georgia and Ginny
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we explored how both Georgia and Ginny carry complex trauma (CPTSD), how that shows up in their emotions, behaviors, and relationship with each other. We talked about how Georgia uses control, secrecy, and charm to protect herself, and how Ginny expresses her pain through emotional intensity, self-harm, and identity confusion.
So…what would therapy actually look like for them?
Let’s imagine we get them both into a trauma-informed therapist’s office (like mine!). What would be the focus? What might the healing process look like? And how would it be different for each of them?
Therapy for Georgia: From Armor to Authenticity
Reading list for Georgia:
Georgia’s trauma style is all about survival through control. Her charisma and strategic thinking have kept her alive, but they’ve also kept her alone. Underneath her glittery exterior is a terrified, exiled part that learned long ago not to need anyone.
Therapy goals for Georgia might include:
Building a trusting relationship with the therapist (which might take a while…she’s used to hiding, and charm might be her go-to defense).
Slowing down enough to feel her emotions instead of dissociating or deflecting.
Exploring the parts of herself she had to disown to survive, her vulnerability, grief, and helplessness.
Working with inner parts (using IFS or ego state work) to understand how her “protector parts” (like the one that lies or seduces) are trying to keep her safe.
Developing emotional literacy and regulation skills—learning that feeling isn’t weakness.
Possible modalities:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) to work with protective and exiled parts
EMDR or somatic trauma therapy to process early abuse and neglect
Relational therapy to help her tolerate being known without performing
Group therapy for other survivors of child sexual abuse
Therapy might sound like:
“You don’t have to prove anything here.”
“That part of you that always has a plan…can we get curious about what she’s protecting?”
Therapy for Ginny: From Chaos to Coherence
Ginny’s trauma style is about emotional intensity, identity confusion, and a deep fear of abandonment. She feels everything. She wants closeness but panics when she gets it. She doesn’t know how to tolerate her emotions without hurting herself.
Therapy goals for Ginny might include:
Learning how to name and tolerate big emotions without becoming overwhelmed.
Unpacking internalized shame and identity confusion—especially around being biracial and feeling "too much."
Grieving her imperfect parents—letting herself feel sad and mad at their lacks, accepting their challenges, too.
Understanding her attachment patterns and how they affect her relationships.
Creating safety and containment for her inner world—so her emotions don’t feel like they’re going to swallow her whole.
Exploring and validating the pain underneath the self-harm, with lots of compassion and zero judgment.
Possible modalities:
DBT skills to help with emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness
IFS to explore the parts of her that self-harm, lash out, or collapse
Culturally-attuned therapy to explore racial identity, belonging, and intersectional stress
Therapy might sound like:
“You’re not too much. That feeling is trying to tell us something.”
“Can we notice the part of you that wants to cut and also notice the part that’s scared?”
What About Therapy for Both of Them Together?
Family or dyadic therapy for Georgia and Ginny would be powerful—but tricky. They each carry such different trauma responses, and they often trigger each other’s survival parts. In a shared space, the therapist would need to pace things carefully, keep the room safe, and help each person take responsibility without blame.
Goals of family therapy might include:
Helping each of them understand the other’s survival strategies
Practicing non-defensive communication and mutual repair
Acknowledging pain and betrayal without collapsing into shame or justification
Naming the intergenerational trauma and consciously choosing to break the cycle
Family therapy might sound like:
“What do you wish your mom could understand about how you feel when she hides things?”
“What do you wish your daughter knew about what it’s like to carry this much?”
Final Thoughts: Healing the Hurt That Made the Armor Necessary
Therapy isn’t about “fixing” Georgia or Ginny—it’s about helping them come home to themselves. It’s about recognizing that what looks like dysfunction is actually a map of where the hurt lives.
Georgia’s manipulation? It’s a protector.
Ginny’s intensity? It’s a protest.
Their mistrust? It’s learned.
And all of it makes sense.
If you saw yourself in either of them—in the masking, the self-harm, the fear of being too much or not enough, you’re not alone. Therapy can help you understand the story beneath the symptoms. And you deserve a therapist who can meet you with compassion, not judgment.
You’re not broken. You’re surviving. And healing is possible.
