Maybe closeness has always felt complicated, like part of you stays braced even with the people you love. Maybe years of hardship taught you to expect the worst and keep your guard up. Complex PTSD Evaluations in Stoughton, WI help you understand why connection can feel so hard, and what would help. You do not need a referral to start.
We start every evaluation from a baseline of cognitive and executive function, then bring in trauma focused and emotional measures matched to what you are living with. A single licensed psychologist carries the process from start to finish, keeps the pace gentle, and watches for the conditions that frequently accompany complex trauma so nothing is missed.
With children, the emphasis is on noticing how continued stress or upheaval is affecting them, whether in their behavior, their bodies, or their trust in adults, without pushing toward a diagnosis too soon. We want to learn what helps them feel steady and what still feels unsafe.
In teens, complex trauma can surface as feelings that arrive too big to manage, a shaky or critical view of themselves, and real trouble letting people in. Reactions that seem outsized often fit perfectly with what they have been through, and understanding that shapes how we approach them.
Adults often describe a lasting sense of shame, emotions that feel impossible to steer, and relationships shadowed by mistrust. There can be a background hum of never feeling quite safe, and the fallout tends to touch many corners of life at once, from work to closest connections.
Your evaluation opens with roughly an hour of conversation in which your psychologist builds a careful personal history, in a space designed to feel supportive rather than clinical. Because complex PTSD tends to come from experiences that repeated over time, this discussion covers a wider stretch of your life to understand how it shaped your feelings, your bonds with others, and your sense of self. Nothing moves faster than you want it to.
Next, your psychologist puts together a personalized set of assessments meant to capture the many layers of complex trauma, usually 2 to 6 hours of in person testing across one or two days. You will head home with self report questionnaires, and a person close to you may fill out their own if they wish. Should signs of other conditions appear, like dissociation, depression, anxiety, or ADHD, those get screened as well.
Every piece, the testing data, the clinical observations, and the questionnaire results, comes together in one thorough diagnostic report. Your psychologist looks at how complex trauma has shaped your emotional regulation, identity, relationships, and cognition, and records any co occurring conditions so the picture is whole.
About two to three weeks on, you return for a feedback session. Your psychologist explains the diagnosis in everyday language and lays out individualized recommendations, including trauma focused therapy options, ways to steady your emotions, and support for relationships, each suited to how you want to heal.
No, none at all. You never need a referral to be seen at Core Spring Diagnostics, and you are free to contact us directly whenever you feel ready.
Complex PTSD generally grows from trauma that was ongoing or repeated and tends to affect self image, emotions, and relationships across the board, while PTSD usually stems from one particular event. The evaluation sorts out which describes you.
A trauma informed interview, a baseline of cognitive and executive function, trauma focused and emotional measures, and screening for connected concerns, all guided by the same psychologist at a pace that honors your history.
Yes. Teens and adults are both welcome, and with younger clients we move through trauma related patterns slowly and with a lot of care.
A report you can actually read and a feedback session, plus individualized, trauma informed recommendations and a defined path toward healing.
Reach our Madison office at (608) 396 4830 and we will get you scheduled. You will not need a referral in hand; a simple call is enough to begin.
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