Trauma as a Fracture of the Ecological- Relational Field: Gestalt and Ecopsychological Contributions to the Clinical Understanding of Complex Trauma

Abstract

The prevalence of complex trauma and chronic psychological suffering has prompted renewed reflection on clinical models that focus exclusively on traumatic events or individual vulnerabilities. Simultaneously, the ecological crisis and the degradation of living environments affect emotional, bodily, and relational regulation processes. This opinion article proposes a reinterpretation of complex trauma through a Gestalt field perspective integrated with insights from ecopsychology. Within this framework, trauma is conceptualized not only as a response to a critical event but as the outcome of a systemic fragilization of the organism-environment field. The impoverishment of the ecological-relational field may weaken implicit supports for self-regulation, co-regulation, and experiential continuity, thereby increasing vulnerability to stress and chronic distress. The article examines theoretical and clinical implications of this perspective, with attention to regulation, rhythm, embodiment, and the expansion of the therapeutic field beyond an exclusively dyadic relationship. Natural environments are discussed as potential regulatory contexts that may support sensory orientation, physiological stabilization, and experiential integration in trauma work. Although this contribution is primarily theoretical, it suggests that incorporating the ecological-relational field into trauma conceptualization may broaden the clinical horizon of psychotherapy and encourage attention to environmental conditions that sustain psychological well-being and continuity of the self.