Do I Need a C-PTSD Assessment for a CICA Claim?

Psychological Evidence for Survivors of Abuse, Assault and Violent Crime

For many survivors of abuse, assault or violent crime, the question of compensation is not simply financial. It can also be part of a much wider process of recognition. Something happened. It had consequences. Those consequences were not imagined, exaggerated or chosen. They may have shaped sleep, relationships, work, trust, memory, the body, the nervous system, and the ordinary capacity to feel safe in the world.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, usually known as the CICA, is a government body that considers applications from people who have been physically or psychologically injured as a result of violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales. In some cases, this includes survivors of sexual abuse, sexual assault, physical assault, domestic abuse, coercive control, and other traumatic experiences where a criminal injury has occurred.

Where the main injury is psychological, the quality of the evidence matters. A person may know, deeply and painfully, that they have been changed by what happened to them. But for a CICA claim, that experience usually needs to be translated into clinical language: diagnosis, symptoms, causation, severity, functional impairment, prognosis, and treatment needs.

This is where a specialist psychological assessment can be important.

What Is a CICA Psychological Assessment?

A CICA psychological assessment is a private clinical assessment designed to evaluate the psychological impact of a violent crime or abuse-related trauma. It is not therapy, although it may feel validating to be listened to carefully. It is also not advocacy in the sense of simply arguing for the outcome the applicant wants. A good report must be independent, clinically careful, and evidence-based.

The purpose of the assessment is to consider whether the person is experiencing a recognised psychological condition, how that condition presents, and whether it appears to be linked to the traumatic events described.

Depending on the case, the assessment may consider conditions such as:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD
• Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or C-PTSD
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Dissociation
• Trauma-related functional impairment
• Grief, shame, self-blame or relational disturbance following trauma

For survivors of prolonged abuse, especially childhood sexual abuse, domestic abuse, trafficking, coercive control, or repeated interpersonal trauma, the presentation may not fit neatly into a simple PTSD picture. The person may not only have flashbacks or nightmares. They may also struggle with emotional regulation, chronic shame, difficulties in relationships, dissociation, self-criticism, identity disturbance, or a persistent sense of being damaged or unsafe.

These are often the kinds of difficulties associated with Complex PTSD.

What Is C-PTSD?

Complex PTSD is a trauma-related diagnosis recognised in the ICD-11, the diagnostic system used by the World Health Organization. It includes the core symptoms of PTSD, such as re-experiencing, avoidance and a continuing sense of threat, but also includes broader disturbances in self-organisation.

In ordinary language, this means that the trauma has not only left the person with fear-based symptoms. It has affected the way they relate to themselves, to other people, and to emotional life itself.

C-PTSD may involve:

• Intense shame, guilt or self-blame
• Feeling permanently damaged or different from other people
• Difficulty regulating emotions
• Emotional numbness or shutdown
• Dissociation or feeling unreal
• Difficulty trusting others
• Repeated painful relationship patterns
• A profound loss of safety in the body and in the world

This can be particularly relevant in cases where the traumatic experience was prolonged, repeated, relational, or occurred during childhood. A single frightening event can cause PTSD. But repeated abuse, especially when the person was trapped, dependent, young, isolated, or unable to escape, can affect the architecture of the self.

That distinction can matter clinically. It can also matter in a compensation context, because the report needs to describe not only the existence of symptoms, but the depth and breadth of their impact.

Why Psychological Evidence Matters in CICA Claims

CICA claims are not decided only on the basis of how distressed someone feels. The Authority has to apply the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. This means that evidence is important.

When psychological injury is part of the claim, a report from a suitably qualified clinician can help to clarify:

• whether the applicant meets diagnostic criteria for PTSD, C-PTSD or another psychological condition;
• how severe the symptoms are;
• whether the symptoms are consistent with the traumatic events described;
• how the symptoms affect work, study, relationships, parenting, sleep, concentration, social functioning and daily life;
• whether there were pre-existing vulnerabilities or previous trauma;
• what treatment may be required;
• the likely prognosis with and without appropriate treatment.

This is especially important because many survivors minimise what has happened to them. They may say, “Other people have had worse,” or “I should be over this by now,” or “I can still work, so perhaps it doesn’t count.” But trauma does not only show itself in collapse. Sometimes it shows itself in over-functioning, perfectionism, numbness, avoidance, exhaustion, or a life organised around not feeling.

A careful assessment can help make visible what the survivor has had to carry privately.

What Happens in a CICA or C-PTSD Assessment?

In my practice, a CICA psychological assessment usually involves several stages.

1. Initial Agreement and Background Information

Before the assessment begins, I provide an agreement for review. Once this is signed and the initial payment is made, relevant records or documents can be sent securely. These may include CICA correspondence, police information, GP records, previous mental health records, therapy letters, solicitor correspondence, or other relevant documents.

2. Psychometric Measures

I usually send psychological questionnaires in advance. These may include measures of PTSD, C-PTSD, dissociation, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment, depending on the nature of the case.

These questionnaires do not replace the clinical interview. They provide additional structure and help identify the severity and pattern of symptoms.

3. Clinical Interview

The assessment usually involves a two-hour appointment, either in person in Harley Street or by secure Zoom where clinically appropriate. The interview explores the traumatic events, current symptoms, developmental history, mental health history, functioning, relationships, work, coping strategies, and treatment needs.

For trauma assessments, I am particularly interested in how the past is living in the present. Trauma is not only a memory of what happened. It can become a change in the person’s sense of time, safety, identity and possibility.

4. Written Psychological Report

After the assessment, I prepare a written report. A typical report is around 10–20 pages, depending on complexity. It will usually address diagnosis, symptom presentation, causation, functional impairment, treatment recommendations and prognosis.

The report is written in a clinically independent way. This means that I do not simply say what a client or solicitor might hope I will say. I give my professional opinion based on the assessment, the documents available, the psychometric findings, and the clinical interview.

PTSD or C-PTSD: Do You Need Both Assessed?

Many people ask whether they need to be assessed for PTSD if they are mainly concerned about C-PTSD. In most cases, it is clinically sensible to assess both.

C-PTSD includes the core features of PTSD. This means that a careful assessment should usually establish whether the person meets the core PTSD criteria before considering whether the broader features of Complex PTSD are also present.

For a CICA claim, this can be particularly important. A report that clearly explains the relationship between PTSD symptoms and C-PTSD symptoms may be more useful than a report that simply uses the term “complex trauma” in a vague or general way.

Good psychological evidence should be specific. It should not only say that someone is traumatised. It should explain how.

When Might a C-PTSD Assessment Be Especially Relevant?

A C-PTSD assessment may be particularly relevant where the trauma involved:

• childhood sexual abuse;
• repeated sexual assault or exploitation;
• domestic abuse or coercive control;
• trafficking or captivity;
• prolonged violence or threat;
• abuse by a trusted adult, caregiver, partner or authority figure;
• trauma that involved betrayal, secrecy, shame or silence.

In these cases, the injury is often not only fear. It may also involve a profound disruption of trust, agency, dignity and selfhood. The person may have survived by disconnecting from their own needs, emotions, body or voice. Many survivors become highly capable on the outside while internally living with terror, numbness, shame or fragmentation.

This is one reason why trauma assessments need to be carried out with care. Survivors should not feel interrogated, rushed, or reduced to a list of symptoms. The assessment must gather evidence, but it must also preserve the person’s dignity.

Can a Psychological Report Guarantee a CICA Award?

No. A psychological report cannot guarantee the outcome of a CICA claim.

The CICA makes its own decisions under the Scheme. A psychologist does not decide eligibility, compensation level, or whether an award will be made. Those are matters for the CICA.

What a psychological report can do is provide an independent clinical opinion about the psychological injury. It can help document the presence, severity and impact of trauma-related symptoms. It can also help explain whether the person’s difficulties are consistent with the events described and what treatment may be needed.

For many survivors, this matters regardless of the final compensation decision. There can be something deeply important about having the psychological consequences of violence named carefully and taken seriously.

How Quickly Can a CICA Psychological Assessment Be Completed?

Timeframes vary depending on complexity, availability, the speed with which documents are provided, and whether additional information is needed.

In many cases, the process can be structured as follows:

• Agreement reviewed and signed.
• Initial payment made.
• Relevant documents and records sent securely.
• Psychometric questionnaires sent by email.
• Assessment appointment arranged once questionnaires are returned.
• Two-hour clinical assessment completed in person or online.
• Written report prepared, often within approximately one week of the assessment appointment.

Where a case is urgent, please mention this when enquiring. I will let you know whether I have availability to complete the assessment within the required timeframe.

CICA Psychological Assessment Fee

My fee for a CICA Assessment and Psychological Report is currently £1,500.

This includes review of relevant documents, psychometric measures, a clinical assessment appointment, diagnostic formulation where appropriate, and a written psychological report.

For more complex or combined assessments, including cases involving multiple trauma histories, differential diagnosis, substantial records, AFCS-related issues, or broader medico-legal questions, fees may differ and will be agreed in advance.

A Trauma Assessment Is Not Just a Form

For survivors, the process of applying for compensation can sometimes feel cold. There are forms, criteria, deadlines, documents and decisions. These may be necessary, but they can also feel strangely distant from the actual experience of trauma.

A good psychological assessment should do something more careful. It should translate suffering into clinical language without stripping it of its human meaning.

It should be able to say: this person has not simply “moved on” because time has passed. The body may still be living in threat. The mind may still be organised around survival. The self may still be trying to emerge from conditions in which it was silenced, controlled, violated or made afraid.

That is not weakness. It is the afterlife of trauma.

And it deserves to be understood properly.

Enquire About a CICA or C-PTSD Assessment

I offer private psychological assessments for CICA claims, PTSD, C-PTSD, trauma-related psychological injury, and complex trauma presentations. Assessments are available in Harley Street, London, or online by secure Zoom where clinically appropriate.

If you would like to enquire about a CICA psychological assessment, please contact the practice with a brief description of what you need, whether there is a deadline, and whether you are applying independently or with the support of a solicitor.

New assessment enquiries are warmly welcome.

Enquire About a CICA Assessment