Complex Trauma Therapy for Women Austin TX

We believe in the holistic nurturing of complex trauma-informed care to support you in body, mind, and spirit. We have seen firsthand how complex trauma has impacted women’s ability to make progress on their mental health and/or substance use disorder recovery journey. Our wide range of services is designed to consider the complex traumatic aspect of your mental health and/or substance use disorder as we treat and support you on your recovery journey. Through complex trauma care, we can support you in building basic life skills, developing coping strategies, and learning how to change your thinking and behavior patterns to lead a principled fulfilling life in long-term recovery.

Unraveling the Impact of Complex Trauma

At Grace & Emerge Recovery in Austin, we recognize that complex trauma often casts long, complex shadows across a person’s life. From enduring changes to one’s mental health to influencing physical conditions and behavioral patterns, complex trauma’s effects are manifold and profound. We understand that complex trauma does not discriminate, affecting individuals across age, gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. It’s our mission to shed light on these shadows and guide our clients toward understanding, healing, and recovery.

How Does Complex Trauma Impact Mental Health?

Complex trauma can take a toll on your mental health and lead to the development of one or more mental health or substance use disorders. As a diverse set of experiences and interactions, complex trauma does not care about age, gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. With complex trauma care, we can address how complex trauma impacts your unique mental and physical health.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) publication Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services, complex trauma leads to numerous biological changes and stress responses, including changes in your core beliefs about the world and people. Those traumatic experiences shift the way you navigate life and leave you feeling unsafe and alone in every aspect of your life. However, access to social support and healthy coping strategies and skills can be the difference between long-term mental health struggles and leading a healthy life with mental stability.

Biological Consequences of Complex Trauma and the Path to Recovery

Complex trauma triggers a cascade of biological changes and stress responses, altering an individual’s core beliefs about the world and themselves. It can shift the way people navigate life, leading to a persistent sense of danger and isolation. Our complex trauma-informed care approach incorporates an understanding of these biological and psychological impacts to develop personalized treatment plans. We focus on promoting social support and equipping our clients with healthy coping strategies and skills – crucial tools for navigating the path to mental stability.

Complex trauma and substance use disorder (SUD) are deeply connected, as your emotional response to the stressors of complex trauma can lead to unhealthy thinking and behavior patterns. Some of the maladaptive patterns that can come out of complex trauma include the avoidance behavior seen in self-medicating with substances like alcohol. As explained in an article from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), SUD can develop as a means to distance yourself and manage the distress associated with traumatic experiences. After a traumatic event or the buildup of traumatic experiences, you can feel overwhelmed by your physical and emotional response to those stressors, so you seek to numb those emotions with substances that diminish your senses.

Substance use often emerges as a coping mechanism for managing the distress associated with traumatic experiences. It becomes a means to numb overwhelming emotions and physical responses. However, substance use only compounds the problem, adding another layer of complexity to the treatment process. In response to this, our treatment strategies incorporate an understanding of this connection, using evidence-based therapies to address substance use and promote healthier coping mechanisms.

A recovery approach that reconsiders the way complex trauma and co-occurring disorders are treated
Shifting focus from from simple treatment of a condition to holistic support for a recovery journey
Respecting each woman’s voice and experience
Understanding the uniquely personal nature of complex trauma
Creating space for all kinds of experience
Approaching clinical care with deep respect and empathy
Understanding that substance use and mental health disorders and complex trauma are often deeply linked
Treating the whole person in body, mind, and spirit
Respecting each woman’s voice and experience

Safety

Developing settings and activities that ensure the client’s physical and emotional safety

Collaboration

Engaging in shared decision-making for care with the client and care provider

Empowerment

Supporting clients in the development of their treatment and strengthening their belief in their ability to heal

Trustworthiness & Transparency

All care decisions regarding treatment options and service providers are clearly explained and created with the client

Peer Support

Shared experiences are an integral part of recovery as peers are paired together to support each other

Humility & Responsiveness

Acknowledging and addressing how biases, stereotypes, and historical complex trauma impacts treatment from the client and care provider’s perspective

Veterans
Domestic violence survivors
Assault survivors
Those who have experienced racial, gender or cultural violence

How Can Complex Trauma Care Support Me in Recovery?

As an approach to recovery, complex trauma care is focused on supporting the whole person, which means recognizing complex trauma in all its different forms and the impact it has had on you individually and in your family history in the form of generational complex trauma. Moreover, we work together to recognize complex trauma, see the signs and symptoms of complex trauma, integrate that knowledge, and avoid re-traumatization to support you in finding a path toward lifelong recovery that meets your needs and goals. With the core principles of complex trauma care and our treatments, we can support you in building healthier thinking and behavior patterns for better mental and physical health outcomes.

CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)

Acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT)

Polyvagal theory

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

Identifying and processing unhealthy patterns

Developing and setting goals

Group therapy and processing groups

Building life skills
Developing coping strategies
Forming support networks

Educational groups

Sharing experiences
Learning through assigned curriculum

Family therapy

Building healthier connections with loved ones

12-Step facilitation therapy

Supporting specific needs
Building connections between traditional 12-Step and clinical support

Complex Trauma-informed yoga

Supporting mindfulness, self-awareness, and healing

Drug and alcohol monitoring

Providing testing and accountability based on client needs and experiences

Adderall Addiction
Alcohol Addiction
Benzodiazepine Addiction
Cocaine Addiction
Crystal Meth Addiction
Fentanyl Addiction
Heroin Addiction
Lean Addiction
Marijuana Addiction
Meth Addiction
Nicotine Addiction
Opioid Addiction
Addiction to Other Prescription Pills
Xanax Addiction
Vaping Addiction
And More

Anger
Anxiety
Bipolar Disorder
Depression
Disordered Eating
Mood Disorders
OCD
Panic Disorder
PTSD
Social Anxiety Disorder
Complex Trauma
And More

Complex Trauma Treatment

For Women with Complex Trauma, Addiction, & Mental Health Disorders

Unraveling the Impact of Complex Trauma

How Does Complex Trauma Impact Mental Health?

Biological Consequences of Complex Trauma and the Path to Recovery

Mental Health Disorders

Complex Trauma & Substance Use Disorder

What is Complex Trauma Treatment?

The 6 Core Principles of Complex Trauma Care