Trauma Therapy in Austin, TX
The Past Can Stop Running the Present
Trauma isn’t only what happened — it’s how your nervous system keeps responding long after it’s over. If you’re living with intrusive memories, constant alertness, or a body that won’t settle, trauma therapy helps the past lose its charge so you can be here, now.
4.9★
Average rating in our most recent client survey
15 years
Serving Austin families since 2011
4,000+
Clients served
30 therapists
With varied licensure and levels of experience
Laurie Stevens-Beck, LPC-S
Senior Therapist
I can't start my day without grounding, a little yoga, and morning meditation.
Brittany Tyrrell, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
A Massachusetts transplant who loves family, reading, baking, traveling, and the outdoors.
Craig Lesley, LPC-A
Supervised by
Laurie Stevens‑Beck, LPC‑SI'm happiest with my dogs, open-water swimming, grilling, and yoga.
Sydney Loza, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
I work out almost every day — it keeps me sane (my husband agrees).
Karla Corro, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
I love time with my three dogs and husband — hikes and road trips!
Amber Arellano, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Weekly dance, daily reading, and time in nature keep me grounded.
Jadese Jasper, Internship Student
Supervised by
Marla Sanderson, LMFT‑SI love meditation, music-filled dog walks, new recipes, and history rabbit holes.
Eleni Milliken, LPC-A
Supervised by
Colleen Bardelli, LPC‑SI recharge in nature with my dog, through movement and creative expression.
Karla Chamberlain, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
I love reading, writing, gardening, cooking, nature walks, and caring for animals.
Sarah Becker, LPC-A
Supervised by
Rosalie Piedra, LPC‑SI'm a big hobbyist — circus arts, rock climbing, and hands-on DIY.
JonTayé Bonds, LPC-S
Senior Therapist
I recharge with yoga, drawing, bullet journaling, and singing in the car.
Amy Nikitenko, PsyD
Clinical Psychologist
I love camping with family, trekking the wilderness, and crafty DIY projects.
Looking for a therapist? We’ll help you find a perfect match.
Matcha is our matching tool. It’s free, there’s nothing to sign up for, and it takes about a minute.
- Narrow by insurance, availability, and how a therapist works
- Save the ones you want to come back to
- Or just describe what you’re going through, and let it find the fit
Recognize How Trauma Shows Up
Trauma rarely announces itself by name. It shows up in the body and the routines — often long after the event, sometimes without an obvious event at all. Things we hear most often:
- Always scanning, never quite able to relax
- Intrusive memories, nightmares, or flashbacks
- Avoiding places, people, or topics that stir it up
- Startling easily; a body that stays braced
- Feeling numb, distant, or \”not really here\”
- Sleep that won’t come or won’t hold
Not sure whether what you’re carrying \”counts\” as trauma? Reach out — a short conversation with our team can tell you a lot, with no commitment.
Process Without Retelling Every Detail
The biggest fear people bring to trauma therapy is having to relive it. Modern trauma treatment doesn’t work that way. Approaches like EMDR and Somatic Experiencing let you process what happened by briefly touching the memory or the body’s response — not by narrating the worst day of your life out loud, week after week.
What actually happens in a session?
First, we listen: what’s been going on, and what you want to be different. Nothing hard gets touched until you have grounding skills that work and a pace you control. Then processing looks different depending on the approach — brief contact with a memory during bilateral stimulation in EMDR, or tracking sensation as the body completes what it couldn’t finish in Somatic Experiencing.
You can pause at any point, in any session. That isn’t a courtesy — control is part of how trauma treatment works.
Want to know what your first session would look like? Getting started begins with a simple, low-pressure intake.
Safety and Stabilization Come First
Good trauma therapy is built in the right order. Before any processing begins, you learn skills that steady the nervous system — grounding, breathwork, ways to come back when a memory pulls you under. If you’ve tried trauma work before and got overwhelmed, this stage is probably what was missing, and spending real time here isn’t a delay. It’s part of the protocol.
Mindfulness runs through all of it — every clinician at Austin Mindfulness Center is also trained in mindfulness, which matters here, because the skills a flooded nervous system needs most are the ones we teach best. Get started, or ask for a call if you’d rather talk it through first.
Choose the Right Approach for You
There’s no single right way to treat trauma — there’s the right way for you. Some people do best with EMDR’s structured protocol; others need the body-first pace of Somatic Experiencing; many benefit from talk therapy alongside either. Your therapist will map the options honestly, including what we know and don’t know about how each one works.
How long does it take — and what about cost?
A single-incident trauma often responds in a focused course of sessions; longer histories take longer, and we review progress with you as we go rather than leaving therapy open-ended. If we think you’re done, we’ll say so.
We work with several insurance plans and offer clear self-pay rates — see Rates & Insurance for specifics, or get in touch and we’ll check your coverage before you begin.
The Client Therapy Journey
Wondering what happens after you reach out? Here’s the whole arc, from first call to confident goodbye.
1Reach out
A short, low-pressure conversation about what’s been going on and what you’re hoping for. It takes just a few minutes, and there’s no commitment.
2Get matched
Matcha, our custom matching platform, pairs you with the best-fit trauma therapist — because trust is where this work begins.
3Safety first
Before anything hard gets touched, you build grounding skills that work and a pace you control. Stabilization isn’t a delay — it’s part of the treatment.
4Process at your pace
EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, or talk therapy — stuck memories lose their charge without retelling every detail.
5Review, grow, graduate
We track progress with you and say so when you’re ready — a nervous system that trusts the present is the summit.
How We Work With Trauma
No two histories are alike, so your therapist draws from several evidence-based approaches and follows your pace.
EMDR
A structured, eight-phase protocol that helps distressing memories lose their charge — the memory stays, its grip doesn’t. Learn more.
Somatic Experiencing
Body-first work that helps the nervous system complete what it couldn’t finish — no retelling required. Learn more.
Mindfulness-based stabilization
Grounding, breathwork, and present-moment skills that steady the nervous system — the foundation everything else is built on.
Trauma-informed talk therapy
Making sense of what happened and how it shaped you — at a pace you set, with a therapist who knows when to slow down.
EMDR for children and teens
For young people carrying a difficult event, EMDR is adapted for young minds and paced gently — with parents in the loop. See child counseling.
MCN as a complement
Some clients pair therapy with microcurrent neurofeedback — a newer, gentle approach some find settling alongside the core work.
Find the right trauma therapist
Choose whichever way feels easier. Scroll down to meet the AMC therapists who treat trauma and request someone by name.
Or answer a few questions in Matcha, our custom AI-assisted matching tool, and we’ll suggest therapists whose experience and availability may fit your needs.
What our clients are saying about us
The breathing technique, being gentle to myself, and learning to recognize when I am not living in the present moment, among other coping skills my therapist has been teaching me have helped me tremendously with anxiety. She is easy to talk to, gentle, and listens without judgement. I am so thankful I found her and recommend her to everyone.