Trauma-Focused CBT
Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
Trauma is the center of my practice, and Trauma-Focused CBT is the method behind that work. Here is what it looks like in the room, in plain language: steadiness and skills first, memories only at a pace you can stay with, and new responses you practice in your everyday life.
What Trauma-Focused CBT Means in Plain Language
CBT rests on a simple sequence: notice the thought, test the rule, practice a response that serves you better. Trauma-Focused CBT keeps that sequence and adds what trauma requires. Thoughts that formed in danger, like "it was my fault" or "nowhere is safe," can feel like facts rather than conclusions. Your body learned to brace before your mind could weigh in. So the work holds thoughts, feelings and the body together, and it moves in an order meant to keep you steady rather than flooded.
Understanding and Coping Skills Come First
Before we go near a memory, we build a foundation. That starts with understanding: why your body reacts before you have decided anything, why a certain sound or smell can set off an alarm, and why none of that means something is wrong with you. Then come skills you can carry out of the room and use on an ordinary Tuesday. Safety comes before breakthrough, so this stage is never a warm-up to hurry through.
If trauma and unsafe coping have become tangled together, we may stay here longer, borrowing from Seeking Safety to steady your days before any memory work begins. There is no deadline for moving on. You can stay with skills for as long as you need, and you can come back to them whenever a later step feels like too much.
- Grounding when your body goes on high alert
- Naming feelings before they turn into a flood
- Catching the thoughts that formed in the hardest moments
- Calming your breathing in a way you can repeat anywhere
- Planning for what feels unsafe in your life right now
Working With Memories at a Pace You Can Stay With
When you decide you are ready, and only then, we turn toward what happened. Trauma work does not depend on retelling everything. We might put one piece into words, notice what your body does, steady it together, and stop there for the day. You can say no to a topic and nothing bad happens. Trauma-informed means the pace belongs to you, and your defenses are treated as having good reasons rather than as obstacles to push past.
I am not a therapist who only nods through a session. If I notice a pattern, I will name it, kindly and clearly, because you did not come here to be agreed with. I also do not push into material you are not ready for. We move as fast as your nervous system allows and as slow as your story requires, and if a session leaves you rattled, we slow the next one down rather than pressing on.
Connecting Thoughts, Feelings and the Body
Trauma shows up wearing a lot of different clothes: a tight chest in a crowded room, a flash of anger too big for the moment, a numbness that settles in whenever someone gets close. In TF-CBT we trace those links one at a time. What happened in your body? What did you feel? What did you tell yourself in that second? Seeing the chain makes it possible to interrupt it. The thinking tools come from cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness-based practice helps you come back into the body when the mind has raced ahead.
Practicing New Responses in Your Life Now
Insight alone does not change a pattern, so the later part of the work is practice. You might answer an old thought with a new response, or stay in a situation a little longer than your alarm wants you to, with your skills ready. Between sessions you notice what happens and bring it back. The aim is not to stay in therapy forever. It is to leave with skills, clarity and a way of relating to yourself that keeps working, and we review progress openly as we go.
Watch the Five-Minute Video
If you would rather hear it than read it, I recorded a short video, "How I work with Trauma: TFCBT in 5 minutes," which you can watch on my Approach page. I hold a certification in TF-CBT, and it is the method behind my trauma therapy in Austin. Sessions happen in person at my Southwest Austin office on Fridays and some select other times, or by secure video anywhere in Texas. When weekly appointments keep losing momentum, Trauma Healing Intensives offer a longer, carefully paced container for trauma work.
Common Questions
Do I have to tell you everything that happened?
No. Trauma work does not depend on retelling everything, and nothing is required on day one. We build stability and coping skills first, and you decide when, and whether, to go into harder memories. You can say no to a topic and nothing bad happens.
Can I do this work by telehealth?
Therapy is available by secure video anywhere in Texas, in English or Spanish, as long as you are located in Texas during the session. In-person sessions are at my Southwest Austin office on Fridays and some select other times and days as schedules allow. We can talk on the free consultation about which format feels steadiest for you.
What does trauma therapy cost?
Every service begins with an 80-minute initial assessment at $275. Individual sessions after that are $190 for 50 minutes or $275 for 80 minutes, and a sliding scale between $90 and $190 has limited spots. Trauma Healing Intensives are $1,000 for one day, $1,800 for two days and $2,500 for three days.
How long does trauma work take?
It depends on what you are carrying, and there is no forced timeline. We review progress openly as we go. The goal is that you do not need me indefinitely, and the door stays open if life brings you back.
The consultation is free and there is no obligation on either side.
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