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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex mental health condition that may develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Military combat, sexual assault, childhood abuse, an unexpected death, a natural disaster, domestic violence, medical trauma, or other overwhelming experiences may all affect people differently.
PTSD treatment is not about forgetting what happened. Trauma treatment provides a safe space to process traumatic experiences, better understand trauma symptoms, develop healthy coping skills, and work toward feeling more connected to yourself and your life.At Louis Laves-Webb, LCSW-S, LPC-S & Associates, we provide PTSD treatment in Austin through compassionate, trauma-informed therapy.
Our personalized approach considers the whole person, including your history, current symptoms, relationships, strengths, and treatment goals.
Whether you are dealing with recent trauma, long-standing complex trauma, or experiences that have left you feeling stuck in survival mode, therapy can provide support as you begin moving forward.
PTSD, or posttraumatic stress disorder, is a mental health condition that may develop after a traumatic experience overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD, and people may respond to a traumatic event in very different ways.
PTSD symptoms can include flashbacks, emotional numbness, intrusive memories, anxiety, avoidance, changes in mood, or hypervigilance long after the immediate danger has passed.
Posttraumatic stress disorder may also occur alongside other mental health concerns, including depression, substance use, relationship issues, low self-esteem, or chronic stress. These challenges can affect work, intimacy, relationships, and the ability to feel safe or connected.
Whether the traumatic experience happened recently or years ago, trauma therapy may provide a supportive environment for understanding what you are experiencing and developing a treatment approach that fits your needs.
PTSD affects people differently, but symptoms commonly involve changes in memory, mood, behavior, physical reactions, and a person’s overall sense of safety.
Trauma symptoms may fluctuate over time. They can also become more noticeable during periods of stress, major life transitions, relationship difficulties, or exposure to reminders of the traumatic event.
Adults and children may repeatedly experience aspects of a traumatic event through flashbacks, distressing dreams, intrusive memories, or strong emotional reactions.
A sound, smell, location, conversation, physical sensation, or other reminder may trigger a reaction that feels surprisingly intense. Even when someone knows intellectually that they are safe, the body may respond as though the original threat is happening again.
Avoidance may involve staying away from people, places, activities, conversations, memories, or emotions associated with trauma.
Avoiding a reminder can provide temporary relief, but over time these patterns may contribute to isolation or make it harder to participate fully in relationships and everyday activities.
PTSD may involve a persistent sense of being on guard. Someone may startle easily, have difficulty concentrating, struggle to relax, become irritable, or have trouble feeling safe even in familiar surroundings.
For some people, this heightened state begins to feel like living in survival mode, particularly when trauma symptoms continue for a long period.
Trauma may affect the way someone sees themselves, other people, relationships, or the world around them.
People may experience guilt, shame, low self-esteem, emotional numbness, difficulty trusting others, or a reduced ability to experience positive emotions. Some also find it difficult to recall parts of what happened.
PTSD symptoms can range from disruptive to debilitating symptoms that interfere with everyday functioning. A mental health professional can assess what you are experiencing and help determine what type of support or trauma care may be appropriate.
Complex trauma generally involves prolonged, repeated, or deeply impactful traumatic experiences rather than one isolated event. Childhood abuse, chronic domestic violence, captivity, repeated interpersonal harm, or other experiences where someone feels trapped or powerless may be associated with complex trauma.
Complex PTSD, or C-PTSD, shares features with PTSD but can also involve difficulties with emotional regulation, identity, self-worth, trust, and relationships.
Complex trauma can affect many areas of life because the traumatic experience may have occurred repeatedly or during important stages of development.
Treatment for complex trauma often requires patience and a trauma-informed approach. Rather than following a predetermined number of sessions, the treatment plan can evolve based on the client’s history, symptoms, goals, sense of safety, and readiness to explore difficult experiences.
At Louis Laves-Webb & Associates, we recognize that complex trauma treatment is not one-size-fits-all. Therapy provides a supportive environment where clients can work at a pace that feels manageable while developing greater self-understanding and healthier ways of responding to distress.
Complex trauma may develop after prolonged or repeated experiences such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, neglect, or other situations involving ongoing fear or powerlessness.
Therapy for complex trauma may explore emotional regulation, self-esteem, trust, boundaries, identity, and the ways earlier experiences continue to affect current relationships.
PTSD may occur alongside anxiety, depression, substance use, grief, or other mental health concerns.
An integrated approach allows therapy to consider how these experiences interact rather than assuming every symptom exists independently.
Trauma may make overwhelming emotions difficult to understand or manage. Therapy can provide a safe environment for recognizing emotional responses and practicing skills for responding in a healthier way.
Trauma can affect trust, intimacy, communication, and the ability to feel connected to other people.
Individual therapy, family therapy, couples counseling, or group therapy may be useful depending on the client’s treatment plan and relationship concerns.
Hyperarousal and chronic stress can sometimes show up as irritability, anger, or difficulty calming down after becoming upset.
When anger has become a significant concern, anger management counseling may provide additional tools for understanding triggers, communicating more effectively, and responding to intense emotions in a healthier way.
No two traumatic experiences are identical. Our Austin therapists use a range of treatment methods and evidence-based approaches so the treatment plan can reflect each client’s unique needs, history, and goals.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment approach used in trauma therapy. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation while clients work with traumatic memories, associated beliefs, and emotional responses.
For some clients, EMDR may be a useful part of PTSD treatment when intrusive memories or unresolved traumatic experiences continue to create distress.Learn More About EMDR Trauma Therapy
Cognitive Processing Therapy is a structured, trauma-focused form of cognitive behavioral therapy that examines beliefs and interpretations that may develop after trauma.
CPT may help clients explore thoughts involving safety, trust, responsibility, control, self-worth, or relationships and consider whether those beliefs still reflect their present circumstances.
Prolonged exposure is another trauma-focused treatment method that gradually works with trauma-related memories, situations, or reminders that someone has been avoiding.
Exposure is structured rather than simply asking someone to confront a fear before they are ready. The treatment approach is designed to help clients process traumatic memories and reduce patterns of avoidance over time.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy explores different internal “parts” and the ways those parts may respond to traumatic experiences.
Internal Family Systems IFS may be particularly useful for some clients dealing with complex trauma, childhood abuse, internal conflict, shame, or protective patterns that developed in response to difficult experiences.
IFS emphasizes curiosity and compassion rather than treating trauma responses as personal failures.
Talk therapy and narrative approaches provide space to explore what happened, how a traumatic experience has affected you, and what meaning you have made of it over time.
Talk therapy does not require repeatedly recounting every detail of the trauma. The process can be adapted to what feels useful and appropriate for your treatment plan.
Trauma can involve both emotional and physical responses. Somatic therapy approaches consider the relationship between psychological distress and sensations or reactions in the body.
Depending on the treatment approach, somatic techniques may include increasing awareness of physical sensations, grounding, breathing, or noticing how the body responds to stress.
Religious trauma therapy provides space to explore experiences involving spiritual abuse, shame, fear, identity conflict, or other harm connected with religious environments.
For some clients, these experiences may overlap with complex trauma, relational trauma, or long-standing concerns about identity and self-worth.
Learn More About Religious Trauma Therapy
Group therapy can provide connection, reflection, and support from others working through personal challenges in a structured therapeutic setting.
A supportive environment may be particularly meaningful for someone whose trauma has contributed to isolation or difficulty trusting other people.
Learn More About Group Therapy
Trauma can also affect the people closest to someone experiencing PTSD.
Family therapy, couples counseling, or marriage counseling may help family members or partners better understand trauma responses, communicate in a healthier way, and work through relationship issues associated with traumatic experiences.
In-person sessions are available at our Austin locations, with virtual therapy also available throughout Texas.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and other trauma symptoms may develop after many different kinds of traumatic experiences. Trauma treatment should account for what happened, how the experience affected the client, and what is happening in the client’s life now.
Our Austin therapists use trauma-informed care to help clients explore how a traumatic event or repeated experiences may continue to affect everyday functioning, relationships, and emotional safety.
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Trauma affects people differently. A personalized approach to PTSD treatment considers the client’s identity, background, environment, relationships, and lived experience rather than treating the diagnosis in isolation.
Military service can involve combat, loss, moral injury, repeated exposure to danger, and difficult transitions back into civilian life.
Our veteran therapy services provide a supportive environment for veterans who want to process traumatic experiences, relationship changes, stress, identity, or other mental health concerns.
Learn More About Veteran Therapy
First responders may be repeatedly exposed to traumatic situations while also feeling pressure to suppress emotional reactions in order to function professionally.Therapy can provide a confidential space to examine the cumulative impact of these experiences, chronic stress, intrusive memories, emotional withdrawal, or difficulty transitioning out of a high-alert state.
Women may experience traumatic events involving sexual violence, relationship abuse, caregiving, loss, or other circumstances that deeply impact their sense of safety and connection.Trauma therapy can provide space to explore these experiences without assuming that gender alone determines how someone responds to trauma.
Repeated relationship abuse may contribute to complex trauma, emotional numbness, difficulty trusting others, and challenges with boundaries or intimacy.A trauma-informed treatment approach can focus on safety, self-understanding, emotional regulation, and rebuilding a sense of agency.
Children and adolescents may show trauma differently from adults. Changes in behavior, school performance, sleep, emotional regulation, relationships, or physical complaints may sometimes appear when younger clients are struggling.
Our child and adolescent counseling services use developmentally appropriate approaches and may involve family members when clinically appropriate.
Learn More About Child and Adolescent Counseling
LGBTQIA+ clients may experience trauma related to discrimination, rejection, relationship abuse, family conflict, identity-based violence, or other experiences.
LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy provides a safe space where these experiences can be explored without treating sexual orientation or gender identity as the problem.
Learn More About LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy
Forced migration, violence, cultural loss, separation from loved ones, and uncertainty may contribute to trauma and identity-related distress.
Therapy can provide support for processing traumatic experiences while also navigating major life transitions, relationships, and the challenge of rebuilding a sense of safety.
Racism, discrimination, cultural trauma, generational experiences, and other forms of harm may intersect with mental health and trauma.
Trauma-informed therapy can make room for those realities rather than treating a client’s experiences as though they occurred outside of their social and cultural context.
Medical emergencies, chronic illness, surgeries, ICU stays, or frightening procedures can leave some people struggling with hypervigilance, avoidance, intrusive memories, or fear associated with healthcare environments.
Trauma therapy may provide support for processing the traumatic experience while building skills for managing distress in a healthier way.
An unexpected or traumatic death may lead to grief alongside PTSD symptoms such as hypervigilance, intrusive memories, avoidance, or a persistent sense of danger.
Grief therapy can provide space to honor the loss while also exploring trauma-related concerns
.Learn More About Grief Therapy
Louis Laves-Webb & Associates serves the Austin area with outpatient mental health and trauma care for adults, adolescents, children, couples, and families.
You may want to consider speaking with one of our PTSD therapists if you are:
Trauma therapy may help you better understand these responses and develop healthy coping skills for moving forward.
Beginning PTSD treatment can feel intimidating, particularly if you have spent a long time avoiding traumatic memories or trying to manage everything on your own.Our treatment process is designed to create a supportive environment where therapy can move at a pace that reflects your needs.
Treatment begins with an intake where you can discuss your trauma history, current PTSD symptoms, mental health background, current concerns, and goals for therapy.
You do not need to describe every detail of a traumatic experience during the first conversation. The initial goal is to better understand what is affecting you and what you hope to change.
Therapist fit matters, particularly in trauma treatment.
Our Austin team includes therapists with experience in trauma-informed care, PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and related concerns. Your preferences and treatment goals can help guide therapist matching.
Your therapist will work with you to create a trauma-informed treatment plan based on your symptoms, history, strengths, preferences, and goals.
Evidence-based approaches may include cognitive behavioral therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), exposure-based methods, talk therapy, somatic techniques, mindfulness, or other appropriate treatment methods.
The treatment plan is not fixed. It can change as you develop new skills, gain insight, and identify what feels useful.
In-person sessions are available at our Central Austin and North Austin locations.
Virtual therapy is also available throughout Texas, providing additional therapy options for clients who prefer to meet remotely.
Trauma treatment is an ongoing process. Your therapist can reassess treatment goals, symptoms, therapy fit, and overall progress as the work continues.
For people dealing with complex trauma, the healing process may take longer than work focused on a single recent trauma. There is no universal number of sessions because the treatment approach should reflect the individual client rather than a predetermined timeline.
Trauma therapy is about more than reducing a checklist of PTSD symptoms. Treatment may also support a stronger sense of safety, connection, emotional flexibility, and confidence in your ability to respond to difficult experiences.
The goal of PTSD treatment is not to erase the past or guarantee lasting healing. It is to create a treatment approach that may help you respond to trauma in a healthier way and build a life that feels less defined by what happened.
"Louis is an incredible therapist. His approach to patients is truly one-of-a-kind by first and foremost ensuring there is a gentle and safe environment to have an open conversation. Louis has helped me through several issues I've faced throughout my life..."
“Louis has been instrumental to a lot of my own personal growth and development. And the work he has helped me go through has impacted not only me, but everyone around me and the relationships around me.”
“Robbie allowed me to soften and open up to an internal world that I didn’t even know existed.”
"You’re making a mistake if you don’t see Nicholas Mamey. His experience in counseling couples is profound, his guidance is wise, and his ability to leave the situation better than when you walked in was stunning. STRONGLY recommend."
“I’ve worked with therapists for the last 7 years and I’ve never had such a positive experience like I’ve had with Kalee. The perfect balance of feeling safe and cared for while also giving friendly and intelligent guidance to achieve my therapy goals.”
"My time spent with Mr. Laves-webb has been a blessing. He and his staff are professional and informative. They listened when I spoke and help me decide what was best for me. I no longer feel lost in my own head and I know whom I can contact to help me sort through my life. Thank you All for what you have helped me with. I appreciate your time."
"Very helpful and personable. Been seeing him for couple's counseling for several years and he's helped us through some tough times."
At Louis Laves-Webb, LCSW-S, LPC-S & Associates, our approach to PTSD treatment is compassionate, trauma-informed, and personalized.
We understand that a traumatic experience can deeply impact far more than one area of life. Trauma may affect relationships, identity, self-esteem, physical reactions, emotional regulation, trust, work, family, and the ability to feel safe.
Our integrated approach draws from evidence-based methods and approaches while still considering the whole person. Depending on your needs, therapy may incorporate EMDR, Internal Family Systems, cognitive behavioral therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, talk therapy, somatic techniques, group therapy, or other approaches.
With flexible scheduling, two Austin locations, and virtual sessions throughout Texas, clients can choose between in-person sessions and online care.
The goal is to provide a safe environment where you can understand what you have experienced, develop useful skills, and begin moving forward at a pace that respects your needs.
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Trauma can intersect with identity in many different ways. LGBTQIA+ clients may experience PTSD or complex trauma related to discrimination, rejection, relationship abuse, family conflict, harassment, violence, religious trauma, or other experiences that affect their sense of safety and trust.
At Louis Laves-Webb & Associates, LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy provides a supportive environment where clients can explore trauma without treating sexual orientation or gender identity as the problem.
A trauma-informed approach can also make space for concerns related to relationships, self-esteem, belonging, identity, and the impact of repeated or relational trauma.
PTSD treatment is a form of trauma therapy designed to help people work through the emotional, behavioral, and physical effects of a traumatic experience. Treatment may focus on reducing distress, understanding trauma responses, developing healthy coping skills, processing traumatic memories, and rebuilding a greater sense of safety and connection.
At Louis Laves-Webb & Associates, PTSD treatment is personalized around the client’s symptoms, history, goals, and unique needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all treatment approach.
Several evidence-based approaches may be used in trauma treatment, depending on the client and treatment plan. These can include Cognitive Processing Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure-based approaches, Internal Family Systems (IFS), narrative and talk therapy, somatic techniques, group therapy, and family or couples counseling.
The right treatment methods depend on the traumatic experience, current PTSD symptoms, whether complex trauma is involved, and what feels appropriate for the client.
EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation while a client works with traumatic memories, associated beliefs, and emotional responses.
For some people with posttraumatic stress disorder, EMDR may be a useful evidence-based treatment for processing distressing memories and reducing the intensity of trauma-related reactions.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) may be useful for some clients dealing with complex trauma, childhood abuse, shame, internal conflict, or long-standing protective patterns.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) explores different internal “parts” and the ways they may have developed to help someone cope with overwhelming experiences. This can provide a compassionate framework for understanding trauma responses without treating them as personal failures.
Complex trauma generally refers to prolonged, repeated, or relational trauma rather than one isolated traumatic event. Childhood abuse, long-term domestic violence, repeated interpersonal harm, or other situations involving ongoing fear or powerlessness may contribute to complex trauma.
People with complex trauma may experience PTSD symptoms along with difficulty regulating emotions, low self-esteem, problems with trust, relationship issues, shame, or a persistent feeling of being unsafe.
It can be. A single traumatic event and years of repeated or relational trauma may affect people differently.
Complex trauma treatment may involve a longer healing process because therapy may address not only traumatic memories, but also relationships, identity, emotional regulation, self-esteem, boundaries, and long-standing survival patterns.
The treatment plan can evolve over time based on the client’s needs rather than following a predetermined number of sessions.
Yes, trauma does not need to be recent for therapy to be worth considering. Some people begin experiencing debilitating symptoms soon after a traumatic event, while others recognize the impact of a traumatic experience months or years later.
Trauma therapy may provide a safe space to understand how past experiences continue to affect relationships, emotions, self-esteem, physical reactions, or the ability to feel safe in the present.
It may. Childhood abuse can be associated with PTSD, complex trauma, relational trauma, difficulty trusting others, emotional regulation concerns, and changes in self-esteem.
Trauma-informed therapy can provide space to explore how childhood experiences may continue to influence present-day reactions without assuming that every current difficulty has one single cause.
Somatic therapy approaches pay attention to the relationship between emotional distress and physical responses in the body.
Trauma can sometimes involve physical reactions such as tension, panic, hypervigilance, numbness, or a persistent sense of being on guard. Somatic techniques may include grounding, breathing, body awareness, or noticing how the body responds to stress.
These techniques may be incorporated into a broader trauma-informed treatment plan.
Group therapy may be useful for some clients by creating opportunities for connection, reflection, and support in a structured therapeutic setting.
Trauma can sometimes make people feel isolated or disconnected from others. A supportive environment where clients can engage with other people may help reduce that sense of isolation while building healthier interpersonal skills.
They may be when it is appropriate for the client and treatment plan.Trauma can affect communication, trust, intimacy, boundaries, and family relationships. Family therapy or couples counseling may help loved ones better understand trauma responses and develop healthier ways of communicating and supporting one another.
The role and frequency of family involvement depends on the client rather than following a standard weekly schedule.
Yes. Some people may turn to substance use or other behaviors as a way of coping with intrusive memories, chronic stress, overwhelming emotions, sleep problems, or other trauma symptoms.
A trauma-informed treatment approach can explore both the traumatic experiences and the coping patterns that developed around them, while helping clients build healthier coping skills.
Yes. Post traumatic stress disorder may affect trust, intimacy, communication, emotional availability, anger, and the ability to feel connected to other people.
Someone may withdraw, avoid difficult conversations, feel constantly on guard, or struggle to believe they are safe even in supportive relationships. Trauma therapy may help clients better understand these patterns and develop healthier ways of relating.
There is no single timeline for PTSD treatment.The length of therapy may depend on the type of traumatic experience, severity of symptoms, whether complex trauma is involved, current stressors, treatment goals, and the therapy methods being used.
Clients dealing with complex trauma or repeated traumatic experiences may benefit from a longer-term treatment approach than someone working through a more recent or isolated traumatic event.
The first session usually focuses on understanding your current concerns, trauma history, PTSD symptoms, mental health background, and goals for therapy.
You do not have to describe every detail of a traumatic experience immediately. The early part of the healing process can focus on establishing a safe environment, building trust with your therapist, and developing a treatment plan that feels manageable.
Yes. Louis Laves-Webb & Associates offers in-person sessions at its Austin locations as well as virtual therapy for clients throughout Texas.
Clients seeking PTSD treatment in Austin, TX can discuss location, scheduling, therapy options, and therapist fit when beginning the treatment process.
You do not have to carry the effects of trauma alone.
Louis Laves-Webb & Associates provides outpatient PTSD treatment in Austin, TX through compassionate, trauma-informed psychotherapy. Whether you are dealing with a recent trauma, complex trauma, intrusive memories, relationship difficulties, or a persistent sense that you are still living in survival mode, therapy can provide a place to begin understanding what is happening.
Treatment is available through in-person sessions at our Central Austin and North Austin offices and through virtual therapy throughout Texas.
If you are ready to explore your therapy options, contact us to find a therapist and treatment approach that fits your needs.
601 West 18th St
Austin, TX 78701
3818 Spicewood Springs Rd
Suite 300
Austin, TX 78759
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