Resources & Support

Substance Use

Substance use isn’t just about the substance—it’s about survival, coping, and connection.

What it is: Substance use refers to the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, prescription medications, or illicit drugs. It becomes problematic when it interferes with health, relationships, or responsibilities.

Why it happens: People use substances for many reasons—relief from pain, escape from trauma, peer influence, or to feel in control. Substance use can be a response to unmet emotional, physical, or relational needs.

What’s important to know: Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a chronic condition that affects the brain’s reward system, decision-making, and emotional regulation. It’s not a moral failure—it’s a health issue that deserves compassion and support.

Recovery is possible: Healing involves more than stopping use. It includes rebuilding trust, restoring safety, and reconnecting with self and others. Treatment may include therapy, medication, peer support, and lifestyle changes.

Trauma Recovery

Trauma recovery is not about “getting over it”—it’s about reclaiming safety, choice, and connection.

What trauma is: Trauma is the emotional response to an event or experience that overwhelms your ability to cope. It can be sudden (like an accident) or ongoing (like abuse or neglect).

How it affects us: Trauma can change how we see ourselves, others, and the world. It may show up as anxiety, flashbacks, emotional numbness, or difficulty trusting others.

Recovery happens in stages:

Safety – Building a sense of physical and emotional security

Remembrance & Mourning – Processing painful memories

Reconnection – Rebuilding relationships and identity

Integration – Moving forward with resilience and self-awareness

Healing is nonlinear: Everyone’s journey is different. There may be setbacks, but each step forward is meaningful. Support, self-care, and trauma-informed therapy can help.

Family Systems

Families are not just groups of people—they’re emotional ecosystems.

What it means: Family Systems Theory views the family as an interconnected unit. Each person’s behavior affects—and is affected by—others in the system.

Why it matters: Patterns like conflict, avoidance, or enmeshment often repeat across generations. Understanding these dynamics helps us break cycles and build healthier relationships.

Key concepts:

Triangles – When tension between two people pulls in a third

Differentiation of Self – Balancing emotional closeness with personal autonomy

Family Projection – Passing unresolved issues onto children

Emotional Reactivity – How stress spreads through the system

Systems can change: Healing doesn’t mean fixing one person—it means shifting the whole system. Therapy, reflection, and accountability can help families grow together.

Trauma shakes the foundation. Resilience rebuilds it—with care, connection, and choice.

What Is Trauma?

Trauma is not just what happened—it’s how the body, mind, and relationships respond when safety is shattered.

Definition: Trauma is an emotional and physiological response to experiences that overwhelm a person’s ability to cope.

Types:

• Acute trauma – a single event (accident, assault)

• Chronic trauma – repeated exposure (abuse, neglect)

• Complex trauma – relational harm within caregiving systems, often beginning in childhood

• Impact: Trauma can affect memory, trust, emotional regulation, physical health, and identity. It may show up as hypervigilance, dissociation, shame, or difficulty forming relationships.

What Is Resilience?

Resilience is not the absence of pain—it’s the capacity to adapt, recover, and reconnect.

Definition: Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity, heal from trauma, and grow through challenge.

Key factors:

Safety – physical and emotional environments that reduce threat

Support – relationships that offer empathy, consistency, and care

Skills – coping strategies, emotional regulation, and meaning-making

Systems – access to resources, justice, and community healing

Resilience is relational: It’s built through connection, not isolation. It thrives in environments that honor dignity, transparency, and shared accountability.

Healing Is Nonlinear

Recovery from trauma is not a straight line—it’s a spiral of remembering, reconnecting, and reauthoring.

Stages of recovery:

• Establishing safety

• Processing and mourning

• Reconnecting with self and others

• Rebuilding meaning and coherence

Reintegration: Healing involves reclaiming agency, rebuilding trust, and restoring a sense of self.

Integrative Approaches

Effective trauma recovery draws from multiple frameworks:

• Attachment Theory - safety in relationships

• Narrative Therapy - reauthoring personal meaning

• Anti-oppressive Models - addressing systemic harm and injustice

• Somatic Practice - Reconnecting with the body

• Family Systems - healing relational patterns

Cycle of Harm

• Tension builds through unmet needs, or unresolved trauma

• Harm occurs through abuse, control, neglect, or violation of boundaries

• Minimization or denial appears as blame shifting, gaslighting, or avoidance

• Temporary reconciliation is made through apologies without change or emotional manipulation

• Silence or avoidance when harm is buried and patterns repeat

• Cycle repeats often with increased severity or emotional damage

Cycle of Repair

• Awareness emerges by recognizing harm and its impact

• Accountability begins by naming the harm without defensiveness

• Responsibility is taken when we acknowledge the impact and intent of harm

• Repair is initiated when actions to restore trust, safety, and dignity are taken

• Reflection and integration of learning, growth, and relational healing

• Cycle evolves when relationships shift toward honesty, safety, and equity

Key Differences

• Harm is cyclical without intervention; repair is intentional and relational.

• The Cycle of Harm reinforces power imbalances and emotional disconnection.

• The Cycle of Repair fosters mutual accountability, emotional safety, and systemic change.

• Repair doesn’t erase harm—it transforms it through empathy, boundaries, and restorative action.

How to Support the Shift

• Facilitators can use scenario cards, consent mapping, and emotional literacy tools to interrupt harm and model repair.

• Clients benefit from clear language, symbolic imagery, and trauma-informed frameworks that validate their experience and support agency.

• Systems must prioritize transparency, dignity, and shared accountability to make repair sustainable.

My Support Map

Support isn’t just who you call in a crisis—it’s what helps you feel safe, seen, and strong.

People Who Support Me

• Who listens without judgment?

• Who respects my boundaries?

• Who shows up when I need help?

• Who helps me feel safe, empowered, or understood?

Use concentric circles to map closeness (Inner Circle, Trusted Circle, Extended Circle)

Internal Supports

• What strengths do I carry inside me?

• What coping skills have helped me in the past?

• What values guide me when I feel lost?

• What affirmations or reminders help me stay grounded?

Environmental Supports

• What spaces help me feel calm or safe?

• What routines or rituals support my well-being?

• What sensory tools (music, scents, textures) help me regulate?

Professional & Systemic Supports

• What services or programs are available to me?

• Who helps me navigate legal, medical, or mental health systems?

• What rights do I have in these systems?

• What questions do I still have about accessing support?

Emotional & Spiritual Supports

• What helps me feel connected to something bigger than myself?

• What practices help me find peace, meaning, or hope?

• What beliefs or symbols remind me I’m not alone?

Support in Motion

• What support do I need more of right now?

• What support do I want to build or strengthen?

• What support do I need to let go of or redefine?

You deserve support that feels safe, respectful, and aligned with your needs.

Clarify Your Needs

• What are you seeking support for—trauma, substance use, relationships, identity, court compliance, or something else?

• Do you prefer individual, couples, family, or group counseling?

• Are you looking for short-term coping or long-term healing?

Tip: Write down 2–3 goals or concerns you want to explore in counseling.

Consider Specializations

• Look for counselors trained in areas that match your needs (trauma recovery, BIPP, substance use, family systems).

• Check for certifications like SBIRT, QPR, or trauma-informed care.

• Ask if they have experience with court-mandated clients or restorative practices.

Check Credentials & Compliance

• Are they licensed in your state (e.g., LMFT, LCDC)?

• Are they supervised and still in training (LMFT-Associate)?

• Do they follow ethical guidelines and confidentiality laws?

Tip: You can verify licenses through your state’s licensing board.

Assess Fit & Communication Style

• Do they speak in ways that feel clear, respectful, and nonjudgmental?

• Do they explain your rights, responsibilities, and consent clearly?

• Do they invite questions and feedback?

Tip: Many counselors offer free consultations—use that time to ask about their approach.

Emotional Safety & Cultural Competence

• Do they honor your identity, background, and lived experience?

• Do they create space for emotional safety, choice, and autonomy?

• Do they avoid shaming, blaming, or rigid assumptions?

Tip: Trust your gut—if something feels off, it’s okay to keep looking.

Practical Considerations

• Do they accept your insurance or offer sliding scale fees?

• Are their hours and location (or telehealth options) accessible?

• Do they provide documentation for court, school, or work if needed?

Trust the Process

• The right counselor won’t “fix” you—they’ll walk beside you.

• It’s okay to switch counselors if the fit isn’t right.

• Healing takes time, and you deserve support that honors your journey.

Therapy involves a level of vulnerability that can be challenging. However, openly sharing your emotions, fears, and anxiety with your therapist is a crucial step. This allows them to address the issues that make you uncomfortable. If you need a different counselor, your therapist is there to support you and will assist you in finding an alternative, ensuring you receive the help you need.

It's important to remember that in cases of domestic violence, including physical violence, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, financial restrictions, stalking, and forced isolation from friends or family, couples therapy is not appropriate. In these situations, individual therapy is the best course of action.

Emphasizing the critical role of the 'no secrets' policy in maintaining the integrity of the treatment is paramount. The clinician's responsibility to keep confidential information with partners underscores the need for total and complete openness between partners, as the relationship is considered the “client” and not the individual’s. This underscores the importance of addressing problems and concerns with the couple, ensuring that issues that could be detrimental to the family or couple are discussed in the session and not kept secret.