Serenity in the Steps counseling and recovery services

18/11/2025

12/11/2025

Healing Trauma via EmDr -
efficiently amazing results !

28/10/2025

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23/10/2025

Defeating trauma , the roots pf addiction and the stumbling blocks to real recovery...
Gold standard in treatment and Recovery !

23/10/2025

Complex trauma leads to chronic trauma-
Drug and alcohol use were misguided solutions

19/10/2025

https://youtube.com/shorts/DzBNJEiT_nc?si=Jbg9GtBiCk_DELde

Robin Williams talks about the denial of addicts, thinking sobriety can be down alone, though often the addict needs help and support of a network. Accepting...

06/10/2025

Relapse and Trauma

The correlation between trauma and addiction relapse in the context of recovery is strong and significant. Unresolved trauma is a major factor that can undermine long-term sobriety and increase the likelihood of relapse.
Here's a breakdown of the connection:
• Self-Medication: Many individuals initially turn to drugs or alcohol as a form of self-medication to cope with the painful emotions, flashbacks, anxiety, or hyperarousal associated with trauma (or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD). When they are in recovery and stop using substances, these unresolved trauma symptoms often resurface, leading to intense distress.
• Triggering and Overwhelm: Trauma creates changes in the brain's stress response system. Stress, emotional distress, or reminders of the trauma (triggers) can quickly overwhelm an individual's coping mechanisms in recovery. This overwhelming distress can lead to a powerful urge to return to the previously effective, though ultimately destructive, coping mechanism: substance use.
• Co-occurring Disorders (Dual Diagnosis): Trauma frequently leads to co-occurring mental health disorders like PTSD, anxiety, or depression. If these underlying mental health issues are not adequately treated alongside the addiction, the symptoms can exacerbate cravings and significantly increase the risk of relapse.
• Neurological Changes: Trauma can alter brain chemistry and function, affecting areas responsible for emotion regulation, impulse control, and the reward system. These changes can make individuals more susceptible to craving and less able to resist the impulse to use when under stress.
Crucial Role of Trauma-Informed Care:
Because of this strong link, effective addiction recovery necessitates a trauma-informed approach to treatment. This means:
1. Recognizing Prevalence: Acknowledging the high rate of trauma among individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUD).
2. Safety and Trust: Creating a treatment environment that promotes physical and emotional safety, trust, and collaboration to prevent re-traumatization.
3. Addressing the Root Cause: Moving beyond just stopping substance use and providing integrated, specialized therapies (like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - EMDR, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - TF-CBT, or Seeking Safety) to process and heal from the underlying trauma.
By addressing the root cause of trauma, individuals can develop healthier, more resilient coping skills, significantly reducing their vulnerability to relapse and achieving more sustainable, long-term recovery.

03/10/2025

CHR AUDIT

The Human rights inspection team lauded Serenity in the Steps on its comprehensive , evidence based
and
Non - custodial psychosocial interventions to Mental health and Addiction recovery.

Being humanistic , trauma informed and equipped to address other co occurring disorders makes it stand out from among the other places that were audited.

The CHR team is composed of Social Workers Peggy Gallego,Imelda Dura and Atty Carl Joseph Rivera

01/10/2025

01/10/2025

Trauma informed Parenting - an addiction preventive approach

is based on the understanding that trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) significantly increase the risk for substance use disorders later in life.
It shifts the focus from simply asking "What's wrong with you?" to a more empathetic and healing-centered question: "What has happened to you?"
The core idea is that by providing a safe, stable, and nurturing environment and responding to a child's needs through a lens of trauma-awareness, parents can:
1. Strengthen Protective Factors: Trauma-informed parenting helps build resilience in the child, which acts as a protective buffer against future substance use. Key protective factors include secure attachment, strong social-emotional skills, and healthy coping mechanisms.
2. Mitigate the Effects of Trauma: By recognizing the signs of trauma (which can often look like difficult behavior) and responding with patience, consistency, and a focus on regulation and connection, parents can help a child heal and manage their stress and emotions in healthy ways.
3. Prevent the Use of Substances as Self-Medication: Many individuals with a history of trauma use drugs or alcohol to cope with intense emotional pain, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress. Trauma-informed parenting teaches a child healthier ways to regulate their emotions and manage distress, reducing the need to self-medicate with substances.
4. Resist Re-traumatization: The approach encourages parents and caregivers to interact with the child in ways that are non-punitive, predictable, and empowering, actively avoiding actions that could re-activate past traumatic experiences or cause further harm.