--- title: "Counseling for trauma — trauma-informed bilingual therapy" description: "Trauma-informed bilingual counseling for women in Texas. 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Trauma work moves at the pace your nervous system can actually take. We spend early sessions building a sense of safety before we go near anything difficult." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is this EMDR?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. I draw on trauma-informed approaches, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral tools, adapted to you. If EMDR turns out to be the right fit, I'll help you find a colleague who specializes in it." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if I've had trauma but I'm 'fine'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Many of the women I see are 'fine' on the outside. The body keeps a quieter record. If something old keeps surfacing in your sleep, your relationships, or your reactions, that's enough of a reason to look at it." } } ] } ] --- [The Art of _Healing_ the Soul Maria Teresa Valencia, MA, LPC ](/) [About](/about) Services Areas [Laredo](/therapist-laredo-tx)[Rates](/rates-insurance)[FAQ](/faqs)[Contact](/contact) [EN](/)[ES](/es) Español [Request a consultation](/contact) ![A burgundy cloth with visible mending stitches resting on a table](/heroes/trauma.webp) [Home](/)/ [Services](/services)/ Trauma Counseling for trauma # Careful work, at the pace your body can actually take. Trauma-informed, unhurried, bilingual. We don’t open anything we don’t have the resources to close in the same session. - Trauma-informed - Telehealth across Texas - English or Spanish [Request a free 15-min consultation→ ](/contact)[Read the FAQs](/faqs) Trauma is not only what happened. It’s also what it did to your sense of safety, your sleep, your body, and your trust — and how much of that you have had to carry alone. Many of the women I sit with are highly functional. From the outside, everything looks intact. The record lives underneath, in reactions that don’t match the moment, in the way certain sounds or dates or rooms can undo a whole afternoon. You don’t have to have a single “big” event to be in this room. Old, quiet, ongoing experiences — growing up in a home where feelings weren’t safe, a relationship that slowly rewrote your sense of yourself, [a loss that no one held with you](/grief-counseling) — count. Complex trauma is real, and it responds to careful, unhurried work. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text [988](tel:988) (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call [911](tel:911). You do not have to wait for an appointment. ## Who this work is for Women who’ve been carrying something for a long time. Women in the middle of processing something recent. Adult daughters figuring out what to do with the family they grew up in. Women whose bodies are telling them the story their minds have tried to file away. [Teens](/teen-therapy-laredo) who need a bilingual space of their own. ## How I work with trauma Trauma-informed doesn’t mean I’m fragile with you. It means I don’t open something we don’t have the resources to close in the same session. Early sessions are about stabilization: understanding the shape of what you carry, learning the language your body uses when it’s overwhelmed, and building a set of grounding practices you can rely on. We don’t go toward the hardest material until that foundation is there. From there, the work is usually a blend of listening — slowly, gently, without the pressure to produce a clean narrative — and specific skills: cognitive tools for the thoughts that hijack the present, mindfulness practices for the moments the body goes offline, and honest conversation about relationships and boundaries. I draw on holistic and client-centered approaches, and I let the actual person in front of me set the pace. ## What sessions look like Sessions are 60 minutes, in English or Spanish, by secure video across Texas or [in person in Laredo](/therapist-laredo-tx). You never have to speak in a specific language on a specific day. Many clients move between English and Spanish depending on what they’re describing, and that’s welcome. You will not be handed a stack of homework. You will not be interrupted with a bright-side reframe. You will not be pushed toward disclosure you’re not ready for. If something is too much on a given day, we notice it, we slow down, and we finish the session with your feet back on the ground. ## What I can’t promise, and what I can I can’t promise to erase what happened. No therapist can. What I can promise is that we won’t rush, we won’t pretend, and we won’t do it alone. The tagline of my practice is real to me: healing is an art, and the pieces can be reconstructed together. ## When trauma work needs a different setting Occasionally the right care is a higher level of support — an intensive outpatient program, a psychiatrist for medication, or a therapist who specializes in a specific modality. If that’s where you would be best served, I’ll say so, warmly and clearly, and help you find the right door. > Trauma-informed care means we move at the pace your nervous system can actually take. Not sure if this is the right fit? That’s what the free call is for. [Book a trauma-informed consult→ ](/contact) ## Questions people ask ### Do I have to talk about what happened? Not until you decide to. Trauma work moves at the pace your nervous system can actually take. We spend early sessions building a sense of safety before we go near anything difficult. ### Is this EMDR? No. I draw on trauma-informed approaches, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral tools, adapted to you. If EMDR turns out to be the right fit, I'll help you find a colleague who specializes in it. ### What if I've had trauma but I'm 'fine'? Many of the women I see are 'fine' on the outside. The body keeps a quieter record. If something old keeps surfacing in your sleep, your relationships, or your reactions, that's enough of a reason to look at it. At a glance Duration 60 minutes Format Video · Laredo Language Spanish or English Rate $180 · self-pay [Free 15-minute consultation →](/contact) Good to know: Licensed in Texas. I can only work with clients physically located in Texas. Related pages - [Grief counseling](/grief-counseling) - [Therapy for depression](/therapy-for-depression) - [Immigration hardship evaluations](/hardship-letters-for-immigration) - [Therapy for women](/therapy-for-women) - [Rates & insurance](/rates-insurance) The next step is small ## Start with a _free 15-minute_ call. No forms, no pressure. Just a short conversation to see if we're a fit. [Request the consultation→ ](/contact)[Rates & insurance](/rates-insurance) In case of crisis · In a crisis or emergency, call or text [988](tel:988), or call [911](tel:911). The Art of _Healing_ the Soul Bilingual therapy for women across Texas. Licensed in Texas since 2009. Maria Teresa Valencia, MA, LPC Texas License #64813 Laredo, Texas Phone: [(956) 333-1318](tel:+19563331318) Explore - [About](/about) - [Services](/services) - [Service areas](/service-areas) - [Telehealth](/telehealth) - [Rates & insurance](/rates-insurance) - [FAQs](/faqs) - [Immigration evaluations](/hardship-letters-for-immigration) - [Therapy for women](/therapy-for-women) Get started - [Contact](/contact) - [Client forms](/client-forms) Resources - [Notes on Healing](/recent-news) - [Mental health resources](/mental-health-links) - [Whole-person health](/physical-health-links) Please note - Therapy outcomes vary and are not guaranteed. - This website is not a secure channel — please don't share confidential health information. - Contacting me through this site does not create a counselor–client relationship. - Licensed in Texas. I can only work with clients physically located in Texas. - [Privacy](/privacy) - [Terms](/terms) - [Cookies](/cookie) - [Disclosures](/disclosures) - [Good Faith Estimate](/good-faith-estimate) © 2026 The Art of Healing the Soul. - [Accessibility](/accessibility) - [Español](/es) Website by [Automaus.ai](https://automaus.ai) Chat with us