For parents & partners · When someone you love has trauma
NW Austin · Round Rock · Online across Texas
Therapy for Parents & Partners of Trauma Survivors
When one person in a family is hurt, the whole system feels it. We help parents and partners understand what helps, what hurts, and how to support healing without carrying it alone.
Get Help Now
or call 512-400-4790
If this is you
All you want is to know how to help.
Loving someone who was abused, assaulted, or traumatized can be tricky. You love them more than anything — and it can feel impossible to know how to show it. Their mood shifts fast, hot to cold. Walls go up. It's hard not to take it personally.
You won't have to choose between a trauma therapist and a couples or family specialist. We have counselors trained in both.
Many parents and partners struggle with…
Confusion about what's happening and why
Not knowing how to rebuild trust
Exhaustion from the ups and downs
Feeling blamed, or guilty
Wanting to help but not knowing how
Loneliness inside a relationship with so many walls
These problems are normal. When one person in a system is impacted, the whole system is affected — and the whole system can heal.
Who we help
Parents, partners, and whole families.
Three ways trauma lands on the people around it — and three ways we help.
Parenting a child with PTSD
There's no rule book for parenting a traumatized child. We help you understand what to expect and how to help, so you can support your child as they heal.
Supporting a partner with PTSD
We help you know the difference between what helps and what hurts — for them, and for your relationship.
Family trauma therapy
You don't have to live with high conflict anymore. Families learn to communicate, rebuild trust, and find a new way of supporting each other after trauma.
What you'll learn
You can't fix them. You can help.
Two simple steps, practiced until they're second nature:
01
Understand the pattern
How PTSD, anxiety, and depression are impacting your child or partner — and that it is not your fault.
02
Recognize a PTSD reaction
Sudden mood shifts, hot-to-cold — you learn it's their body saying “danger,” not a verdict on you.
03
Help their body feel safe
Concrete, simple steps that settle a loved one's nervous system in the moment. Explaining doesn't work; safety does.
04
Coach, don't rescue
The more they can calm themselves, the stronger they get. You feel empowered because you're finally doing something that actually helps.
05
Protect the relationship
Conflict reduces. Connection and commitment grow.
06
Get your life back
Life becomes easy and playful again — the relationship you've always wanted.
It is not your job to heal the other person. Your loved one will need specialized treatment so their brain, body, and heart can heal. As a support, you can be very helpful along that journey.
When your loved one needs sexual assault counseling
First, understand. Then, support.
The bad news: you can't “fix” them. The good news: there are things you can do to help — and with that help, they can more easily do the hard work of healing themselves.
1
Understand the impact
How is the assault or abuse affecting your child or partner? PTSD? Body image and self-esteem? Understanding the symptoms makes their reactions make sense.
2
Learn what settles
Once triggered, their brain and body say life-or-death even when they're perfectly safe. We teach you what helps them feel safe so their logical brain can click back on.
3
Support their treatment
You can't be their therapist. You can learn to support the individual work they're doing — and get your own support along the way.
Common questions
What parents and partners ask us.
Anything we haven't answered? Call 512-400-4790 — you'll talk to Nia, not a phone tree.
For you. Your loved one may also be in individual treatment (with us or elsewhere); this work gives you the understanding and skills to support them — and to take care of yourself.
Yes. We offer couples and family sessions alongside individual support, and we coordinate care so nobody falls through the cracks.
We work with kids, tweens, and teens directly, and we work with parents alongside — because family context matters. See our child therapy and teen therapy pages.
Because their body is in panic mode, not their logic. When something reminds them of the trauma, their nervous system says danger — even during a hug. Their body needs to actually feel safe first; then their thinking brain comes back online.
No. You don't need the story to be a good support, and your loved one controls what they share and when.
Yes, across Texas. Partners don't have to be in the same location, and many find it easier to talk openly on video.
Individual, couples, and family rates are on our Rates page, along with our nonprofit sliding scale.
Your first call is with a real person.
Nia, our Client Care Coordinator, will listen to what's going on and match you with the right therapist. No phone tree, no pressure.
Get Help Now
or call 512-400-4790
Our couple & family clinicians
Trained in trauma and in family systems.
These clinicians help you understand the signs of a PTSD reaction and teach the steps that settle it.
Clinical Director
Heather Hammock LMFT
EMDR Certified
EFT
Sex therapy
Offers intensives
New clients: individual & couples intensives only
Round Rock office · Online
Sees Adults & couples
Oliver Papa-Garcia LPC
Bailey Pellissier LMSW
with Kelsey Blahnik, LCSW-S, supervising
Resident-level clinicians are supervised weekly by a senior trauma specialist — more eyes on your care, not fewer.
Two ways to work
Weekly therapy, or a few focused days.
Both get to the same place. The difference is pace — and which one fits your life right now.
Most people start here
Weekly therapy
- 50-minute sessions, usually once a week
- Steady, paced work: safety and skills first, then the deeper work
- Shauna, Oliver, Maegan, Bailey, and Lily — and Ivana from October
Same work, compressed
EMDR intensive
- Half or full days across one to five days
- In our office, in your home, online, or at a retreat location of your choice
- For people ready to go deeper — or who can't wait months
- With Heather Hammock, Shauna Onabajo, or Traci Pirri
Our money-back guarantee applies to weekly and pre-intensive sessions, not to the intensive itself. We'll explain how that works before you book.
Why people trust us
501(c)(3) nonprofit
Money-back guarantee
Not satisfied? We'll refund up to your first two sessions. Excludes intensives.
Advanced therapies
EMDR-trained team with weekly complex-trauma consultation.
Compassionate care
Warm, practical, paced to what you can handle.
“
Hope For The Journey is one of the most solid teams of mental health professionals that I've had the pleasure of interacting with. They put so much time and effort into being well trained, curious, compassionate, and driven towards providing individuals with the best care possible.
Joshua Adair, LCSW · Referring therapist
We're a nonprofit, so cost shouldn't be the reason you wait. Sliding-scale spots with licensed clinicians and supervised residents are part of how we work.
Where we meet
Two offices, or anywhere in Texas.
Easy to reach from Northwest Austin, Cedar Park, and Georgetown — or meet online from home if that feels safer. Call 512-400-4790 and Nia will help you pick.
NW Austin
4131 Spicewood Springs Rd. Ste. L-1
Austin, TX 78759
Austin, TX 78759
In person · all ages
Round Rock
1101 Satellite View #501
Round Rock, TX 78665
Round Rock, TX 78665
In person · all ages
Online across Texas
Secure video sessions from home
Every therapist offers online
More ways we help
Check out our other services
Looking for a specific age instead?
Ages 4–12
Child & tween
Gentle, parent-involved therapy for younger kids.
Ages 18–25
Young adult
Therapy you book for yourself, on your own terms.
Not sure if this is for you or for your loved one? One call with Nia sorts it out.
You don't have to carry this alone. Let's get your healing started.
Schedule a consult call. We'll help you find the right therapist and build a plan that fits your life.
Get Help Now
or call 512-400-4790