Welcome to Healing Minds Behavioral Health!

‍Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again. -Anne Frank

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"How can I help my child?... What should I expect?... Are we the only one's who are going through this?... Will my child need therapy?... Will my child get better?... Who can help us now?... Nothing seems to be working..."

I hear questions and comments such as these very frequently from concerned parents who want the very best for their child, as any parent should. Psychological trauma has a way of touching every area of our lives, which results in lasting adverse effects on our physical, social, spiritual, relational, and emotional well-being. Yet, most of us do not realize its presence nor how it is affecting us. Our minds and bodies will always adapt as much as possible, but something still doesn’t feel right. Life becomes heavier and heavier.

Healing Minds Behavioral Health is a trauma-focused counseling practice for children, adolescents, and families. The question then becomes, "What is trauma-focused?" Therapists who are trauma-focused practice in a way that is about changing the overall focus of counseling by moving away from the “problem” approach. That approach demands, “What’s wrong with you? What did you do wrong? Why are you acting that way?” Trauma-focused counseling is a paradigm shift from “What is wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” Rather than focusing on simply changing your thoughts or behaviors, trauma-focused counseling seeks to understand how you react and adapt to experiences. A trauma-focused counselor will help you understand where your behavior is coming from by explaining trauma’s effects on the brain and emotional regulation.

Throughout the years of work with the many children I've seen, I've stressed, and continue to stress, the importance of recognizing and treating trauma and, most importantly, preventing additional trauma. Children don’t simply outgrow their trauma experiences. They don’t automatically feel safe, self-assured and clear about how to build healthy relationships just because they've gotten older. Instead, the impact of trauma is likely to continue expressing itself through symptoms such as intense anxiety, panic attacks, physical pain, fear, depression — what we call dysregulated emotions.

At Healing Minds Behavioral Health, the goal is to walk with you and your child to understand what happened and find a new sense of wholeness, empowerment and strengths. Healing brings:

• Increased self-care and compassion
• Affect (emotional) regulation
• Resource development (awareness of your support systems both inside and outside of you)
• Ability to build healthier relationships, starting with a therapeutic relationship of secure attachment

I am passionate in my dedication to trauma-focused care that, 1) recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in children and families and, 2) understands potential pathways for recovery to help you and your child heal, and am convinced that given the right environment and support, our bodies and minds are designed to do just that.

I realize that engaging in counseling is a major decision and you may have many questions. Finding the right therapist for you or your child is important. I understand this and to help you take that first step, I am committed to providing you with compassionate consultation to help determine if treatment at Healing Minds Behavioral Health is right for you and your child. Relationships are often hard, messy, sometimes tragic, and full of unimaginable grief.  But there is another side to them.  Research continues to show us that relationships can also be healing.

Please consider calling us at 210-724-7880 or send us an email at info@hmbhsa.com.

Our past does not have to be the author of our future. We are not what happened to us, but what we choose to become.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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Sincerely,

Alejandro Lopez Jr., M.A., LPC, NCC

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