About Brenda Lee Gauthier Austin Therapist

ABOUT

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ...

Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.

~Carl Jung

My

Philosophy

I believe wholeheartedly that each of us has the capacity to heal (even though it may not always feel like it!) I believe that we each have our own inner wisdom within but many of us lose that connection through life experiences and social influences. Beginning at a young age we learn adaptive behaviors along the way to protect ourselves from pain and hurt. And before we know it, we are saying “It’s just who I am.” But that is not our truth - it is just what we were taught to believe about ourselves. That is why I prefer to look beyond diagnoses and labels. They are limiting and it is not who we are. It is in our patterns and symptoms where we can find information that help lead us to the root cause. I see my role as a guide to help you navigate through the layers of beliefs, programming and wounds that have been holding you back so that you can reconnect with the true self that has wanted to emerge.

From my perspective the therapeutic experience is a collaborative effort. The goal is for you to become empowered in your own healing journey so that you walk away with what it takes to create and live the life you want for yourself. In other words, I hope to work myself out of a job!

My
Approach

Our journey together begins with creating an environment where you feel safe, seen and heard. We will take a holistic approach which heavily considers how your thoughts and actions are influenced by your physiology (nervous system) and automatic programming. This is known as “bottom up” processing and allows for the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual self to align and integrate in a way that leads to sustainable change. This means that we do not always need to go into the details of difficult stories or events in order for healing to take place.

I incorporate processes and tools from Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, Breathwork, Mindfulness, Guided Imagery/Visualizations, CBT, NLP, Toltec Wisdom and various other modalities that I have experienced and studied along the way (EMDR, CRM). Everything is tailored to your needs, at your pace, so it is truly an individualized approach.

Gentle, direct and compassionate, I will walk alongside you on your journey. Informed by interpersonal neurobiology, transpersonal psychology, body-based practices and cognitive processes, I offer a diverse toolbox of strategies and techniques for you to pick and choose to see what fits best for you – but most importantly, I will bring presence, reflection and authenticity.

Professional
Experience

Prior to my work in mental health, I enjoyed several careers including swim instructor, bartender, 5th grade teacher, consultant for strategy and planning and producer for reality television shows. Through a series of twists and turns, I finally found the mental heath field - which seems to be my life path.

I have been in this field now for 12 years. I started my career working in residential treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. The first five years I served as a primary counselor for both men and women at several Austin treatment centers including Austin Recovery, Anchor West, The Arbor and Promises. My sixth year working in treatment recently served as Director of Clinical Services at The Last Resort. Throughout most of my positions, I also facilitated educational classes, experiential breathwork processes and 2-4 day intensive family programs. Additionally I facilitated aftercare groups for Williamson County, sustained a small private practice, facilitated community breathwork workshops, and provided breathwork services for other treatment centers across the state. It was my work in treatment where it became painfully evident how little is understood about what trauma is and how underestimated its role is in addiction and what jump started my deep dive into trauma and especially complex trauma. I now work in private practice specializing in recovery from complex trauma, shock trauma, addiction and ADHD. Oh, and recovery from perfectionism! Additionally I continue to facilitate family program workshops for two treatment centers and offer community workshops when I can find the time.

Credentials &

Training

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor

Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner

Internal Family Systems (IFS) II

Brainspotting Phase 2 Practitioner

Certified Integrative Breathwork Facilitator

Transforming Touch® Practitioner

CRM Practitioner

Certified in Trauma Informed Yoga Therapy - TIYT™

BASE Trained: Body and Somatic Education

Master Therapeutic Guided Imagery Facilitator

200Hr Yoga Teacher Trained

Clinical Hypnotherapist

EMDR Trained

Incorporating Somatic Work - Rock Springs CEU - Feb 2019

Importance of Trauma Informed Care - Recovery to Practice - Feb 2018

Integrative Holotropic Breathwork - Rock Springs CEU - July 2017

Breathwork Workshop - Maui Recovery - June 2017

Somatic Work: Essential Component in Treating Addiction -

UT School of Social Work - March 2017

Panelist at Freud Meets Buddha Conference - May 2016