For many people in addiction treatment, the substance use is not the original problem — it's the solution they found for an earlier problem they couldn't hold any other way. Trauma underlies a substantial portion of addiction, and unaddressed trauma is one of the strongest predictors of relapse. RECO Intensive's trauma-informed approach is not a slogan; it's how every clinician on our team is trained.
What we treat under the trauma umbrella
- PTSD — single-incident and complex trauma
- Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) — prolonged or repeated trauma, often childhood-onset
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) — and the addiction patterns they predict
- Combat and operational trauma — see also our veterans group and First Responders track
- Sexual trauma and assault — treated with maximum clinical care
- Moral injury — when actions taken under duress create lasting clinical impact
- Trauma OF addiction — what happened during active use (see our dedicated group)
How RECO treats trauma + addiction together
Stabilization before processing
Trauma processing in early recovery is dangerous without stabilization first. Our team builds resources, skills, and clinical alliance for several weeks before opening trauma work. The order matters; we don't skip it.
Evidence-based trauma therapies
EMDR as our primary trauma-processing modality — strong evidence base, often more tolerable than talk-based exposure. Trauma-focused CBT for clients who do better with cognitive-behavioral structure. Somatic-experiencing approaches for clients whose trauma lives more in the body than in narrative.
Body-based work
Trauma is held in the autonomic nervous system. Heart Regulation, trauma-informed yoga, and equine-facilitated therapy all contribute to the somatic regulation that talk therapy alone can't reach.
Coordination with the addiction work
Trauma work and addiction work are not parallel tracks — they're one integrated plan. Your trauma clinician coordinates weekly with your primary therapist and psychiatric provider. Material from trauma sessions feeds the addiction work and vice versa.
Who this track serves
Clients with prior PTSD diagnoses whose addiction is downstream. Clients whose trauma history they've never named in treatment before. Adult survivors of childhood abuse, neglect, or attachment trauma. Combat veterans and first responders. Survivors of assault. Anyone whose substance use stopped feeling optional once the trauma history came into focus.
Why RECO's approach is different
Many addiction programs claim trauma-informed care but deliver minimal actual trauma therapy. We have trained EMDR clinicians on the active treatment team, somatic-regulation infrastructure, and the clinical pacing to do trauma work safely in early recovery. The integration is what allows trauma to be addressed during treatment rather than punted to "outpatient followup" that often doesn't happen.