Radical Trauma Healing for Texans

Virtually or in-person in Austin, TX.

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  • "In the World through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself."

    Frantz Fanon

  • "They were all slender, frail creatures with wondering eyes and soft fluttery voices. But they were made out of thin invisible steel."

    Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  • "You have something in this world. So, stand for it."

    Ghassan Kanafani

  • "Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion."

    bell hooks

  • "The greater the wounding, the more numerous and powerful our protectors need to be."

    Bonnie Badenoch

  • “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

    Audre Lorde

  • "Time cannot be broken; that is our greatest burden. And our greatest challenge is to live in spite of that burden."

    Irvin D. Yalom

  • "Trauma is not a disorder but a reaction to a kind of wound. It is a reaction to profoundly injurious events and situations in the real world and, indeed, to a world in which people are routinely wounded."

    Bonnie Burstow

  • "The only pain that can be avoided is the pain that comes from trying to avoid unavoidable pain."

    Pete Walker

  • "If I do not love the world, if I do not love life, if I do not love people, I cannot enter into dialogue."

    Paulo Freire

  • "It is a joy to be hidden, and disaster not to be found."

    Donald Woods Winnicott

  • “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

    Assata Shakur

Close-up of a smiling person wearing glasses and a navy blue turtleneck sweater, standing in front of a lush garden with trees, rocks, and a pond.

Welcome to Invisible Steel Counseling!

I’m Emily Villarreal, LCSW (she/they)

As your therapist, I am committed to cultivating a safe space by welcoming all identities you hold. I believe that you already have the innate wisdom you need to heal; I am just here to guide you on your journey. Learn more about me and how I work.

Areas of Specialty

Invisible Steel Counseling is committed to providing affirming, collaborative, and person-centered care. Here are the most common issues that come up in the therapy room with me:

  • Childhood trauma

  • Complex trauma

  • C-PTSD & OCD co-morbidity

  • Intergenerational trauma

  • Anti-oppression & social justice

  • Attachments & relationships

  • Intellectualization & dissociation

  • Perfectionism & need for control

  • Anxiety & depression

  • Life transitions

  • Inner child/ parts work

  • Boundaries & conflict/resolution

  • Parentification

  • Dysfunctional family of origin

  • Identity exploration

  • People-pleasing & enmeshment

Collective Healing

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Collective Liberation

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Collective Healing ♡ Collective Liberation ♡

Our Values

Invisible Steel Counseling acknowledges that systems of oppression are at the root of our collective traumas, and I always consider how these systems have contributed to your own trauma. None of us are free until we are all free!

  • Black liberation & anti-racism

  • Landback & Indigenous Sovereignty

  • Anti-carcerality & abolition

  • De-colonialism

  • Immigration/ migration justice

  • Class consciousness

  • De-institutionalization

  • Disability justice

  • Sumud (steadfastness)

  • Collective healing & liberation

  • Intersectional feminism

  • Queer & transgender justice

Connect With Emily!