Alicia Hawley-Bernardez

Profile

Join date: Nov 18, 2024

About

Alicia Hawley-Bernardez, Ph.D., LMSW, is a trauma-informed therapist, professor, and educator whose work centers on healing after interpersonal harm, identity exploration, and resilience.

She specializes in supporting individuals navigating anxiety, trauma, emotionally abusive relationships, and major life transitions, while also training future social workers through trauma-informed, relational teaching.

Across both clinical and academic spaces, Alicia prioritizes connection, empowerment, and helping people rebuild trust in themselves.

Posts (32)

Jul 14, 2026 ∙ 3 min

What Is EMDR Therapy for Trauma and Does It Actually Work?

If you’ve been looking into therapy for trauma, EMDR therapy for trauma has probably come up. And if your first reaction was something like “what does ‘eye movement’ have to do with anything?” you’re not alone. EMDR can sound strange before you understand the science behind it. But it’s one of the most thoroughly researched trauma treatments available, and it’s helped a lot of people move through things that years of talk therapy hadn’t been able to touch. Let me break it down in plain...

Jun 23, 2026 ∙ 4 min

What Is Trauma Bonding and Why Is It So Hard to Leave?

One of the most common things I hear from people who have left abusive relationships is some version of this: "I knew it was bad. I knew I needed to leave. So why couldn't I just go?" The answer is almost always trauma bonding. And once you understand what it is, the confusion starts to make a lot more sense. What Is Trauma Bonding? Trauma bonding is a psychological response that happens when a person forms a strong emotional attachment to someone who is harming them. It's not weakness. It's...

Jun 15, 2026 ∙ 4 min

Signs of Narcissistic Abuse in a Relationship: What It Actually Looks Like From the Inside

If you’ve been Googling “signs of narcissistic abuse,” there’s a good chance something inside you already suspects what you’re dealing with. The fact that you’re searching is worth paying attention to. Narcissistic abuse is one of the hardest things to name from the inside, not because it isn’t real, but because it’s specifically designed to make you doubt your own experience. The person causing harm often presents very differently to the outside world. And the relationship probably has...