Trauma & Addiction Recovery in Berkeley, California and Virtually
Malachi Gillihan is a Trauma Specialist and Certified Spiritual Counselor, offering Trauma & Addiction Recovery in Berkeley, the East Bay, and virtually, nationwide and internationally. This work is built on a specific view: compulsive behaviors and addiction are rarely random. They're often adaptive strategies, ways the mind and body once found to manage overwhelming emotional and psychological pain, frequently rooted in trauma and attachment wounding.
Malachi is also a survivor-practitioner, and this trauma-focused lens comes from lived experience as well as training. Rather than treating the compulsive behavior as the whole problem, sessions focus on what's underneath it while also directly addressing the behavior itself.
Trauma work alone doesn't always fully resolve compulsive or addictive patterns. The neurobiological and neurochemical loops that built up over time can keep a person vulnerable, especially under stress, even after the trauma itself feels resolved. That's why this work runs on two tracks at once: resolving the trauma, and directly building tools to interrupt compulsive patterns and support a more regulated nervous system.
What you can expect:
A trauma-focused lens on addiction and compulsive behavior, addressing root causes alongside the behavior itself, not one or the other
Guidance from a survivor-practitioner with real depth in trauma's connection to compulsive patterns
Individual sessions, group sessions, in-person in Berkeley, or virtual, wherever you are
Work that's additive to any 12-step or traditional program you've been part of, not a replacement for it
A starting point that asks nothing of you but a conversation
How Can Trauma Lead to Addiction?
Compulsive behaviors and addiction often develop as ways of coping with pain that had no other outlet at the time, especially pain connected to trauma and attachment wounding. What looks like a lack of control from the outside is frequently the nervous system's attempt at self-regulation, a strategy that made sense once, even when it's costly now. Understanding that connection doesn't excuse the impact these patterns have on your life, but it changes what actually needs to happen to shift them.
What if You've Already Tried AA or a 12-Step Program?
This work isn't a replacement for AA, SLAA, or any other 12-step program you've been part of; it's meant to work alongside it. Many people come to this work already in, or having been through, a traditional program, looking for something that goes further into the trauma underneath the pattern. That's exactly what this addresses.
Why This Work Treats Addiction as Rooted in Trauma
Compulsive Patterns as Adaptive, Not Broken
This understanding changes the starting point of the work. Sessions don't treat the compulsive behavior as something to eliminate through willpower or shame. They treat it as a strategy that once made sense, and work to understand what it was protecting you from, so something less costly can take its place.
Why Trauma Work Alone Isn't Always Enough
Even when trauma starts to feel resolved, the neurobiological and neurochemical patterns built up around a compulsive behavior can persist, especially under stress. That's why this work doesn't stop at trauma resolution. It also includes direct tools and practices to interrupt compulsive cycles and support a more regulated nervous system, working to reduce vulnerability to those patterns over time, not just address the trauma that first triggered them.
Sessions Designed Around You
In-Person, Virtual, and Group Sessions
You can choose what fits your life. Sessions happen in person in Berkeley, California, virtually if you're anywhere else in the country, or the world, and group sessions are also available.
Session Length and Format
Sessions combine trauma-focused work with direct tools for interrupting compulsive patterns, shaped around where you are in your own process. To learn more about how Malachi's broader approach comes together, see Malachi's Approach.
Starting With a Consultation Call
There's no assessment to pass and nothing to prepare beforehand. A consultation call is simply a conversation, so you and Malachi can find out together whether this is the right fit.
What Changes When Both Get Addressed
Working on the trauma and the pattern together tends to shift things that working on just one alone doesn't reach. Here's what a few people have said about that experience.
"Impressive synthesis and integration of the science"
Workshop Attendee
"Malachi presented the complex information very clearly. His passion for the subject came through and I found it very motivating to learn more."
Workshop Attendee
"Malachi was a skilled facilitator and the training was well-organized, well-paced, and engaging."
Workshop Attendee
"All the information given in the workshop was not only relevant, but well documented, which made the workshop very valuable."
Workshop Attendee
"Absolutely blew my mind in the best way. I feel empowered, seen, and am excited to try out so many of these tools and strategies!!!!! Thank you Malachi"
Workshop Attendee
"The class was excellent - I wouldn’t change a thing"
Workshop Attendee
More Ways to Heal and Grow
If your situation centers more on the trauma itself, or you're looking for a different format, one of these may be a better starting point.
Individual Trauma Recovery
For trauma recovery without the addiction-specific focus.
Complex PTSD Recovery
For a trauma history that's chronic and long-standing, as the primary focus.
Somatic & Mind-Body Therapy
For body-based work to lead the sessions, especially relevant given how much of the nervous-system regulation piece of this work involves the body directly.
Sexual Trauma Recovery
For sexual trauma specifically, including where compulsive sexual behavior connects to that history.
Group Trauma Therapy
For group formats, gender-specific, mixed-gender, time-limited, or open-ended.
Begin With a Consultation Call
You don't have to have this figured out before you reach out. Trauma & Addiction Recovery starts with one conversation: a short, low-pressure consultation call with Malachi, a Trauma Specialist based in Berkeley, to see if this approach makes sense for you.
Sessions are available in person in Berkeley, California, virtually, or in a group setting.
Common Questions About Trauma & Addiction Recovery
No. This work starts from the understanding that compulsive behaviors developed for a reason, as a response to real pain, not as a moral failing. There's no judgment here, whatever you're carrying.
Will I Be Judged for What I'm Struggling With?
1
That's a normal part of the process, not a sign that the work has failed. Compulsive and addictive patterns are persistent by nature, and setbacks don't undo the progress you've made. They're part of what gets worked with, not a reason to stop.
What if I Relapse or Slip During This Work?
2
Do I Need to Stop All Compulsive Behaviors Before I Start?
3
No. There's no requirement to be abstinent or fully in control of the behavior before beginning this work. Many people start while the behavior is still active.
Yes. This work addresses compulsive behaviors broadly, not only substance use, including behavioral patterns like compulsive sexual behavior or spending, wherever they're rooted in trauma or attachment wounding.