Teresa Mateus (she/her/hers), MSW, E-RYT 200 is a graduate of NYU's School of Clinical Social Work where she graduated in 2007. She spent nearly 10 years working with combat veterans and survivors of military sexual trauma at the Vet Centers, a branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her work there informed her knowledge and practice modalities for treating and healing trauma. While at the VA she received the NYU's Recent Alumna Award for integrative approaches for trauma treatment for programming she created to heal trauma utilizing trauma-conscious yoga, creative arts, and equine-facilitated psychotherapy. Her work with combat and war trauma has extensively informed her understanding and response methodology for movement trauma - as she has seen a parallel between the symptoms and manifestation of both kinds of trauma and trauma response. 

Teresa's work over the last 10 years has centered at the intersection of activism, healing and spirituality and she is the co-founder of The Mystic Soul Project (BIPOC/QTPOC-centered spirituality, activism and healing) and TRACC 4 Movements (trauma response and crisis care for movements). She speaks, writes and trains at these intersections across the United States.

 

Teresa's work with trauma and crisis response for movements has included education and trainings for activists and healing care providers. She provided trauma response care at Standing Rock and in Charlottesville, VA. She has also provided consultation and support for a variety of other movement, action and protest-oriented healing care response and currently is coordinating crisis response, community education, and training for practitioners during this COVID-19 and movement Uprising moment with her organization TRACC4Movements. 

 

Teresa is also the author of three books: Mending Broken: A Journey Through the Stages of Trauma & Recovery, Sacred Wounds: A Path to Healing from Spiritual Trauma, Going Naked: The Camino de Santiago & Life as Pilgrimage.