From survival to self‑leadership: a trauma‑informed recovery pathway designed to heal the body, mind and life, meeting each person where they are and providing support every step of the way.

Flexible, clinically guided entry points

• Direct entry into Foundations (inpatient)
• Transition into day programs from inpatient care or the community
• Placement in Emerge after stabilisation work (coming soon)
• Join Thrive following other intensive programs (coming soon)
• Timeframes and programs may vary or be tailored to individual needs. Patients can join where clinically relevant following assessment.

Stage 1: Foundations

• 21‑day inpatient stay or 28-day stay with medical detox (flexible depending on needs)
• Building stability in body, mind and emotion

Patients are enrolled in Embody to provide physical and emotional stability to engage in therapy alongside one of two therapy streams: Anxiety and Mood Disorders or Dual Diagnosis.

Foundations is psychiatrist‑led, trauma‑informed and evidence‑aligned, combining group therapy, education and personalised electives to prepare for deeper therapeutic work.

Embody

A psychoeducational and somatic program that helps patients reconnect to body signals to regulate emotion and reduce distress. Drawing on interoception science and exercise physiology, Embody aims to reduce allostatic load and restore emotional equilibrium.

Includes:

• Psychoeducation on embodied emotion and nervous‑system function
• Personalised movement and exercise programming
• Tools to improve interoceptive accuracy and self‑regulation
• Supportive group environment to reconnect with internal safety

Therapy streams

Delivered alongside Embody, patients participate in one of two focused therapy streams:

Anxiety and mood disorders

• Understand how emotions work – not just how to manage them
• Build self‑awareness and cognitive flexibility
• Practise behavioural activation and values‑based planning
• Link physical, emotional and relational wellbeing

Dual diagnosis

• Understand the role of substances in emotional survival
• Break shame cycles and restore choice
• Learn nervous‑system‑friendly relapse‑prevention strategies
• Integrate identity work with harm‑minimisation or recovery goals

Electives

Inpatients also benefit from tailored therapeutic electives coordinated by the allied‑health team. Electives may include:

• Art therapy
• Diversional therapy
• Nature walks
• AA/NA off‑site meetings
• Educational lectures

Stage 2: Day programs

• 8–12 weeks, half‑day weekly
• Extend, strengthen and prepare

Once foundations is complete, patients graduate to ongoing care through Avive’s structured day programs that provide flexible, clinically held environments that support continued stabilisation, connection and integration.

Programs include:

• Anxiety and mood recovery
• Dual diagnosis recovery
• DBT skills program
• Veterans program
• Creative arts and expression

Flexible, weekly group programs help patients continue progress, connect with others and prepare for deeper work or reintegration into daily life.

Stage 3: Emerge (coming soon)

• 21‑day inpatient stay
• Feel, witness and transform

With foundations and day programs complete, patients may return for Emerge,  Avive’s closed, psychiatrist‑designed trauma‑processing intensive for those clinically ready to explore and integrate trauma safely.

What to expect:

• Somatic and emotional release
• Processing trauma through body, story, expression and group witnessing
• Integration and identity repair
• Reclaiming meaning, values and self‑leadership
• Emerge provides a contained, transformative environment to help patients move through old patterns and rebuild self‑agency.

Stage 4: Thrive (coming soon)

• 8 weeks, one day weekly
• Integrate, reconnect and rebuild your life

Thrive supports long‑term integration by helping people apply insights, strengthen relationships and create a meaningful future.

Program structure:

• Week 1 – Unpack: Awareness and groundwork; mapping emotional patterns, protective strategies and survival beliefs
• Week 2 – Feel: Somatic and emotional release through story, expression and witnessing
• Week 3 – Rebuild: Integration and identity repair; reclaiming purpose and capacity for self‑leadership

Includes:

• Identity and boundary work
• Relational safety and group feedback
• Purposeful reintegration into life and community
• Sequential or direct entry is available following clinical assessment

Why Avive’s therapeutic journey works

Avive’s journey follows a trauma‑informed, neuroscience‑aligned model that reconnects the nervous system, strengthens emotional regulation, processes trauma safely and supports lasting change. Each phase builds on the last, creating a whole‑person pathway from survival to self‑leadership.

Important information

This page contains general information only and does not replace professional medical advice. Avive Health provides voluntary, hospital‑based mental health care for adults. If you are in crisis, call 000.