Trauma Therapy in Ottawa
EMDR-focused care for trauma, PTSD, and complex emotional pain. Sessions available in-person and online across Ontario.
Maybe you've already done the work—years of therapy, medication, self-help—but you're still hurting.
When we experience any sort of trauma, it leaves an imprint on our body. In order to cope, our nervous systems have to adapt to survive it. Trauma can be a single event or years of accumulated stress—whatever shape it takes, it fundamentally disrupts your nervous system’s ability to process and move on.
Instead, memories stay stuck. That’s why you might feel numb, anxious, on edge, disconnected, or triggered by things that don’t make logical sense. These kinds of reactions often get misunderstood as personality flaws or moodiness. In reality, they’re survival responses that never got turned off.
trauma
/trô-mə/ noun
a. a lasting disruption in the nervous system caused by overwhelming experiences the mind and body were unable to fully process
b. a psychological or emotional response to events that leave a person feeling helpless, unsafe, or fundamentally changed
How I Can Help
When survival is what your body’s been wired for, it’s no wonder it never feels safe. That can change.
There’s no single formula for healing trauma, but there are ways that work. My approach is rooted in EMDR and other integrative, trauma-informed methods that help your system do what it couldn’t do at the time: fully process what happened and release the survival strategies that once kept you safe but are now keeping you stuck. You could be here because of longstanding emotional pain, attachment trauma, or overwhelming memories.
Whatever your unique story, we’ll work together in a way that’s focused, intentionally paced, and designed with your capacity in mind. The methods I use won’t require you to go into every detail, but they also won’t allow you to stay stuck in the past. I’ll help you safely engage with what’s unresolved, so you can start to feel real shifts where it matters most: in your body, your beliefs, and your ability to live fully.
Trauma keeps us stuck. Healing brings us back to choice.
What you can walk away with:
A calmer, more regulated nervous system
The ability to say “I’m safe now,” and mean it
Stronger boundaries, emotional resilience, and self-trust
Relief from the pain you thought would never go away
A feeling of connection—to yourself, your relationships, and your future
A new, hopeful internal story
You don’t have to live in the past anymore.
FAQs
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The event that happens doesn’t necessarily define trauma, it’s more defined by the impact and effect it has on you and your body. If you feel chronically overwhelmed, shut down, anxious, reactive, or disconnected from yourself or others, there may be unresolved experiences driving those responses. You don’t need a specific memory or diagnosis to begin doing the work.
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Talk therapy can provide insight, but trauma often lives deeper—in the body, in implicit memory, and in survival responses that talking alone can’t reach. EMDR helps process and resolve what’s still stuck, allowing your system to stop reacting as if the threat is still happening.
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If something left you feeling unsafe, unseen, helpless, or like you had to change who you were to survive, it may be trauma. This includes both “big T” events (like abuse, assault, accidents) and “small t” experiences (like chronic neglect, emotional manipulation, or identity erasure).
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Yes. For clients looking to move through trauma work more efficiently, I offer EMDR intensives—extended sessions designed to create deeper momentum in a shorter timeframe. This can be especially helpful if you feel stuck, have limited time, or want focused support around a specific issue. You can learn more about intensives HERE and see if this approach is the right fit for you.
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Not at all. Trauma work should never be about forcing or flooding your system. We move at your pace. The goal is to build enough safety and capacity in the nervous system so the deeper work becomes possible and sustainable.