More than Just Talk Therapy
Feeling seen, heard, and believed is an important part of healing, but talk therapy alone is not effective for resolving trauma. While it is important for your therapist to understand your history, telling and re-telling the details of traumatic experiences is not required for healing and may be counterproductive. This is why we use approaches that go beyond talk therapy and work with the brain, body, and nervous system to treat the underlying issues at their root.
What to Expect
During the initial stage of therapy, your history of symptoms, significant life events, and your childhood relationships with your family will be discussed. You will be asked to complete assessment questionnaires depending on your presenting symptoms. Together, you and your therapist will develop a collaborative treatment plan. Additionally, you will learn self-regulation and grounding skills to build resiliency and inner resources. In the treatment phase, specific therapeutic interventions will be selected for your unique needs and goals, such as reprocessing traumatic memories.
Therapeutic Approaches
We strive to create a brave therapeutic space where people from all walks of life can feel welcome, respected, and seen. Our therapists have competency training in feminist, culturally sensitive, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and LGBTQ2+ affirming care. Depending on your needs and goals, our therapists employ a variety of therapeutic approaches and interventions, including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy, Somatic Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Mindfulness-based interventions, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and more. Learn more about the specific approaches each of our therapists use.
Our therapists are trained in EMDR . This form of therapy uses bilateral stimulation through eye movements, tapping, tones, or hand buzzers to stimulate your brain's innate ability to process traumatic memories and connect with positive and adaptive information. EMDR techniques can be used to reprocess traumatic memories, develop skills and inner resources, desensitize fears of emotions, work through avoidance or resistance, and treat symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, panic, chronic pain, and dissociative disorders.