Vancouver Trauma Counselling
Our trauma therapists can help you get back to yourself and find closure from major life events. We support you in living in a more authentic and empowered life.
Working with a counsellor in understanding trauma can help with closure from an event that is no longer occurring and help you live in the present, free from the pain of your past …
“Unlike other forms of psychological disorders, the core issue in trauma is reality.” -Bessel van der Kolk
Working out of Vancouver, our counsellors offer trauma counselling in both in-person and online sessions. Our clinic specializes in helping people move past traumatic events that have caused roadblocks in their lives. Therapy can assist you in re-processing your story (emotionally, mentally and physically) and offer some closure to the events that have caused suffering or physical discomfort in your life. This work will also be effective in helping your nervous system heal. Trauma counselling is a tiered process where the unhealthy self-narratives that we consider “our life story” are transformed, and steps are taken to allow your body to process that the event is now over. This alleviates the psychological and physical symptoms of PTSD so that your body can recover from stress and recognize that the traumatic experience is no longer occurring. Counselling will help break the narrative, behaviours, and patterns that leave you feeling stuck or out of control. I would love to assist you in regaining control of your life and well-being.
Where does trauma exist?
Trauma lives both in the body and in the mind. Counselling sessions assist you when your capacity to cope is overwhelmed. When you experience an incident that is perceived as dangerous, such as sexual violence, childhood abuse, or a car accident, your animal instinct (or your midbrain) takes over. When this occurs, usually your conscious mind temporarily goes offline so that your body can react appropriately to the external threat, causing you to shut down. Trauma exists by re-living these experiences through external triggers or repetitive thoughts or behaviours that cause mental and physical distress. Trauma can overwhelm your ability to cope and cause feelings of unease and helplessness. This can distort your sense of reality and sense of self and erode your ability to feel a full spectrum of emotions and fully experience life.
Trauma counselling can give you new tools to manage:
Sexual, physical, emotional, or domestic violence
Accidents
Witnessing a severe accident, abuse, or death
Participating in combat/witnessing
Childhood abuse/neglect
Natural disasters
Social discrimination
Sudden loss
Medical systems and interventions
I am a trained trauma counsellor, based in Vancouver and specializing in working with clients from all walks of life. My holistic approach to counselling integrates the mind-body connection into healing emotional roadblocks with somatic therapy. I provide my clients the tools to move forward in their lives. I work alongside my clients as they regain confidence and explore more productive and peaceful inner narratives.
Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
Difficulty regulating emotion
Memory loss, (can occur around of what happened during traumatic event itself)
Panic attacks when reminded of the trauma (increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, sweating)
Avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event
Flashbacks
Hyper-vigilance
Withdrawal from society
Numbness & Depression
Nightmares
Lack of appetite
Irritability
Difficulty concentrating
Using substances to dissociate
If you’re curious and want to learn more on your own, here are a couple suggested books:
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk: https://amzn.to/2KRI5x5
Waking The Tiger by Peter Levine: https://amzn.to/2MnxI4q
