Trauma Therapy in Toronto
What is trauma?
Trauma is what happens when our body and mind is overwhelmed and deeply impacted by an event or series of events, exceeding our capacity to cope. It often disconnects us from our body, nervous system, and psyche in a way that then becomes challenging to navigate our relationship with ourselves, other people, and the broader world around us.
You may have experienced a singular traumatic event such as a fall, assault, motor vehicle accident, etc., or chronic and multiple experiences of relational abuse, neglect, or lack of safety in your home/community. Trauma also exists within a systemic level, consisting of experiences such as intergenerational wounds, systemic violence, and experiences of discrimination and marginalization.
Am I experiencing symptoms related to trauma?
There are a variety of different responses to trauma, as our body and brain often does an extraordinary job of finding ways to survive these experiences. While not an exhaustive list, you may be experiencing symptoms of trauma if some of these experiences resonate with you…
You feel constantly on edge and/or hypervigilant
You feel numb, shut down, and unable to access any motivation
Sometimes you cycle between intense panic and numbness
You experience physical symptoms such as headaches, GI distress, muscle pain, etc., with no medical explanation
It feels very challenging or impossible to experience safety within a relationship
There are frequent flashbacks or intrusive thoughts about your experience
You feel unable to control your emotions or avoid them entirely
Types of therapy we use to work with trauma
Somatic Therapy
Understand more about how the body and nervous system are impacted by trauma, and reconnect with the bodies innate capacity to move through stress and overwhelm.
Emotion-focused Therapy
Identify emotions still attached to past traumatic experiences, and work on transforming these emotional experiences through developing new and more supportive responses.
Internal Family Systems
Explore how various parts of ourselves naturally become fragmented when experiencing trauma, and learn how to build more internal safety to help heal from these experiences.