Trauma-Informed Therapy
Trauma is not just what happened to you. It is what happened inside you as a result. Trauma-informed therapy starts from that understanding, and builds everything else around your safety, your pace, and your capacity to heal.
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What Is Trauma-Informed Therapy?
Trauma-informed therapy is not a single technique. It is an overarching way of working that shapes everything, from how safety is built at the start of therapy, to how sessions are paced, to how setbacks are understood. At its core, it means recognising that trauma affects the whole person: the nervous system, the body, the sense of self, and the capacity to connect.
My trauma-informed practice is deeply influenced by the integrative work of Janina Fisher, whose Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) training draws on parts work, somatic therapy, and neuroscience to support healing from complex and developmental trauma. This approach understands that trauma lives not just in memories, but in the parts of us that adapted to survive.
What it is not
Trauma-informed therapy does not mean retelling your story in detail, being pushed to process before you are ready, or treating symptoms in isolation. Safety and stabilisation always come before any deeper trauma work.
What it is
It is a way of being in relationship with you that honours the impact of what you have been through, moves at your pace, and builds your capacity to heal from the inside out, without requiring you to re-live what hurt you.
The Core Principles of Trauma-Informed Care
These principles shape every aspect of how I work, regardless of what brings someone to therapy:
Safety First
Healing cannot happen without a felt sense of safety. Building physical, emotional, and relational safety is always the foundation before any deeper work begins.
Your Pace, Always
There is no rushing in trauma work. We move at the speed of your nervous system, not a treatment timeline. You are always in control of how much we explore and when.
Symptoms as Adaptations
What looks like dysfunction often began as a brilliant survival strategy. Trauma-informed therapy honours that, working with your responses rather than pathologising them.
The Whole Person
Trauma affects the mind, body, nervous system, and sense of self. Healing addresses all of these, not just thoughts and behaviours, but how safety and connection are felt from the inside.
What Trauma-Informed Therapy Helps With
Because trauma-informed care is an orientation rather than a specific protocol, it is woven through work on a wide range of experiences:
Is Trauma-Informed Therapy Right for Me?
Because it is an orientation rather than a single modality, trauma-informed therapy is woven into all of my work. That said, it may feel especially resonant if:
It may resonate if
- You have a history of difficult or painful experiences that still affect you today
- Previous therapy felt too fast, too confronting, or retraumatising
- You struggle with emotional regulation, dissociation, or chronic shame
- You want a therapist who understands trauma at a deep level
- You are looking for an approach that honours your body and nervous system, not just your thoughts
Good to know
- Trauma-informed therapy is not the same as trauma processing. We build safety first, always.
- You do not need a trauma diagnosis to benefit from this approach.
- This work can be integrated with other modalities like EMDR, somatic therapy, and IFS.
If you are not sure whether trauma-informed therapy is what you need, a free consultation is the best place to start. We can talk through your history and figure out the right approach together.
Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma-Informed Therapy
Trauma-informed therapy means that every aspect of the therapeutic relationship and process is shaped by an understanding of how trauma affects the nervous system, the body, and the sense of self. It is not a single technique but an overarching lens that influences how sessions are paced, how safety is built, and how healing unfolds.
No. One of the foundational principles of trauma-informed therapy is that healing does not require re-living or narrating traumatic experiences in detail. In fact, retelling trauma without adequate resourcing can sometimes be retraumatising. The focus is on building safety and capacity first, and processing follows when you are ready and resourced enough to do so.
Trauma therapy refers specifically to therapeutic work aimed at processing traumatic experiences. Trauma-informed therapy is a broader orientation that shapes how all therapy is delivered, whether or not trauma processing is the explicit goal. A trauma-informed therapist understands the impact of trauma and ensures the entire therapeutic experience reflects that understanding.
Janina Fisher is a leading trauma therapist and educator whose integrative approach draws on parts work, somatic therapy, and neuroscience to help people heal from complex and developmental trauma. Her work emphasises working with the parts of the self that carry trauma, rather than processing memories directly, and has been particularly influential in treating chronic, relational, and childhood trauma.
PTSD typically develops in response to a single traumatic event. Complex trauma refers to the impact of repeated, prolonged, or relational trauma, often beginning in childhood. It tends to affect a person's sense of self, their ability to regulate emotions, and their patterns in relationships in ways that go beyond classic PTSD symptoms.
Yes. I offer trauma-informed therapy virtually to anyone located in Ontario. For many people, the privacy and comfort of their own space actually supports a greater sense of safety, which is foundational to trauma work.
Healing Does Not Require You to Relive It
Trauma-informed therapy meets you exactly where you are, at whatever pace feels safe. If you are ready to explore what that could look like, I would love to connect.
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