Counselling for Trauma

Therapy for trauma, including therapy for PTSD, can give you the tools and strategies you need to process traumatic experiences and move forward with a renewed feeling of hope for a better future. We provide a culturally inclusive space to help you work through trauma and gain a greater sense of control.​

Ontario Mental Health Therapy

Heal from Trauma and Regain Control of Your Life so You can Look Forward to the Future Again

Therapy for trauma, including therapy for PTSD, can give you the tools and strategies you need to process traumatic experiences and move forward with a renewed feeling of hope for a better future. We provide a culturally inclusive space to help you work through trauma and gain a greater sense of control.

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500+ clients supported with therapy

4000+ therapy sessions provided

We Help You Heal From Trauma by Creating a Safe Space to Process Your Experiences and Move Forward

Online Therapy for Trauma May be Helpful if You Want to…

  • Learn transformational strategies to heal from trauma from the comfort of your own home
  • Feel calmer and more in control of your thought patterns and reduce symptoms of trauma or PTSD
  • Gain confidence in your ability to effectively manage a PTSD diagnosis or other trauma
  • Practice using tools that will help you process the trauma that is holding you back from your best life

Our diverse team of therapists is here to help you understand how you think about your trauma and identify ways to cope with trauma so you can live life on your terms.

Anyone who has experienced a traumatic life event understands the devastating impact it can have…especially if you are unable to move past it.

Everyone experiences challenges in their lives, but sometimes a particularly traumatic event or series of events can be difficult to overcome. 

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Does any of this sound familiar?

  • Do you suffer from intrusive memories or flashbacks of a bad experience? And the fear of these stressful memories or intense sensation of horror or helplessness makes you anxious and interferes with daily activities…
  • Are you easily startled or feel like you’re always on high alert? And constantly feeling on edge is both stressful and exhausting…
  • Do you find yourself using alcohol, drugs, or food to cope with unwanted feelings or memories? And you’re worried about the negative health impacts this is having on your body and self-worth…
  • Do you notice that you either tend to feel too much or too little?And not being able to regulate your emotions between overwhelm and numbness is putting a strain on your relationships…
  • Do you suffer from nightmares or have difficulty falling asleep?And the resulting tiredness makes it harder to concentrate on work or school during the day…
  • Have you been diagnosed with PTSD?And you’re not sure how to heal trauma and move forward to live a happy, calm, and confident life…
  • Have you tried therapy for trauma before but didn’t find it helpful?And you’re afraid that no therapist would understand your unique cultural background and how it contributes to your trauma…

If you found yourself saying “yes” to any of the above, you’re not alone. Luckily, there are tools and strategies to help you overcome trauma, including coping with PTSD and overcoming feelings of anxiety, guilt, or shame. Working with a therapist who is familiar with your cultural context can be a powerful way to heal from trauma and improve your quality of life.

If You’re Ready to Stop Being Stuck in the Past and Heal From Trauma so You Can Move Forward, We Can Help

It’s hard to live a normal, productive life when you live in constant fear that at any moment, painful memories of a past event may come flooding back. Whether you experienced a single traumatic event or had the misfortune of suffering ongoing distressing events over a long period, it’s possible to regain control over your thoughts.

Therapy for trauma empowers you with tools and strategies that help you address your trauma and shift the way you think about it so that you can live with more ease and confidence.

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Our diverse team of talented therapists specializes in several evidence-based therapies:

  • Cognitive-behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
  • Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy
  • Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Mindfulness-Based Therapy

Our Approach

How Therapy for Trauma and PTSD Works

An evidence-based approach to managing trauma and finding a renewed sense of hope for the future.

01

Blue Circle

WE LEARN ABOUT YOU

We take the time to understand your strengths, challenges and your therapeutic goals.

02

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WE CREATE A PLAN

We collaborate to create a personalized plan to help you develop the skills you need to meet your goals.

03

Blue Circle

WE PROGRESS FORWARD

We continue to assess your progress and adjust as you make strides in managing and healing your trauma.

Are you ready to take the first step toward healing from your trauma?

We’re Passionate About Providing Trauma Therapy in an Inclusive Environment Where You Feel Seen, Heard and Respected

Our values set us apart from other trauma therapists in Toronto…

Our diverse team of therapists understands the racial and cultural disparities that people of colour and other marginalized groups face personally and professionally. We consider your intersecting identities.

Identifying when and where you have experienced trauma is an important part of how to cope with anxiety. By recognizing how trauma affects you, we can work towards improving your mental health.

We are dedicated to creating a safe environment where you will feel reassured and understood regardless of your background or circumstances, with the utmost sensitivity.

Our therapists are here to help, not criticize. We ensure that you feel seen and heard without being judged so you can focus on building a better future.

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Learn How to Work Through Trauma and Discover a Brighter, Happier Future

Take the first step towards healing from trauma by working with a therapist to develop healthy coping mechanisms. As you learn how to manage trauma, you’ll improve your sense of self-worth, strengthen your relationships, and enjoy a renewed sense of hope. Our experienced trauma therapists are here to help inspire growth, healing, and connection.

Therapists that treat Trauma

Three friends having fun in downtown Toronto

Positive Outcomes with Depression Counselling

  • Feel more in control to handle life’s challenges
  • Feel happier and more fulfilled
  • Learn how to speak to yourself with compassion
Be gentle with yourself – on your path to healing

Frequently Asked Questions

Trauma is a normal emotional response to a significant adverse event or multiple events that cause intense fear, helplessness, or stress. Some examples of potentially traumatic events are losing a loved one, near-death experiences, serious injury, car accidents, sexual assault and violence. Trauma can result from personally experiencing such events, witnessing them, or learning that an event like this has happened to a close friend or family member.

What trauma does to a person varies widely. Short-term signs of trauma may include shock, confusion, agitation, exhaustion, numbness, dissociation, and denial about the event. More long-lasting trauma symptoms include intrusive flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, mood swings, emotional detachment, hopelessness, avoidance of activities associated with the trauma, and feelings of guilt, anxiety, and shame. Some people may even experience physical symptoms of trauma such as headaches and nausea.

Many people who experience trauma will be able to overcome the initial difficulties through a combination of coping strategies and the support of peers and family. Others have more severe or long-lasting experiences of trauma such as those who exhibit post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or acute stress disorder (ASD). To be diagnosed with PTSD, an individual must exhibit certain intrusive symptoms for longer than 4 weeks after the traumatic event.

Symptoms of PTSD may include recurrent and involuntary memories of the traumatic event, distressing dreams, flashbacks, avoidance of thoughts or external reminders of the traumatic event, inability to remember a key part of the event, exaggerated negative beliefs, persistent fear, anger, guilt, or shame, decreased interest in usual activities, irritability, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, and more. PTSD can have a significant impact on one’s sense of safety, hope for the future, relationships, and patterns of substance use. 

Yes, memory loss is a potential symptom of trauma. Someone with trauma may be unable to recall an important part of the initial traumatic event. In cases of ongoing traumatic events such as domestic violence or sexual abuse, trauma can result in dissociative amnesia, which helps a person cope or protect themselves from psychological damage by forgetting the details of a traumatic event.

Yes, it is possible to recover from PTSD. Everyone will have their own journey and timeline for doing so, depending on the severity of symptoms and the focus on recovering. Professional treatment should be sought to recover fully from PTSD. Contact us today to learn more about PTSD therapy in Toronto.

If left untreated, PTSD is likely to worsen over time. Without healthy ways to process and heal from trauma, any challenging situations in life may worsen PTSD symptoms. For example, being under stress from work or a new adverse event can make PTSD symptoms worse. Furthermore, untreated PTSD symptoms may lead to self-medication with alcohol and drugs, which can further worsen symptoms of trauma. 

You may be wondering, can you help yourself to cope with PTSD?  While it may be possible to heal from PTSD on your own, the chances of fully recovering are significantly better if you seek professional therapy for PTSD. At Ontario Mental Health Therapy, we have a team of diverse therapists who provide PTSD therapy in Toronto. Contact us to learn how you can recover from PTSD by using the tools and strategies that therapy offers.

The best therapy for trauma depends on the specific symptoms, experiences, and goals of the individual patient. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is one type of evidence-based therapy that can help you identify thought patterns and learn how to change these to reduce the intensity of your trauma symptoms. Another type of effective therapy for trauma is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which helps you evaluate how you view yourself, others, and the world around you and whether these feelings are factual. A type of therapy especially helpful for PTSD is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. It may help reduce the vividness and emotional intensity of traumatic memories by using eye movements and other types of rhythmic stimulation.

 

Keep in mind that you may find you respond better to one treatment while someone else finds a different type of trauma therapy more effective. At Ontario Mental Health Therapy, we work with you to identify your goals and determine the best trauma therapy approach for you. Our team has expertise in a variety of therapy modalities (including the ones mentioned above) that can help you heal from trauma.

Looking for PTSD therapists in Toronto? We provide online therapy for trauma and PTSD to residents of Ontario. That means you can get the trauma treatment you need from the comfort of your own home at a time that works best for your schedule. We offer appointments during the day, evenings, and weekends and sessions may be covered by your extended benefits plan. 

Trauma-informed therapy is therapy that is conducted with an understanding that a client may have experienced trauma in the past which could impact their mental health and behaviour. Viewing a client through a trauma-informed lens allows therapists to consider potential triggers based on past traumas and find ways to adjust to a client’s specific needs to ensure that the client feels safe during therapy sessions. At Ontario Mental Health Therapy, we conduct all therapy through a trauma-informed lens to ensure our clients are comfortable and able to meet their therapy goals.