Trauma can affect how you feel, think, and relate to others. For many people, the effects of trauma continue long after the original experience has passed, shaping emotional responses, relationships, and a sense of safety. Trauma-informed therapy offers a supportive and structured way to explore these experiences and work toward healing at a pace that feels respectful and manageable.
Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy offers trauma-informed therapy in person in Ottawa, as well as virtual therapy for clients throughout Ontario. Our approach focuses on safety, collaboration, and helping you understand how trauma may be affecting your emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.
Now accepting new clients.
Trauma refers to the responses that can develop after experiences that felt overwhelming, threatening, or beyond your ability to cope at the time. Trauma can result from a single event or from repeated experiences over time. What is traumatic for one person may not be for another, and there is no single definition that applies to everyone.
Experiences that may contribute to trauma include:
You do not need a diagnosis to seek trauma-informed therapy. If past experiences continue to influence how you feel, respond, or relate to others, trauma counselling may be helpful.
Trauma-informed therapy is an approach to counselling that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and integrates this understanding into all aspects of care. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, trauma-informed therapy considers how experiences may shape your present thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and relationships.
This approach prioritizes emotional and psychological safety throughout the therapeutic process. Trauma-informed therapy, Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy, is collaborative and paced according to your needs, with care taken to avoid overwhelming or retraumatizing experiences.
Core principles of trauma-informed therapy include:
These principles help create a therapeutic environment where meaningful healing work can take place.
Trauma responses are adaptive reactions to experiences that felt unsafe or overwhelming. While these responses may once have served a protective purpose, they can become distressing when they persist.
People seeking trauma therapy often describe:
These responses are common and understandable reactions to trauma and therapy can provide a space to work with them in a supportive and structured way.
Trauma-informed therapy may involve different therapeutic approaches depending on your needs, goals, and readiness. Your Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy therapist will work with you to determine which approaches feel most supportive and appropriate.
Approaches commonly used in trauma therapy include:
This approach helps you understand how thoughts, emotions, and behaviours interact. It can support you in identifying patterns that maintain distress and developing coping strategies that promote emotional regulation.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based trauma therapy that helps clients understand how traumatic experiences can shape core beliefs about themselves, others, and the world. Trauma can lead to unhelpful patterns of thinking, such as self-blame, mistrust, guilt, or feelings of permanent danger. In CPT, clients learn to gently examine these trauma-related beliefs and develop more balanced, accurate, and supportive perspectives. This structured approach supports recovery from PTSD and trauma-related distress by reducing emotional intensity and improving daily functioning.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based trauma therapy designed to help individuals process and heal from distressing or traumatic experiences. EMDR therapy reduces the emotional intensity of traumatic memories by using structured protocols and guided bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping) while clients focus on specific memories, thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations. This approach helps the brain reprocess trauma so that past experiences feel less overwhelming and no longer interfere with daily functioning.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on understanding how past experiences, including trauma, may influence present thoughts, emotions, and relationships. In sessions, you are invited to speak freely about whatever feels important to you, including symptoms, memories, and experiences related to trauma. Your therapist helps you explore patterns and defence mechanisms that may have developed as coping mechanisms. Gaining insight into these patterns can support healing by increasing self-awareness and allowing space to process experiences that may have felt too overwhelming at the time.
Trauma-informed therapy can support you in:
Healing from trauma is not about forgetting the past. It is about changing how past experiences influence your present life.
At Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy, trauma-informed therapy is tailored specifically to each client. Therapy does not follow a rigid or predetermined path. Instead, your therapist works with you to understand your goals, concerns, and readiness.
Sessions focus on:
You do not need to have everything clearly defined before starting therapy. Many people begin trauma counselling with a sense that something feels unresolved or difficult to carry alone.
Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy offers trauma-informed therapy in person at our Ottawa clinic, as well as secure virtual therapy for clients throughout Ontario. Virtual counselling allows clients to access care from home or from communities where in-person services may be limited.
Both options are provided with the same commitment to confidentiality, professional standards, and client-centred care.
You may consider trauma-informed therapy if you:
Trauma counselling can be helpful whether or not you label your experiences as trauma.
Reaching out for therapy is a meaningful step. Trauma-informed therapy offers a supportive space to explore what you are experiencing and to move toward healing in a way that feels grounded and respectful.
If you are looking for psychotherapy services in Ottawa or virtual therapy across Ontario, Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy is here to help. Call (613) 316-6099 or request your appointment online. We look forward to supporting you.
