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Trauma & EMDR Therapy · Ottawa

What happened to you
doesn't have to define what's ahead.

Specialized trauma therapy and EMDR for adults navigating PTSD, complex trauma, and the lasting effects of adverse experiences. In-person in Westboro, Ottawa and virtually across Ontario.

Understanding Trauma

Trauma isn't defined by the size of what happened — it's defined by the impact. A trauma response is your nervous system's best attempt to protect you from something overwhelming. But those survival adaptations can outlast the original threat, showing up as hypervigilance, numbness, avoidance, intrusive memories, and patterns in relationships that you can't seem to change no matter how hard you try.

Trauma therapy at Believe Therapy & Coaching is specialized, evidence-based, and paced carefully. We work with trauma directly — not around it — using approaches that are proven to move the needle where talk therapy alone cannot.

Signs You May Be Carrying Unprocessed Trauma

  • Flashbacks, intrusive memories, or nightmares
  • Emotional numbness or feeling cut off from yourself
  • Hypervigilance — always braced for something bad to happen
  • Difficulty trusting people or forming close relationships
  • Strong, disproportionate reactions to triggers you can't always identify
  • Chronic shame or a persistent sense that something is fundamentally wrong with you
  • Physical symptoms with no clear medical explanation — chronic pain, tension, fatigue
  • Avoiding people, places, or situations connected to what happened

What Is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps the brain process traumatic memories that have become "stuck" — stored in a fragmented way that keeps activating the nervous system as if the event is still happening.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (typically side-to-side eye movements or tapping) while the client briefly focuses on a traumatic memory. This activates the brain's natural information processing system and allows the memory to be reprocessed to an adaptive resolution — meaning it can be recalled without the same level of emotional and physiological distress.

EMDR is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Psychological Association (APA), Veterans Affairs Canada, and numerous other international bodies as a first-line treatment for PTSD and trauma.

What EMDR Can Help With

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) — including complex PTSD (C-PTSD)
  • Childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
  • Single-incident trauma (accidents, assault, medical events)
  • Attachment trauma and relational wounds
  • Motor vehicle accidents (MVA)
  • Military and operational stress injuries (OSI)
  • Sexual trauma and assault
  • Grief and traumatic loss
  • Negative core beliefs rooted in early experience

Our Trauma Therapy Approach

We take a phased approach to trauma therapy, consistent with international best practice. This means we never rush straight into processing — we first build the safety, stability, and resourcing that allow the deeper work to happen without destabilizing you.

  • Phase 1: Stabilization — building internal resources, nervous system regulation, and safety
  • Phase 2: Assessment — mapping what's being carried and where to start
  • Phase 3: Processing — EMDR or other trauma-focused approaches to move through the material
  • Phase 4: Integration — making meaning, building a new relationship with the past

In addition to EMDR, we draw from somatic approaches, Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed techniques, narrative therapy, and ACT.

Frequently Asked Questions
Does EMDR require me to talk about everything in detail?+
No. One of EMDR's significant advantages is that you don't need to narrate your trauma in detail. You hold an image or memory in mind while the bilateral stimulation works. Many clients find this less retraumatizing than approaches that require verbal retelling.
How is EMDR different from regular talk therapy?+
Talk therapy can help you understand and contextualize trauma; EMDR targets the stored neurological encoding of the memory itself. It moves the body's physiological response as well as the cognitive and emotional experience. For many people, it produces change faster than insight-based approaches alone.
Do I need a formal PTSD diagnosis to receive trauma therapy?+
No. Many people carry unprocessed trauma without meeting the full diagnostic criteria for PTSD. If you've had experiences that still affect how you feel, think, or function — that's enough. We meet you where you are.
Is trauma therapy covered by insurance?+
Registered psychotherapy for trauma is covered under most extended health benefit plans. We provide receipts for reimbursement and offer direct billing with select insurers including Medavie Blue Cross. Motor vehicle accident (MVA) therapy may also be covered through your auto insurance — see our MVA page for details.
How long does trauma therapy take?+
This depends entirely on the nature and complexity of what you're carrying. A single-incident trauma may process in relatively few sessions; complex developmental trauma typically takes longer. We work collaboratively, set realistic expectations, and check in regularly on progress.
Your nervous system can learn that it's safe.

Healing from trauma is possible.
Let's start carefully.

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