Trauma Therapy

IN-PERSON IN CALGARY & ONLINE ACROSS ALBERTA

Compassionate and inclusive therapy to help you break free from your trauma so that it no longer holds you back.

Free 15min Phone consultation

"It feels like you’re stuck in a cycle, reacting to old hurts and unable to create the future you really want."

"You’re exhausted from the constant reminders that take you back to a place of fear, frustration, and helplessness."

"You feel disconnected from others, isolated by pain they can’t see, like there’s a wall between you and the world."

"You long for closeness but find it hard to trust others fully, fearing rejection or abandonment."

"Even small conflicts or misunderstandings bring up deep feelings of fear, rejection, or shame, making connection feel fragile."

Life doesn't have to be this way. At Tri Lotus Psychotherapy, we can help you move forward and find calm with trauma-informed therapy and EMDR.

What is trauma and how can therapy for trauma help?

Trauma is the lingering impact of deeply distressing events—times when you felt powerless, scared, or deeply hurt. It’s not just the experience itself but how it stays with you.
Trauma can make it hard to feel safe, trust others, or feel relaxed because a part of you is still reacting as if the past event could happen again. It affects how you see yourself and the world, often without you realizing it. Therapy can help by letting you process and release that leftover pain so you can start feeling more at peace.
Therapy for trauma provides a safe space to work through these painful memories and emotions at your own pace. With the support of a trauma-informed therapist, you can start to process the pain, learn healthy ways to manage triggers, and gradually regain control over your life. Therapy helps you reconnect with your inner strength and resilience, so you can move forward with a greater sense of peace and freedom.

Free 15min Phone consultation

What can trauma look like?

A traumatic event is an intensely distressing experience that overwhelms a person’s sense of safety and control.

Some of these include (*this is not an all inclusive list):

  • Accidents

  • Loss

  • Assault

  • Natural disasters

  • Childhood neglect, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse

  • Childhood emotional neglect and use of fear-based disciplinary strategies

  • Bullying

  • Violent crimes

  • Significant illness

  • Financial insecurity

  • Birth Trauma

  • Domestic Violence

    These events can leave a lasting impact, often triggering feelings of fear, helplessness, or shock that make it hard to process and move forward.

Symptoms of Trauma

  • Intense fear or anxiety

  • Feelings of shame or guilt

  • Emotional numbness or detachment

  • Mood swings or irritability

  • Persistent sadness or depression

  • Intrusive memories or flashbacks

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Memory gaps related to the traumatic event

  • Negative beliefs about self or the world

  • Hypervigilance (constantly on alert)

  • Fatigue or low energy

  • Sleep disturbances, including nightmares

  • Avoidance of reminders of the trauma

  • Withdrawal from social activities

  • Compulsive or self-soothing behaviours

  • Difficulty trusting others

  • Self-destructive behaviours

  • Difficulty maintaining close relationships

  • Challenges with intimacy

  • Easily triggered in social situations

  • Feelings of isolation or loneliness

  • Fear of abandonment

    *this is not an all inclusive list and having one of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that you are suffering from trauma.

woman spreading her arms
woman spreading her arms

Free 15min Phone consultation

Trauma Informed Therapy

is an approach that recognizes and respects the impact of trauma on a person’s life, responses, and relationships. In this type of therapy, the therapist creates a safe, supportive environment and is mindful of how trauma can shape behaviors, beliefs, and emotions. Trauma-informed therapy aims to empower individuals, avoid re-traumatization, and provide tools to process and heal from trauma at a comfortable pace, honoring the person’s resilience and unique experience.

Trauma Focused Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

(TF-ACT)

is an approach that combines trauma-informed care with principles from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). It helps individuals process traumatic experiences by building acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings, rather than avoiding or fighting them. TF-ACT focuses on empowering individuals to live in line with their values, even in the presence of trauma-related memories or emotions. Through this approach, clients learn to reduce the grip of trauma on their lives and move forward with greater resilience and purpose.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

is a structured therapeutic approach used to help people heal from distressing or traumatic memories. EMDR involves recalling traumatic experiences while engaging in guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, which is thought to help the brain process and integrate these memories in a less distressing way. By reprocessing these memories, EMDR can reduce the emotional intensity associated with them, allowing individuals to feel more at ease and less impacted by past trauma.

Trauma Therapies Offered

What is EMDR therapy?

two woman laughing
two woman laughing

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach that helps people work through distressing or traumatic memories.

How does EMDR help process trauma?

The idea behind EMDR is that many psychological struggles stem from past experiences that haven’t been fully processed, leaving them “stuck” in the mind. EMDR gently guides these memories toward resolution, allowing you to move forward with greater emotional freedom and peace.

How does EMDR work?

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (side-to-side motion) to enhance memory processing. In EMDR therapy, you will be asked to think of the worst image of a distressing event and the negative belief about yourself that it has formed, while following bilateral stimulation. The bilateral stimulation could include, tapping, eye movements, auditory stimulation etc.

Free 15min Phone consultation

Find Peace from your Trauma