When the Past Still Feels Present
EMDR & Trauma-Informed TherapyÂ
You Might Be Noticing
Getting upset, anxious, or shutting down in ways that feel disproportionate to what is actually happening, and not being able to explain why.
Finding yourself in similar situations or emotional experiences again and again, even when you are trying to do things differently.
Feeling like you have worked on yourself but something still feels unresolved underneath, like there is a root you have not yet reached.
Certain experiences that, even years later, still carry a strong emotional charge when they come up, or that surface unexpectedly in everyday moments.
You Might Be Noticing
Getting upset, anxious, or shutting down in ways that feel disproportionate to what is actually happening, and not being able to explain why.
Finding yourself in similar situations or emotional experiences again and again, even when you are trying to do things differently.
Feeling like you have worked on yourself but something still feels unresolved underneath, like there is a root you have not yet reached.
Certain experiences that, even years later, still carry a strong emotional charge when they come up, or that surface unexpectedly in everyday moments.
EMDR and trauma-informed therapy · Ontario
Why It Can Feel So Hard to Find Your Way Back to Yourself
Maybe you have tried to move on. Maybe you have told yourself it was a long time ago, that you should be over it by now. And yet something keeps showing up.
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When something distressing happens and is not fully processed, it can continue to live in the body and mind long after the moment has passed. Reactions that feel bigger than the moment, patterns that keep repeating, a heaviness with no clear explanation. These can often be connected to earlier experiences that were never fully worked through. Understanding that connection is often where something begins to shift.
Building Steadiness First
Before exploring the past, building a foundation of steadiness is often the most important first step. This might look like developing tools to manage what comes up in the present, building a greater sense of groundedness, and making sure you have the resources to feel stable both inside and outside of sessions.
Mindfulness helps you develop the capacity to notice what is happening in your body and mind in the present moment without being immediately overwhelmed by it. This kind of present moment awareness is often an essential foundation before deeper work begins, helping you stay grounded when difficult experiences come up.
Parts-based work helps us understand the different parts of you that are responding to what you have been through. Some parts may be protective, working hard to keep difficult memories at bay. Getting to know those parts and what they are carrying is often an important step before moving into deeper processing work.
DBT offers practical tools for managing distress and emotional intensity in the present. These skills can be particularly useful when past experiences are still triggering strong responses in day to day life, giving you something to draw on between sessions.
How We Might Work Together
EMDR and trauma-informed therapy · Ontario
Processing What Has Stayed With You
When the foundation feels solid and the time feels right, we can begin to gently turn toward the experiences that have stayed with you. This is where deeper processing work happens, addressing not just what you are managing today but where it began.
EMDR is specifically designed to help the brain process experiences that still feel unresolved. Rather than requiring you to talk through everything in detail, EMDR works at a level beyond words, helping distressing memories begin to lose their grip on the present. It is one of the most effective approaches available for this kind of work and is central to how I approach past experiences in therapy.
Parts-based work is particularly powerful for processing past experiences because it helps us understand not just what happened but how it shaped the different parts of you that developed in response. Working with those parts alongside EMDR can allow for deeper and more meaningful shifts than either approach alone.
The pace and direction of our work is always guided by what feels most right for you.
Starting therapy when the past already feels close can feel like a lot to take on. That is something I take seriously. We never move faster than feels manageable, and sessions are always paced around what you can hold.
Always Checking In With Your System
I pay close attention to where you are at in each session, ensuring that whatever direction we move in, your system is ready and willing to go there.
Why Work With Me
I draw from a range of evidence-based approaches, bringing in what fits best for where you are. No single method, no fixed script, always tailored to you.
Holistic & Integrative
My work is grounded in helping you understand yourself on a deeper level, while exploring tools to help manage what you are feeling on the surface. Here is what you can expect. Â
Come as You Are
You do not have to be ready, certain, or have it figured out. Whatever you are carrying and wherever you are starting from, there is room for all of it here.
When the time feels right, we can begin to explore the earlier experiences that shaped your patterns and continue to show up in your present day life.
Getting to the Root
What to expect
What to expect
Why Work With Me
My work is grounded in helping you understand yourself on a deeper level, while exploring tools to help manage what you are feeling on the surface. Here is what you can expect. Â
Always Checking In With Your System
I pay close attention to where you are at in each session, ensuring that whatever direction we move in, your system is ready and willing to go there.
Come as You Are
You do not have to be ready, certain, or have it figured out. Whatever you are carrying and wherever you are starting from, there is room for all of it here.Â
Holistic & Integrative
I draw from a range of evidence-based approaches, bringing in what fits best for where you are. No single method, no fixed script, always tailored to you.Â
Getting to the Root
When the time feels right, we can begin to explore the earlier experiences that shaped your patterns and continue to show up in your present day life. Â
Learn MoreÂ
Frequently Asked Questions
This is one of the most common questions people have before reaching out. Trauma does not have to look a certain way or meet a clinical definition to be worth exploring. If something from your past is still showing up in your present, that is enough of a reason to begin. You do not need a label for it.
No. EMDR and trauma-informed therapy do not require a clear or detailed memory. Often the feeling or the body sensation associated with an experience is enough to begin working with. You do not need to have a complete picture for the work to be meaningful.
Not necessarily. One of the things that makes EMDR different from traditional talk therapy is that much of the processing can happen without needing to recount everything in detail. We go through a brief history together to understand what to focus on, but you are never required to go further than feels right.
That is completely okay. Before any deeper processing begins we spend time building steadiness and making sure you have the tools to feel grounded. Some people spend several sessions or longer in this phase and that is a completely valid part of the process. Nothing happens before you feel ready.
