Trauma Therapy
in St. Albert & Edmonton
You don't have to keep carrying what happened to you.
Trauma can change the way we see ourselves, our relationships, our bodies, and the world around us. Sometimes the effects are obvious. Other times, you may simply feel anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, on edge, or unlike yourself—and not fully understand why.
Trauma therapy can help you make sense of what you've experienced, reconnect with yourself, and begin moving forward. At Guided Path Counselling, trauma therapy is grounded in compassion, safety, and the understanding that healing is not a one-size-fits-all process.
What is trauma?
Trauma isn't only about what happened. It is also about how your mind and body responded to what happened.
Trauma can result from a single overwhelming event, such as an accident, injury, assault, sudden loss, or other frightening experience. It can also develop through ongoing experiences such as childhood adversity, difficult relationships, emotional neglect, workplace experiences, chronic stress, or repeated exposure to situations that left you feeling unsafe or powerless.
You don't have to have experienced a life-threatening event for your experiences to have had a lasting impact.
Trauma can affect your thoughts, emotions, relationships, behaviour, and nervous system. Sometimes the body continues to respond as though the danger is still present, even when you are now safe.
Signs you may benefit from trauma therapy
People respond to trauma differently. You may notice:
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Anxiety, fear, or feeling constantly on edge
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Intrusive thoughts or unwanted memories
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Avoiding people, places, conversations, or situations that remind you of what happened
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Irritability or a lower frustration tolerance
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Difficulty trusting others
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Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected
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Shame, guilt, or self-blame
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Difficulty regulating emotions
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Sleep difficulties or nightmares
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Feeling overwhelmed by everyday situations
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Relationship difficulties
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A heightened startle response
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Feeling disconnected from your body
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Difficulty feeling safe, even when you know you are safe
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Feeling stuck in patterns you don't understand
You may also experience physical symptoms associated with stress and nervous-system activation. You don't need to identify with every symptom to benefit from counselling.
Trauma therapy is about more than talking about the past
Many people worry that therapy means repeatedly talking about painful experiences. It doesn't have to.
Trauma-informed therapy considers your readiness, your capacity, and what feels safe for you. We don't need to rush into difficult memories before you have the tools and stability to work with them.
Our work may begin with understanding your responses, developing emotional regulation skills, increasing awareness of your nervous system, strengthening your sense of safety, and building resources that help you navigate difficult moments.
When appropriate, we can gradually explore the experiences that continue to affect you today. The goal isn't to erase your past.
The goal is to help your past have less control over your present.
A trauma-informed approach
At Guided Path Counselling, Tammy draws from several evidence-informed approaches and integrates them based on your individual needs. These may include:
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
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Mindfulness and self-regulation
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Nervous-system regulation
Your therapy is individualized. Not every approach is appropriate for every person, and we will work together to determine what feels helpful and manageable for you.
You are not broken
One of the most important things I want clients to understand is that many of the responses they experience after trauma are understandable responses to experiences that were difficult, overwhelming, or unsafe.
Your reactions may have once helped you cope or protect yourself.
Therapy can help you develop new ways of responding that fit the life you are living now.
Healing doesn't mean forgetting. It doesn't mean pretending something didn't happen.
And it doesn't mean you have to become the person you were before.
Healing can mean becoming more connected to who you are now.