Trauma Counselling in Victoria BC
TRANSFORMATIVE THERAPY FOR TRAUMA AND ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
Our therapists are skilled in trauma-informed care, offering an empathic and safe environment for those dealing with the symptoms of trauma. We are able to support clients with both C-PTSD from Adverse Childhood Experiences as well as more recent trauma.
WHAT IS AN ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE?
An adverse childhood experience (ACE) refers to an experience someone has while they are under the age of 18 that overwhelms their ability to cope and causes long-lasting effects to their mental and physical well-being. Every person is different and an experience that has no lasting impact on one person may leave another person with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
No matter how many years it has been now, if you think your childhood experiences may be affecting you, therapy is an important tool for understanding yourself and beginning to heal.
Some common adverse childhood experiences we have worked with clients on include:
physical, sexual or emotional abuse;
emotional or physical neglect;
living with family members who struggle with mental health or substance use disorders;
witnessing domestic violence;
sudden separation from a loved one;
bullying;
experiencing or witnessing serious injury or illness;
serious illness or death in the family;
parental divorce or separation;
and more.
Many of our clients do not consider their experience “bad enough” to have caused lasting impacts when we start working with them, but we know that children can be deeply impacted by experiences that they have had. There are so many factors that influence the extent of traumatic impact, and it is never a competition. You will always be able to point to someone else who had it “worse”, but you still deserve to feel better.
If you have concerns about your mental or physical health or wonder if you carry some trauma from childhood, working with a therapist is a good way to understand how your childhood experiences may be impacting your well-being. Our therapists are caring, empathetic, and highly skilled at supporting you.
THE BODY-MIND CONNECTION WITH ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
Adverse childhood experiences can cause PTSD, C-PTSD (complex post traumatic stress disorder), anxiety, depression, and many other mood disorders. Our team is here to help you with PTSD and C-PTSD, and therapy is one of the best tools for addressing these disorders. Similarly if you are experiencing anxiety or depression, our caring and professional team can help you. Developing a safe and trusting relationship with a therapist is an important part of your healing journey if you are experiencing any of these challenges.
For some people, the long-term impacts of adverse childhood experiences can also be physical. This can manifest as headaches, nausea, substance use disorders, eating disorders, chronic health problems, or other physical symptoms of chronic stress in the body. Our therapists go beyond talk therapy because we know that our mind and body are deeply connected in often overlooked ways. We treat adverse childhood experiences with a holistic, experiential approach and implement a variety of tools (for example the Safe and Sound Protocol) to help you learn to soothe your nervous system at the same time as we work with your thoughts and feelings.
THERAPY FOR TRAUMA AND PTSD
Trauma is what results when we witness or experience a terrible event that overwhelms our current capacities to cope with it. Often, difficult experiences just fade into the background over time, and we feel like we have “gotten over it”. But sometimes, when it’s too much to process, trauma can become PTSD, impacting our ability to function day-to-day. This can continue over a period of months or years.
After experiencing a traumatic event such as a car accident, natural disaster, death, violence, rape, or a wide variety of other things, it is normal to experience shock. As time passes, and if a person doesn’t get the support they need, many people will also develop other symptoms such as unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, strained relationships, and physical symptoms.
While all of these responses are normal, we know that having the support of a trauma-trained therapist improves outcomes. Whether you are working through a recent trauma, PTSD, or C-PTSD, our trauma informed counsellors in Victoria BC can provide you with the professional guidance and empathetic care you need.
GET THE SUPPORT YOU NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER TRAUMA
Different people respond differently to traumatic experiences. If you find you are experiencing intense or unpredictable feelings, anxiety, overwhelm, grief, loss of appetite, sensitivities, or irritability, no matter what the event or reason is, a therapist can help you begin to heal. You may also experience challenges with concentration and memory or feel withdrawn and disengaged as a result of trauma. At Bodymind, our team is highly trained and experienced in supporting people as they work through all kinds of trauma. We use innovative techniques to meet you where you are at and ensure that our interventions do not overwhelm you further. Our therapists will adapt to your needs and employ our wide range of therapy modalities to help you heal your mind, body, and nervous system after trauma.
There is hope after trauma. We encourage you to take advantage of our 20 minute long free discovery appointments to find a team member who will be a good fit for you and learn how therapy fits into your trauma recovery.
Embark on your journey towards healing and wholeness with Bodymind Counselling's PTSD & Trauma Therapy. Let us support you as you reclaim your strength, vitality, and peace of mind.
Connect with aTrauma Counsellor in Victoria, BC
The first step is always finding the best match for you on our team of counsellors, because therapy works best when there’s a strong and safe relationship between therapist and client.
Reach out for a complimentary consultation session with one of our counsellors based in Victoria. This is a pressure-free opportunity for us to explore together if our approach aligns well with your needs. It's all about finding the right fit to support you finding freedom from anxiety. You can also book online yourself, 24 hours a day.
Frequently Asked Questions about trauma Counselling
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If you feel that your memories don’t make sense and worry that you may be missing some pieces, we recommend working with a member of our team. A skilled therapist can guide you through this with compassion and expertise. We know that trauma can impact people’s memory, that memory is highly imperfect at the best of times, and that in some rare cases memories may be suppressed as a form of self-preservation. In other cases, you may have internalized messages around experiences you had that make it hard to trust your memories. The best way to approach this is with skilled, professional support.
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While PTSD and C-PTSD are very serious conditions that can severely impact your ability to function in your day-to-day life, we believe firmly that change and transformation are possible. While we can't erase what happened, most people can recover their day-to-day functioning and heal with the right support. For others, full recovery is possible. At Bodymind, we have a lot of experience with complex trauma. We encourage you to seek professional support as soon as possible.
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While each medical plan is different, BodyMind will work with yours to the best of our ability.
We believe everyone should be able to access therapy, regardless of their financial situation or income. Bodymind Counselling offers counselling sessions with highly trained and carefully selected student counsellors, who have completed the academic portion of a Masters in Counselling program. These students are hand-picked from a long list of applicants, and undertake a 12 month practicum at our clinic. They offer sessions both in person, and via secure video therapy. These sessions cost $30 for your first appointment and $60 plus GST for subsequent appointments.
Students receive intensive supervision and lots of instruction during their 12-month practicum, and are able to provide clients with a longer-term relationship and more sessions than many other short-term, low-fee options can provide.
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While this varies greatly from person-to-person, clients experiencing acute challenges often benefit from approximately 6-8 appointments while clients unpacking chronic problems may need more. We know that time and cost are a barrier for many of our clients, and we will work hard to make every appointment count for you. Some people may experience great relief almost immediately, and others may want to work with their therapist over a period of months or years.
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Our team provides in-person appointments for clients based in Victoria, BC and virtual appointments for clients in other locations or locals who select virtual therapy for any reason.
