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TRAUMA & PTSD

When the past continues to shape the present.

Trauma occurs when an experience overwhelms your nervous system's ability to cope and process. Whether stemming from a single critical incident, years of chronic strain, or the cumulative impact of serving as a first responder, trauma responses can profoundly disrupt your sleep, your emotional reactions, and your relationships.
 

Trauma-informed therapy provides a safe, structured framework to help you process these experiences, restore nervous system regulation, and reclaim your sense of safety and empowerment.

YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE YOURSELF HERE

Trauma looks different for everyone.

Trauma is not just about what happened, but how your nervous system has adapted to survive. You might recognize yourself in experiences like these:

  • You feel constantly on high alert, finding it difficult to relax or feel truly safe, even when you know you are out of immediate danger.

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  • Your emotional responses feel overwhelming or unpredictable, where certain triggers bring up reactions, panic, or numbness that feel far bigger than the present moment.

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  • Letting your guard down feels unsafe, making it difficult to trust others, establish boundaries, or feel securely connected in relationships.

  • The past continues to shape your present self-worth, particularly if childhood experiences or past relationships left you feeling unseen, neglected, or unsafe.

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  • You have survived by "just pushing through," leaving you with years of accumulated stress and very little room to safely process what you have been through.​

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  • **Your professional life—particularly as a first responder or healthcare worker—**has exposed you to cumulative stress and critical incidents that are incredibly difficult to leave behind at the end of a shift.

EXPLORE THE AREAS WE SUPPORT

Trauma & Recovery Services

Every experience of trauma is unique. Explore the areas below to learn more about how we understand these challenges and the specialized support we offer at Wellness Counselling Centre.

Traumatic Experience

Support for when a sudden or overwhelming event continues to impact your daily peace, emotional reactions, or sense of safety.

Complex Trauma

(C-PTSD)

Specialized care for the deep, lasting effects of chronic, repetitive stress or adversity, especially when experienced in childhood or environments where safety was missing.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Evidence-based support to help you manage and reduce intrusive memories, nightmares, flashbacks, and the exhaustion of being constantly on high alert.​

Abuse & Recovery

A compassionate, non-judgmental space to process the psychological impact of interpersonal harm, rebuild your boundaries, and safely reconnect with yourself.

Addictions & Substance Use

Understanding the profound link between unresolved pain and coping mechanisms, helping you find healthier ways to soothe your nervous system.

Relational Trauma

Healing from the emotional wounds of manipulation, betrayal, or neglect in close relationships, and learning how to build secure, trusting connections again.

Religious Trauma 

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A validating space to unpack painful experiences, control, or spiritual abuse within faith communities, helping you reclaim your personal autonomy.

First Responders

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Specialized support tailored to the unique mental health demands of frontline work, helping you process critical incidents and the heavy toll of serving others.

WHAT SUPPORT CAN LOOK LIKE

Restoring safety, Processing the past, and Reconnecting.

Trauma recovery is not about rushing into painful memories. Following evidence-based stages of healing, our first priority is establishing physical and emotional safety in your present life. Once you feel stabilized and equipped with tools to manage distress, we work together at your pace to safely process what you have been through, allowing you to integrate these experiences and reconnect with yourself, your relationships, and your future.

 

Throughout therapy, you remain the active director of your healing. Your boundaries, priorities, and sense of readiness always guide our work.

Re-Establish Safety and Grounding

Regulate Intense Emotions

Process and Integrate the Past

Reconnect with Life and Relationships

Meet Your Support Team Who Work With
Trauma & PTSD

Cindy Rose, Registered Psychotherapist and founder of Wellness Counselling Centre, St. Cat

Cindy Rose, M.A.

Registered Psychotherapist

cindy@wellnesscc.ca

  • First Responders

  • Abuse & Recovery

  • Addictions

  • C-PTSD

  • PTSD

  • Relational Trauma​

  • Religious Trauma

  • Trauma Experiences

Andrea Cottee - Registered Psychotherapist offering virtual EMDR and couples therapy and F

Andrea Cottee, MACP

Registered Psychotherapist
andrea@wellnesscc.ca

  • First Responders

  • Abuse & Recovery

  • Addictions

  • C-PTSD

  • ​PTSD

  • Relational Trauma​​

  • Trauma Experiences

Stefanie DeJong, M.A

Registered Psychotherapist
stefanie@wellnesscc.ca

  • Abuse & Recovery

  • C-PTSD

  • PTSD

  • Relational Trauma​​

  • Trauma Experiences

Stefanie Dejong - Registered Psychotherapist in St. Catharines specializing in IFS therapy

Erin Coffell, MACP

Registered Psychotherapist
erin@wellnesscc.ca

  • Abuse & Recovery

  • C-PTSD

  • Relational Trauma​​

  • Trauma Experiences

Erin Coffell, Registered Psychotherapist offering narrative therapy for chronic illness an

Ashley Wills, MA
Registered Psychotherapist

ashley@wellnesscc.ca

  • Abuse Recovery

  • Addictions

  • Relational Trauma

  • Trauma Experience​

Ashley Wills - Registered Psychotherapist for adults, youth and children in St. Catharines

Katie Tallon, MACP
Registered Psychotherapist

(Qualifying)

katie@wellnesscc.ca

  • C-PTSD

  • ​PTSD

  • Relational Trauma​

  • Religious Trauma

  • Trauma Experiences

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) for relationships and trauma recovery, with faith

Lewis Lau, MACP
Registered Psychotherapist

(Qualifying)
lewis@wellnesscc.ca

  • C-PTSD

  • PTSD

  • Relational Trauma​

  • Religious Trauma

  • Trauma Experiences

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) for adults and youth with a focus on men's mental

Tyne Markle, MACP
Registered Psychotherapist

(Qualifying)
tyne@wellnesscc.ca

  • Relational Trauma​

  • Religious Trauma

  • Trauma Experiences

Tyne Markle - Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) offering Gottman couples therapy and

Your move from hurt to hope
can begin today.

A real human on the other end, holding compassionate, non-judgmental space for whatever you bring. In person in St. Catharines or virtually across Ontario.

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