Leona Westra

Is anxiety, trauma, and/or chronic pain becoming a burden that feels like it's stealing from your life, your goals, and what's most important to you? We can work together to reduce your pain, lower your anxiety and stress, process your trauma and help you get more out of life. We can build your toolbox of coping and healing strategies focused on your unique and complex struggles and enable you to manage life better while we get to the core wounds and challenges holding you back. I have a caring, gentle, honest, steady, and empathetic approach to working collaboratively with you. I want you to feel heard and understood while we expand your awareness and understanding of the underlying causes and influences of your suffering. I strive to create a space safe enough for you to be vulnerable and comfortable expressing your wounds and emotions. We can focus on healing the wounds, fulfilling the missing needs, putting past trauma in its place so it doesn't impact your life as much, reducing the pain, reducing fears and anxieties, helping you feel less burdened, and building you up for the future. After my own experiences with chronic pain, trauma, and childhood emotional neglect, I wanted to help others facing similar challenges. I know change is possible because I know the results that can be achieved with techniques like EMDR, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and other techniques are not unusual. I want to help you release the burdens weighing you down, experience less pain, and change the patterns that have kept you stuck. Some of the ways and techniques we can use to achieve your goals include: - Providing knowledge that is personalized to your struggles and challenges, and aimed at helping you understand and gain insight - Skills, techniques, and strategies to help you cope and overcome your challenges. - Brain re-training to end patterns of pain and maladaptive coping or behaviours at the brain and nervous system level (Pain Reprocessing Therapy, CBT, DBT, Mindfulness, Polyvagal techniques) - Mindfulness and Self-care - Trauma reprocessing and desensitization (EMDR, Flash, Somatic Therapies, etc. - Validation, empathy and problem-solving - Building self-identity, recognition of self-value and self-worth, and increasing self-confidence through tools like values inventories and other exploration Some of the benefits my clients have received are: - Reduction in pain, pain flares, and pain intensity. - Improved coping and more in control of their lives. - Better boundaries, improved self-care, increased function, and better quality of life - Reduction of trauma triggers, trauma symptoms, and trauma's effect on their lives. - Increase in self-confidence, self-worth, self-esteem, and self-value. - Reduction in people-pleasing, perfectionism, and self-critical tendencies. - Increased awareness and knowledge. - Fewer feelings of sadness, anger, emptiness, shame, and guilt. - Enhanced spiritual and social connections. - Improved sleep and ability to relax. - Reduced distress from grief and loss. When you're ready to start on a path toward a better future, I'm ready to help. Please book a free 15-minute consultation on my booking page (accessible through my website) or email me to learn how I can help you. I am a service provider with CVAP and FNHA. I offer a sliding scale if you cannot afford my full rate.