Trauma Focused Therapists in Ottawa, ON
Sophie Marie McPherson
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) B.A., M.A.
I offer psychotherapy services to teens and adults struggling with a wide range of presenting concerns. I have experience working with ADHD, anxiety, life transitions, stress, self-esteem and body image issues, chronic illness/pain, gender dysphoria, sexuality exploration, and non-monogamous relationships.
DeRoux Jones
Registered Psychotherapist
I’m DeRoux Jones, a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario with a Master of Counselling Psychology specializing in Marriage & Family Therapy. I serve individuals, couples, and families, helping with anxiety, depression, grief, relationships, and Christian counselling. My approach is collaborative, evidence-based, and client-centered, creating a safe space for growth and healing.
Katherine McNichol
Registered Psychotherapist
Katherine is a Registered Psychotherapist with 8 years of experience supporting adults, couples, and teens through anxiety, trauma, depression, burnout and relationship issues. Trained in EFT, CBT, and EMDR, she takes a direct and compassionate approach to help clients move from surviving to thriving. She offers virtual psychotherapy across Canada and is current accepting clients.
Ukasha Malik
Registered Psychotherapist
Ukasha Psychotherapy is a private therapy practice focused on trauma-informed care, self-awareness, and empowerment. It offers a safe, supportive space for clients to work through challenges like anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. The practice emphasizes accessible mental health education, coping tools, and personal growth.
Horace Spence
RSSW, Psychotherapist
Coach Spence Wellness & Therapy Services provides trusted, culturally grounded therapy and holistic coaching for individuals, couples, and families. We support healing from stress, anxiety, and conflict while strengthening communication, resilience, and self-care. Through counseling, workshops, and wellness tools, we help clients build balance across mind, body, and spirit.
Cayla Townes
Registered Psychotherapist
After years of working in a variety of settings with clients struggling with different life challenges, there's not much I haven't seen. My goal is for clients to walk away from therapy with me feeling validated, supported, and confident using the skills and knowledge they've learned in sessions. I look forward to learning more about how I can support you. Schedule a free consult today!
Abby Tait
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
You might come to therapy feeling stuck in familiar patterns - ways of coping, thinking, or relating that once made sense but now feel hard to shift. You may be thoughtful and self-aware, yet find yourself overthinking, avoiding certain emotions, or feeling disconnected from who you are or where you’re headed. Questions about identity, values, and purpose often sit quietly underneath these experi…
Zarifa Andani
MPCC-P, RTC-C
This work isn’t about fixing your parts—it’s about helping you feel more like your whole self again. We can work together to slow down, get curious, and listen deeply. Our internal body wisdom is an integral source of information that speaks more significantly than words. Real change is possible when ALL of you feels safe enough to be seen and supported, just as you are.
Khysandra Lee
Registered Psychotherapist
Christina Hong
Registered Provisional Psychologist
Hello there! I am Christina, I have a genuine love and care for connecting with people. I’m here to support you if anxiety has been making life feel heavy or overwhelming. I believe that, counselling at its core is the genuine collaborative connection of individuals coming together to navigate this wonderfully bizarrely life of ours. In my role, my mission is to create a warm, supportive, and j…
Janalyn Dodds MSW, BSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker/ Psychotherapist
I am a Registered Social Worker and psychotherapist with The Support Station, a Canadian-based, woman-owned organization that believes cost shouldn't be a barrier to accessing quality mental health and wellness support. Each client's session fees are adjusted according to not only their monthly income, but also any bills and debts paid out regularly get considered as well.
Stacy Kirkbride
Registered Psychotherapist, Recreation Therapist
I offer compassionate support for those living with chronic illness, pain, and post-injury life challenges. I specialize in helping you navigate the emotional and mental hurdles these bring. My goal is to help you reclaim your sense of self, cope with grief and loss, and rebuild your life with resilience and purpose. You're not alone--I'm here to support you every step of the way.
Lisa O’Donovan
Registered Psychotherapist
I offer Psychodynamic, trauma-informed therapy for adults and couples in-person in Burlington and virtually. I support clients navigating complex trauma, relationship difficulties, addiction and recovery, family dysfunction, and life transitions helping to uncover and understand emotional and relational patterns, process experiences, build greater self-awareness in a safe, compassionate space.
Varshini Skantharajah
Registered Psychotherapist
Heather Andrew
Registered Clinical Social Worker MSW RCSW
Heather Andrew is the founder of Aspen Wellness Centre. Heather has been a Mental Health Therapist for over eight years, supporting clients with a variety of needs including complex trauma, ADHD, PTSD, grief, anxiety, depression, family conflict and more. Heather is passionate about providing trauma informed care to her clients and is a fierce advocate for mental health awareness.
Alysha Bernstein
Registered Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor & Traumatologist
I am a registered psychotherapist with a decade of experience in mental healthcare. I have built an authentic, client-centred, and empathic space in my private practice since 2020. We provide care for a wide range of mental health issues and couples or family conflict. My team is as accessible and affordable as possible and we are constantly learning new and better ways to support our clients
Maya Dousti
Registered Psychotherapist
I am a BIPOC trauma therapist, and I work with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, emotional dysregulation, self-esteem, life transitions, racial/cultural issues, new parenthood, identity, family and interpersonal relationships. I work eclectically, borrowing from several modalities to meet my client's needs.
Cristal Hines
Clinical Social Worker & Therapist
I am a Registered Social Worker, and trauma therapist specializing in complex trauma, PTSD, family therapy, and racial trauma. I provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed care using CPT, CBT, DBT, and Narrative Therapy to help adolescents, adults, and families heal, build resilience, and create meaningful, lasting change.
Mandeep Lalli
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Are you feeling anxious, overwhelmed or stuck? Maybe something feels wrong? I help people navigate anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, and relationship struggles, with culturally sensitive care that honours your full background, including pressures others may miss. As a South Asian therapist who spent 15 years in the corporate world, I bring lived experience and real-world context to therapy.
Julia Finetti
Registered Clinical Counsellor & Couples Therapist
Julia Finetti (MA, CCC, RCC) is a compassionate therapist specializing in relationships, life transitions, and emotional healing. She creates a warm, grounded space where clients finally feel at ease. With a practical, insight-driven approach, Julia helps people set boundaries, break old patterns, and reconnect with themselves - delivering real, lasting change.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma Focused
What is trauma-focused therapy?
Trauma-focused therapy refers to a family of therapeutic approaches specifically designed to address the psychological impact of traumatic experiences. Rather than only managing symptoms, these approaches help clients directly process traumatic memories, reduce their emotional intensity, and integrate them into a broader understanding of their lives. Trauma-focused therapy is indicated for PTSD, complex trauma, childhood abuse, sexual violence, accidents, grief, and many other trauma-related presentations.
How is trauma-focused therapy different from general therapy?
General therapy often addresses current functioning, coping, and emotions without directly engaging with traumatic memories. Trauma-focused therapy explicitly targets the memories, beliefs, and physiological responses connected to past trauma. It typically follows a phased approach: establishing safety and stabilization, processing traumatic material, and then integration and reconnection with life. This structure is important because jumping to trauma processing before a client has sufficient stability can be destabilizing rather than helpful.
What trauma-focused approaches are most evidence-based?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy have the strongest research evidence for PTSD. Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) is the leading approach for children and adolescents. Somatic therapies such as Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and phase-based models like EMDR-based FLASH and IFS, are also widely used for complex and developmental trauma where standard single-modality approaches may be insufficient.
How do I know if I need trauma-focused therapy rather than general therapy?
Signs that trauma-focused therapy may be particularly beneficial include: intrusive memories or flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness or avoidance of trauma-related reminders, hypervigilance, difficulty trusting others, significant shame, or the sense that you have tried general therapy without full resolution of symptoms. An assessment with a trauma-trained therapist can determine whether and what kind of trauma-focused work is appropriate for your presentation.
Is trauma-focused therapy safe?
When conducted by a trained therapist using an established protocol, trauma-focused therapy is safe and effective. Reputable approaches are designed to keep arousal within a manageable "window of tolerance" — avoiding both re-traumatization and emotional shutdown. Stabilization work done before processing ensures that clients have sufficient coping resources. If you feel unsafe at any point in trauma therapy, you can and should communicate this to your therapist, who will adjust the pace and approach.
