Trauma therapy in Toronto
Healing Space Therapy is a trauma-focused psychotherapy practice offering in-person trauma therapy across Toronto and secure online therapy throughout Ontario. Our Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers support adults living with PTSD, complex trauma, childhood and relational trauma, anxiety, shame, and emotional dysregulation.
Your therapist shapes the work around your symptoms, your needs, and your goals, drawing on EMDR, IFS, Brainspotting, AEDP, EFT, CBT, DBT, mindfulness-based, relational and body-oriented approaches. Free 15-minute consultations are available.
What is trauma?
Trauma isn't always a single major event. It can build slowly, out of painful experiences repeated over time — which is why so many people arrive unsure whether what they lived through counts.
That can include, but is not limited to:
- Growing up around anger or conflict
- Not feeling safe at home, emotionally or physically
- Being judged, shamed, or put down often
- Having to grow up too quickly
- Feeling alone with your emotions
- Having a parent who couldn't meet your needs
- Experiencing racism, sexism, homophobia, or other forms of harm
- Living through illness, violence, or sudden change
- Never knowing what mood someone would be in
- Feeling that love had to be earned
- The absence of care, warmth, or emotional attunement
It doesn't have to have been bad enough for the experience to have shaped you deeply — and you don't have to call it trauma if that word doesn't feel right to you. We can begin exactly where you are.
Your ways of coping make sense
People come to therapy for many reasons — anxiety, deep sadness, big anger, numbness, burnout, a sense of being stuck. You may already know what needs to change and still find you can't get there.
That is because the thing you want to change is there for a reason. You adapted, very normally, to circumstances that asked too much of you. Those ways of coping kept you safe — and they can stay long after the danger has passed, until what once protected you is what makes it hard to feel calm or connected.
If you learned to cope by:
- Hiding your feelings
- Taking care of everyone else
- Avoiding conflict
- Staying alert for danger
- Working hard to be perfect
- Keeping people at a distance
- Pushing down your needs
- Staying in control
- Shutting down when things feel like too much
— then trauma therapy can help: honouring the ways you have protected yourself, finding the self-compassion to unburden what you've been carrying, and building the confidence to grow beyond your past.
How trauma therapy helps
Trauma therapy helps you understand why you feel and react the way you do. Together we look beneath the problem and get to know the parts of you that learned to cope — with care rather than judgement.
Over time, this work can help you:
- Feel safer in your body
- Understand your emotions
- Feel less anxious or overwhelmed
- Respond instead of react
- Set boundaries that hold
- Build closer relationships
- Feel more connected to yourself
- Let go of shame and self-blame
- Find new ways to cope
- Feel more choice in your life
The goal isn't to erase your past. It's to help your past feel less present.
Our approach, at your pace
Trauma-informed practice is our foundation, not an add-on. We move at your pace, keep you in the driver’s seat, and decide on the right approach with you. Our therapists integrate approaches with strong evidence behind them for trauma — EMDR, IFS, AEDP, Brainspotting, and body-oriented and relational work — chosen for what you need.
You won't be pushed to talk about anything before you're ready, and you don't have to tell your whole story to begin. We start by building a relationship that feels safe; what we explore, and when, is something we decide together.
You don't need the right words, and you don't need to know whether what you lived through counts as trauma. You only need a safe place to start.
Why connect with us
Our trauma therapy is provided by Registered Social Workers and Registered Psychotherapists registered with the OCSWSSW or CRPO, each with additional training in trauma therapy and in the evidence-based approaches they use.
They know how to look past the symptom in front of them and gently explore what may be happening underneath — taking the time to understand your experience, help you feel safe, and shape the work around your goals.
If trauma, recent or long past, is shaping how you live, request a free 15-minute consultation and we will help you find the right therapist for you.
Good to know
Trauma Therapy, in brief.
Do I have to talk about what happened?
Not before you're ready, and not necessarily in detail at all. Some trauma approaches, including EMDR and Brainspotting, don't require you to recount everything out loud. You decide what you share and when — your therapist's job is to make that choice genuinely yours.
How do I know if what I went through counts as trauma?
You don't have to decide that before you start. Trauma isn't measured by how bad an event looks from the outside; what matters is the effect it had on you. If something is still shaping how you feel, relate, or cope, it's worth bringing — and you don't need a diagnosis to book a consultation.
How long does trauma therapy take?
There's no set timeline. It depends on what you're working through, the approach that fits, and the relationship we build. Sessions are 60 minutes, and many people find weekly sessions helpful at the start to build trust and momentum. We revisit your goals together as we go.
Is trauma therapy covered by insurance?
Our practice is private, so sessions are not covered by OHIP. Many workplace benefit plans cover some or all of the cost of seeing a Registered Social Worker or Registered Psychotherapist, though coverage varies — it is worth a quick check with your insurer. We always provide receipts for reimbursement.
Can trauma therapy be done online?
Yes. We offer secure online trauma therapy across Ontario, and in-person sessions at our Toronto and Port Hope locations. Online works well for many people, and it can make starting easier when leaving the house feels like too much.