Thriving Ivy Counselling & Psychotherapy

Online Psychotherapy

for Adult Survivors of Complex Trauma

Online trauma-focused care to help you heal and thrive

“I feel like something’s always off, but I can’t figure out what.”

Do you feel like you’ve never fully been able to shake the weight of your past? Maybe you’ve spent years trying to move on, tried home remedies, even therapy, but the emotional scars just won’t heal. Nothing ever feels quite right.

You long to feel safe, and to trust yourself and others, but no matter what you do, it seems out of reach.

Complex trauma therapy can help you uncover the root of these feelings, explore their impact, and guide you toward healing and recovery.

Online Complex Trauma Therapy In Ontario & British Columbia

What is Complex Trauma?

Complex trauma may have woven itself into the fabric of your life, but through healing, you can unravel its threads and weave a new story of strength and resilience.

Complex trauma arises from prolonged exposure to distressing events, often beginning in childhood or within close relationships. It can manifest as a range of complex symptoms, affecting your sense of self, relationships, and emotional regulation. The effects of complex trauma can be profound, leading to enduring patterns of emotional, psychological, and relational challenges.

Healing from complex trauma involves understanding how these experiences have shaped your identity and working toward restoring your sense of safety, self-worth, and connection with others.

Through online therapy for complex trauma in Ontario & British Columbia, you can untangle the effects of your past, rebuild your sense of safety, and reclaim your life.

Online Complex Trauma Therapy In Ontario & British Columbia

Frequent Struggles of Complex Trauma Survivors—and How Complex Trauma Therapy Can Help

“It can be hard to answer the question, ‘What’s wrong?’ when it feels like things have never been right.”

When complex trauma affects your life, it can feel like a constant, underlying weight that’s hard to explain to others. Therapy for complex trauma helps you explore the impact of those early experiences and how they’ve shaped your sense of self and the world around you. By understanding the root causes, you can begin to unravel these feelings of confusion and find clarity in your journey toward healing.

“I should already be over my past.”

It can feel like no matter how hard you try, the past continues to haunt your present. Complex trauma therapy offers a safe space to process your experiences and understand their lasting effects. Through therapy, you can learn to integrate these memories in a way that no longer controls your life, allowing you to move forward with greater peace and self-awareness.

“I never feel safe.”

When complex trauma has disrupted your sense of safety, it can feel exhausting to trust others or even yourself. Complex trauma therapy helps you explore the root of this insecurity, offering tools to rebuild trust and restore a sense of safety. With time, you’ll learn how to feel grounded, secure, and more in control of your environment.

“Enjoying life feels impossible.”

Trauma can make it difficult to fully experience joy or satisfaction, as the emotional and physical toll often leaves you feeling disconnected or numb. Therapy for complex trauma supports you in addressing these emotional blocks, helping you reconnect with life’s pleasures and rediscover a sense of joy. Through healing, you can begin to live with greater ease and fulfillment.

Online Complex Trauma Therapy In Ontario & British Columbia

Identifying Complex Trauma Symptoms

Complex trauma can impact your emotional, psychological, and physical well-being in ways that may feel overwhelming and confusing. Often, the symptoms are deeply intertwined with your past experiences, and you may not realize that they are rooted in unresolved trauma. Recognizing these symptoms is an important step toward healing:

If any of these symptoms sound familiar, it may be time to explore how complex trauma is affecting your life. At Thriving Ivy Counselling & Psychotherapy, we offer the support and tools to help you understand the root causes of these symptoms and begin the healing process.

Online Complex Trauma Therapy In Ontario & British Columbia

How We Treat Complex Trauma

Our approach to complex trauma is centred on personalized, one-on-one therapy rooted in psychodynamic psychotherapy, complemented by additional healing modalities such as EFT and mindfulness practices as needed.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Psychodynamic therapy forms the foundation of our approach, focusing on exploring how the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and past relationships influence present behaviours and emotions. By delving into the root causes of your trauma, this approach helps uncover patterns that have shaped your sense of self and your interactions with others. Psychodynamic therapy offers a deep understanding of how past wounds impact your present, guiding you toward healing and lasting change.

Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)

EFT is particularly effective in helping individuals with complex trauma and cPTSD, as it addresses the emotional wounds that remain unprocessed. It focuses on helping you recognize and express underlying emotions that may have been repressed or avoided due to trauma. By processing these emotions, EFT facilitates emotional regulation and helps restore a sense of safety and trust in yourself and others.

Mindfulness Practices

Mindfulness is a powerful tool for trauma healing, teaching you how to be present and grounded despite overwhelming emotions. This practice helps individuals with complex trauma reduce dissociation, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation. Mindfulness techniques promote awareness of bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions, enabling you to develop healthier coping mechanisms for managing trauma triggers.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS therapy helps you understand and integrate the different “parts” of yourself that may have developed as a result of trauma. Whether it’s the protector, the inner critic, or the vulnerable part of yourself, IFS fosters compassion and healing by allowing you to engage with these parts in a safe and non-judgemental way. Through this approach, we help you find inner balance and reclaim control over your emotional responses, particularly in the face of abuse, emotional neglect, or intergenerational trauma.

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy empowers you to reframe your story and take control of the narrative that trauma has created in your life. By exploring how your past experiences, including abuse or emotional neglect, have shaped your worldview, you can rewrite your story in a way that emphasizes resilience, healing, and agency. This process helps reduce feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, and confusion, allowing you to move forward with greater clarity and self-compassion.

Trauma Processing

Though not the only path, trauma processing techniques are a valuable tool in promoting healing from PTSD, complex trauma, and cPTSD. We use these techniques to help you safely process the painful memories and emotions tied to traumatic events. These interventions help you release stored trauma and reduce the emotional and physical symptoms associated with trauma, such as chronic health issues, hypervigilance, and emotional numbness. By processing these unresolved memories, you can break free from the emotional hold of past events and reclaim your sense of safety and control.

The IMPACT OF COMPLEX TRAUMA IS REAL BUT SO YOUR RESILIENCE AND CAPACITY FOR HEALING.

You are not your trauma. You are the strength that rises from it.

Take the first step toward healing by booking a complex trauma therapy appointment online or scheduling a free 15-minute consultation. start rewriting your story with expert support in Ontario & British Columbia.

ABOUT US

Why Work With Thriving Ivy Counselling & Psychotherapy

We can't undo the past,

but we can take away its power.

At Thriving Ivy, healing from complex trauma isn’t about managing symptoms—it’s about understanding your unique story and reclaiming your strength to build a purposeful future.

I am a psychotherapist who has lived the journey of healing from complex trauma. I founded Thriving Ivy to offer a compassionate and specialized approach to trauma therapy that combines professional expertise with personal experience. Our team focuses exclusively on complex trauma because we understand its profound impact, touching every part of your life.

Our practice’s name, Thriving Ivy, reflects our belief that just as ivy grows resiliently towards the light, you, too, can reach new heights.

Together, we’ll forge a path to healing—grounded in resilience—guiding you toward lasting change and a life where you can truly thrive.

At Thriving Iy Counselling & Psychotherapy, these values guide every step of your healing journey:

Our Team

Meet Our Complex Trauma Psychotherapists

Our Approach

How Complex Trauma Therapy Works

Online Complex Trauma Therapy In Ontario & British Columbia

Questions About Complex Trauma Therapy

I’ve been in therapy before, and it didn’t help (or my relief was temporary). What makes your approach to complex trauma different?

Many therapies focus on managing symptoms like anxiety or depression, offering temporary relief without addressing the deeper causes of complex trauma. Our psychodynamic approach goes beyond symptom management, diving into the root causes of trauma. We explore unconscious patterns, past experiences, and emotional wounds that have shaped your present. By understanding these foundational issues, we empower you to break free from harmful cycles and achieve lasting transformation. This holistic healing process nurtures resilience, fosters healthier coping strategies, and helps you reclaim a sense of self and purpose.

How do I know if I'm suffering from complex trauma?

Complex trauma often arises from ongoing, subtle stressors—like emotional neglect, verbal abuse, or instability—that accumulate over time, making it difficult to recognize. Unlike a single traumatic event, complex trauma is woven into the fabric of your identity, often manifesting in ways that can be difficult to articulate. If you’re struggling with persistent emotional distress, relationship issues, or difficulty trusting yourself or others, it could be a sign that you’re living with complex trauma. Other indicators include dissociation, intrusive memories, chronic health issues, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness. Recognizing these symptoms is the first step toward understanding your trauma and beginning the healing process. Common Signs of Complex Trauma:

Persistent sadness, anxiety, or anger
Difficulty trusting others or maintaining healthy relationships
Chronic dissociation or feeling detached from yourself
Flashbacks or intrusive memories
Negative self-image or feelings of worthlessness
Difficulty managing intense emotions
Physical symptoms like chronic pain or fatigue
Avoidance behaviours or isolation
A sense of hopelessness or helplessness

What if I don’t want to talk about what happened or can’t remember?

Healing from trauma doesn’t require you to revisit every painful detail. Instead, we focus on the emotional and psychological responses shaped by your experiences. You don’t have to remember everything or force yourself to relive the trauma. Our focus is on understanding how your past has influenced your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, as well as the meaning you have derived from these experiences. This allows for healing through awareness, resilience-building, and healthier coping strategies, all while respecting your comfort level and emotional boundaries. It’s not about the specifics of the events; it’s about creating a path toward safety, self-compassion, and lasting change.

What is complex trauma, and how is it different from regular trauma?

Complex trauma differs from single-event trauma because it results from prolonged exposure to chronic stressors—like emotional neglect, abuse, or instability—often experienced during formative years. While traditional trauma stems from a single catastrophic event, complex trauma builds over time, deeply affecting a person’s sense of self, emotional regulation, and relationships. Its cumulative nature means that complex trauma is often more ingrained in one’s identity and harder to recognize. Individuals may experience ongoing emotional distress, challenges with intimacy, and feelings of worthlessness, making healing more complex and nuanced than with single-event trauma.

How do I know if I'm ready to start therapy for complex trauma?

Readiness for therapy is deeply personal and can look different for everyone. You might be ready if you feel a growing desire to understand recurring emotional patterns, explore past experiences, or find relief from persistent distress. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected, therapy can help you navigate these emotions and create meaningful change. Our client-centred approach ensures therapy meets you where you are, with no pressure to move faster than you’re comfortable. Taking the first step toward therapy, even by considering it, is already a significant part of your healing journey.

Online Complex Trauma Therapy In Ontario & British Columbia

What Life Can Look Like After Complex Trauma Therapy

Life after therapy for complex trauma can be deeply transformative. With healing, you’ll regain safety, stability, and empowerment. While each journey is unique, lasting change is possible with patience and dedication. Over time, you may experience significant shifts, such as:

Reclaiming power from your past and no longer letting it control your future.
Separating your identity from the trauma and rediscovering your authentic self.
Cultivating self-compassion by silencing the inner critic and being kinder to yourself.
Building healthier, more fulfilling relationships with others.
Restoring a sense of safety and security in your life.
Learning how to confidently set and enforce boundaries.
Gaining the ability to be more present, enjoying the moments that matter.