Trauma can happen in a lot of different ways, and it can affect you long after the experience is over.
I work with adults who have experienced trauma and are still dealing with its impact.
Betrayal trauma can develop when someone you trusted deeply violates that trust, whether through infidelity, deception, secrecy, or other profound breaches of trust. It can leave you questioning yourself, your relationship, and what you thought you knew.
Single-event trauma includes overwhelming or life-threatening, such as an accident, assault, sudden loss, or other traumatic event. After the event, the nervous system can continue to respond as though the danger is still present.
Complex trauma develops through repeated or prolonged experiences of threat, harm, instability, or emotional injury, especially when they happen in relationships where you needed safety and care. C-PTSD can affect emotional regulation, self-worth, relationships, trust, and your sense of safety.
Childhood trauma and developmental trauma can occur when a child grows up without the consistency, emotional safety, attunement, or protection they need. Emotional neglect, chronic criticism, family dysfunction, abuse, and/or unpredictable caregiving can shape how you see yourself and relate to others.
Relational trauma happens when relationships that should provide safety, connection, and belonging instead become sources of fear, rejection, manipulation, instability, or emotional pain. It can affect attachment, boundaries, self-trust, and the way you understand your own needs.
Traumatic grief happen after a sudden or violent loss. Grief can become complicated when there’s been estrangement, betrayal, unresolved feelings, or the loss of a relationship you really wished you could have had.
Trauma can also develop through experiences that happen repeatedly over time, especially when there is little opportunity to feel safe, understood, or supported. These can include:
Even when you know the trauma exists in the past, you can still feel or react like it is happening now.
Your body might be tense, emotions/reactions might come up fast, you might keep thinking about what happened, or you might feel like something bad is about to happen.
I can help you make sense of what happened and understand why it might still be affecting you. We can look at the thoughts, feelings, memories, and patterns that have stayed with you, and work through the parts that still feel difficult or unresolved. Over time, the hope is that the past starts to feel more like the past, rather than something you are still reacting to in the present.
Healing from trauma can start with understanding why you respond the way you do, and helping your mind and body recognize that what happened then isn’t what’s happening now.
It can also include experiencing the safety, connection, support, and resources you needed but didn't get.
We start by getting a better understanding of how past trauma is still showing up in your life today.
We look at what you’re noticing, including your thoughts, beliefs about yourself or others, emotional reactions, triggers, relationship patterns, body sensations, and responses like fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or shutting down.
We also look for patterns. What tends to set you off? What happens inside when it does? What have you learned to do to protect yourself? What beliefs or expectations might you still be carrying from earlier experiences?
Sometimes the connections are pretty clear. Other times, you just know that something feels wrong or that you keep reacting in a certain way, without really understanding why.
This part of the work is about helping you feel safer and more grounded in the present.
Trauma can leave your nervous system reacting as though danger is still happening. You might become overwhelmed quickly, shut down, disconnect, go blank, or feel like your emotions take over before you even have a chance to understand what’s happening.
Together, we work on noticing these responses and understanding what’s happening when they show up. We also work on ways to help you stay connected to the present and feel more steady when difficult thoughts, emotions, or situations come up.
This can include learning ways to regulate your nervous system, paying attention to what your body is telling you, and developing internal resources that help you feel safer and more grounded.
We don’t rush into processing difficult experiences. Building enough safety and stability to do that work is part of the work.
When you feel ready, we can work more directly with the trauma itself. This can look different for everyone. It might involve memories, emotions, body sensations, beliefs about yourself, relationship patterns, triggers, strong reactions, or dissociation.
Trauma doesn’t always come back as a clear memory. Sometimes you just notice that certain situations bring up a strong reaction, a familiar feeling, or a belief about yourself that you can’t quite explain.
Using approaches like EMDR, IFS-informed therapy, and attachment-focused work, we can begin working with these experiences and the beliefs and meanings that developed around them.
Trauma therapy can help your mind and body recognize that what happened is no longer happening now, while giving you a chance to develop new ways of understanding yourself and responding to what happens in the present.
We move at a pace that you feel comfortable with.
If you’re wondering whether I might be a good fit to support you, you’re welcome to start with a free 15-minute consultation. We can talk briefly about what you’re looking for, answer any questions you have, and see if working together feels like a good fit.
Adrie-Anne Gamble
Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling (CPCA #3793)
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCPA #10001293)
Online Counselling Alberta
Serving adults virtually across Alberta, including Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge,
Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie, Airdrie, St. Albert, and surrounding communities.
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