If something you lived through still reaches into your days, in the reactions, the bracing, the moments that pull you back, you are not broken, and you are not alone. Trauma changes how the mind and body protect you. With the right support, those patterns can gently change again.
No pressure, no commitment. Just a calmer first step.
Manulife
Canada Life
Industrial Alliance
Johnston Group
Alberta Blue Cross
ClaimSecure
NIHB
Green Shield
Desjardins
Does this sound familiar?
Trauma doesn’t always look the way people expect, and it isn’t only caused by single, obvious events. You might recognize yourself in a few of these, or in something that isn’t here at all.
The past intruding on
the present
Memories, images, or feelings push their way in when you don't want them to. Something in the present sets it off, and suddenly you're pulled back, reliving something you'd rather leave behind.
Always braced for danger
Your system stays on high alert, scanning for threats even when you're safe. You're jumpy, on edge, easily startled, and you can't seem to fully relax. Rest doesn't come the way it should.
Numbness and disconnection
At the other extreme, you feel flat, distant, or detached from your feelings, from other people, from life itself. It can feel like watching yourself from behind glass, going through the motions.
Avoiding the reminders
You steer around the people, places, or situations that might stir it up. The avoidance makes sense, but it quietly shrinks your world and costs you things you'd otherwise want in your life
It lives in your body
The tension, the startle, the exhaustion, the trouble sleeping. Trauma isn't only in your thoughts. It's held in your nervous system, which is why you can't simply think your way out of it.
A sense that something's
been off since
Maybe you can point to what happened, or maybe you can't quite name it, only that something shifted and hasn't been right since. Trauma can come from one overwhelming event or from things that built up over time.
You don't need every one of these to deserve support.
Our approach
The ways trauma shows up- the hypervigilance, the numbing, the intrusions, the avoidance- are not signs that something is wrong with you. There are signs that your mind and body did exactly what they were built to do: protect you through something overwhelming. Those protective patterns simply kept running long after the danger passed. They made sense then, and they make sense now. They can also be gently updated.
Trauma is held in the nervous system, not just the thinking mind, which is why talking about it alone often isn’t enough. In trauma therapy, we work with safety as the foundation, never pushing faster than you’re ready to go. Using evidence-based approaches like EMDR and body-based work, we help your system process what it couldn’t at the time, so the past can settle into the past. The goal isn’t to erase what happened. It’s to take away its grip on your present, so you can move from surviving to living.
Sessions your way
In person in Calgary, or securely online across Alberta and British Columbia.
Our process
We believe every person holds three aspects of self. Lasting healing means caring for all three.
01
Past self
Honoured
We turn toward what you lived through with care and safety, never pushing faster than you’re ready.
02
Present self
Met
We meet you in how the past shows up today, in your body, your reactions, and your daily life.
03
Future self
Freed
We help your system let go of the past so it loses its grip, and you can move forward freely.
How it works
STEP 01
Book a free 15-
minute discovery call
Book with the therapist of your choice. Not sure who’s the right fit? Book with our clinical director, Shianne, and she’ll match you with a trauma-trained therapist, either in person in Calgary or online across Alberta and BC.
STEP 02
Meet for your consultation
Your consultation happens online, so you can talk from wherever feels most comfortable for you.
STEP 03
Your first appointment
Your therapist works with you to build safety first and shape a plan that goes at your pace. Continue in person in Calgary or virtually via telehealth.
Life during Trauma therapy
Good trauma therapy doesn’t rush in. The early work is about building safety, trust, and steadiness, and learning ways to stay grounded. Nothing about the past is approached until you have the footing to handle it, and you never go faster than you’re ready to.
For many people, there’s relief early on simply in understanding that their responses make sense, that the hypervigilance, the numbness, the reactions are a nervous system doing its job, not a personal failing. That understanding alone can ease a great deal of self-blame.
As the deeper work unfolds, gently and at your pace, the past begins to lose its charge. Using approaches such as EMDR and body-based work, your system can process what it couldn’t at the time. The intrusions ease. The bracing softens. And slowly, the present starts to feel like the present, rather than an echo of the past.
Life after Trauma therapy
The past loses its grip
The memories and reminders stop hijacking your present. What happened becomes something you lived through, rather than something you keep reliving. It settles into the past, where it belongs.
Your body finds calm again
The constant bracing eases. Your nervous system learns it can stand down, and rest, ease, and real relaxation become available again. You’re no longer always on alert.
Your world opens back up
The avoidance that kept your life small begins to lift. You reconnect with people, places, and parts of life you’d been steering around, and you move forward with more freedom and more of yourself available.
What happened doesn't have to keep happening inside you. There's a gentle way through.
The team
Psychologists, counsellors, and social workers trained in evidence-based trauma approaches, including EMDR, who prioritize safety and never push faster than you’re ready to go. Not sure who’s the right fit? Your free call will match you.
Alysha Dosanjh
Founder
Helena Morris
Jennifer Seniuk
Khanjan Pandya
Lyndsay Mckerracher
Brittni Marshall
Shaambhavi Sharma
Our space
You’re already doing the hard part by showing up. Our Calgary office is designed to do the rest, with quiet rooms, soft light, and a sense of privacy that lets you settle in before the session even begins.
Dorchester Square · 1333 8 Street SW, Calgary AB, T2R 1M6
Our services & fees
Direct billing is available to 9+ insurers, so most clients pay little to no out-of-pocket costs.
Individual Therapy
30 minutes
$125
50 minutes
$225
90 minutes
$300
Relationship Therapy
50 minutes
$225
90 minutes
$300
Family Therapy
50 minutes
$225
90 minutes
$300
Every journey starts with a free 15-minute discovery call.
A free 15-minute call is the easiest first step. We’ll listen first, then help you find the right support, at a pace that feels safe for you.
Good to know
Not in the way you might fear. Good trauma therapy doesn't require you to recount every detail, and some approaches, like EMDR, involve very little talking through the event itself. The work always goes at your pace, with safety first, and you're never pushed to share or revisit more than you're ready for.
EMDR is a well-established, evidence-based therapy designed specifically for trauma. It helps your brain reprocess distressing memories, so they lose their intensity and their grip, often without needing to talk through the event in detail. We have EMDR-trained therapists on our team, and you can learn more on our dedicated EMDR page.
Yes. Trauma isn't only caused by single, dramatic events. It can come from things that built up over time, from experiences that others might not recognize, or from situations you can't fully name. If something still affects how you feel and function, it's worth support, regardless of whether it fits a label.
This is a common and understandable fear. Trauma therapy is built to prevent exactly that. The early work focuses entirely on safety, stability, and grounding before anything from the past is approached, and the pace is always yours. A trained trauma therapist knows how to keep the work within what you can handle.
Yes. Many evidence-based trauma approaches, including EMDR, can be delivered effectively online, and we work with clients across Alberta and British Columbia. In-person sessions are also available at our Calgary office. Your therapist will help you decide what feels safest for you.
Our sessions are covered by most extended health plans, and we offer direct billing to a number of insurers. Coverage depends on your specific plan, so it's worth checking what your provider includes for your therapist's designation.
It's a free, no-pressure conversation where we learn a little about what you're going through and help you find the right therapist for it. There's no commitment and nothing to prepare. Just a chance to ask questions and see if it feels like a fit.
In a crisis, please call 911, or call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline), available 24/7. Inspire Wellness Therapy does not provide emergency services.
Begin when you're ready
Book a free 15-minute discovery call, and we’ll help you find the right trauma-trained therapist and take the first step at a pace that feels safe.
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Inspire Wellness Therapy respectfully acknowledges that what we call Alberta is the traditional and ancestral territory of many peoples, presently subject to Treaties 6, 7, and 8. We acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations.
We are all-inclusive, striving to create safe, affirming, and anti-oppressive spaces to welcome and provide equal care for all members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
