Trauma Therapy Online
If you're living with the effects of trauma, you may feel like your mind and body are working against you — flashbacks or intrusive memories, feeling constantly on guard, numbness, difficulty trusting, or a sense that you've lost connection with who you were. These are not signs of weakness. They are your nervous system's natural responses to overwhelming experiences — and they can heal.
At Shirley Porter and Associates Psychotherapy, trauma treatment is the heart of our practice. Our clinic was founded by Shirley Porter, M.Ed., RP, a psychotherapist with 35 years of experience and the author of two published books on trauma. Every clinician on our team is extensively trained and trauma-informed.
We provide online trauma therapy for adults (17+) across Ontario dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex trauma from prolonged or repeated experiences, acute stress following a recent event, childhood trauma and its adult echoes, and trauma connected to grief and loss.
How Trauma Therapy Works
We approach trauma therapy through a compassionate and trauma-informed lens. Being trauma-informed, means that we understand that the trauma you experienced was beyond your control, and thus therapy must be in your control for healing to occur. Thus, you decide what we focus on in session, what interventions we use, for how long, and at what depths.
We do not begin trauma processing, before you feel sufficiently supported and safe to face the roots of your trauma(s).
In most cases your therapist will provide some psycho-education about trauma, so that you understand that how you responded during your traumatic experience was a decision by the most primitive part of the brain that is responsible for survival. At that moment in time, with the information you had, your survival instincts chose the response it deemed most likely to ensure you would survive. It is not usually a conscious "choice". This is important, because people can carry tremendous guilt and shame around how they responded.
We will also explore the ongoing trauma symptoms that you are dealing with and work with you to identify strategies, that work for you, to help you to reduce and better manage the distress caused by these symptoms.
Some people choose to stop there in their trauma therapy. They want better symptom management, without going back to address the trauma. That is okay. It is totally your decision.
If you, however, decide that you want to do trauma processing, to address the "roots" of you symptoms, then your therapist will explain their trauma processing approach to you so that you can decide if it is a fit for you.
All of the therapists in our clinic understand that for many, facing the roots of your trauma can be overwhelming. This is why we will first work with you to create a template of physical and emotional stabilization for your nervous system, that (depending on your preferences) might include a safe connection with an ally (e.g., spirit being/guide; spirit animal; your wisest most compassionate self; or another ally that you can imagine who you would fully trust).
Our therapists are trained in evidence-based approaches such as: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT), the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM), Parts Work, DBT skills, and somatic approaches informed by Polyvagal Theory. Because trauma lives in the body as well as the mind, we work with both — at a pace you control, with your safety and stability always coming first.
As you start to heal from trauma, you will likely notice that you are less likely to experience trauma triggers - and that it is easier to stay in your grounded adult self where you can make conscious choices on how to respond, rather than react from a triggered survival part, in the face of challenging situations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does trauma therapy take?
It depends on your history and goals. Some clients working through a single recent event feel resolution within months; healing from complex or childhood trauma is often longer-term work. In your free consultation, we can give you an honest sense of what your process might involve.
Is trauma therapy covered by insurance in Ontario?
Psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist is not covered by OHIP, but many extended health plans (through work or school) cover services by a Registered Psychotherapist (RP). Check your plan for that designation. We provide receipts after every session for reimbursement, and a limited number of sliding-scale spots are available.
Do I have to talk about the details of what happened?
No. You are in charge of what you share and when. The approaches we use for trauma processing do not require detailed retelling of traumatic events.
We're here for you when you're ready
We offer a free 20-minute video consultation so you can meet a therapist, ask questions, and see if we're the right fit — no obligation, no pressure. Online sessions are available anywhere in Ontario.
You can trust that if our therapists do not have the competencies to provide the care you are requesting, they will tell you. Our first priority is acting in your best interest.