Trauma Therapy (EMDR & Parts Work)
Trauma Therapy in Maple Ridge, BC
Trauma can leave your nervous system feeling stuck on high alert, shut down, or swinging between both. You might notice anxiety that doesn’t fully settle, emotional overwhelm, numbness, people-pleasing, difficulty with boundaries, or reactions that feel bigger than the situation. These patterns aren’t signs that something is wrong with you - - they’re your system’s attempt to protect you based on what you’ve lived through.
Trauma therapy focuses on helping your mind and body learn that the present is safer than the past. We move at a pace that feels manageable, building stability and regulation first, before gently working with the experiences that are still carrying a charge.
How Trauma Affects The Nervous System
Trauma is not only stored as memory - - it also lives in the nervous system. That can show up as hypervigilance, shutdown, emotional flooding, or feeling disconnected from yourself and others. Even when life is relatively stable, your body may still be bracing for something to go wrong.
In therapy, we pay attention to these patterns with care an curiosity. As your system develops more capacity for regulation and safety, it becomes possible to approach difficult material without becoming overwhelmed.
EMDR Therapy
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) is an evidence-based trauma therapy that helps the brain process experiences that feel “stuck.” Rather than talking through events over and over, EMDR works with the brains natural processing system to help past experiences feel more complete an less activating in the present.
Clients often find that memories become less vivid or emotionally intense, and that present-day triggers have less impact. EMDR is always offered within a framework of preparation, choice, and pacing, so you feel supported throughout the process.
Parts Work
Many trauma survivors notice internal conflict: one part of you wants connection, another pulls away; one part wants to rest another pushes you to keep going. Parts work helps you understand these different inner experiences as protective strategies that developed for good reasons.
Instead of trying to get rid of parts of yourself, therapy focuses on building communication, compassion, an cooperation within your system. This can reduce shame, increase self-understanding, and help you respond with more choice in the present.
Who This is For
Trauma therapy may be helpful if you are living with the impact of:
Childhood trauma or attachment wounds
Intergenerational trauma
Chronic stress or complex trauma
Sexual abuse or assault
Medical or relational trauma
Sudden or overwhelming life events