EDMONTON PSYCHOLOGISTS FOR TREATING PTSD & TRAUMA-RELATED DISORDERS
Therapy for Trauma & PTSD in Edmonton
Trusted Trauma Counselling in Edmonton
Heal and Move Forward with Strength, Compassion & Resilience
At Solace Psychology & Wellness, Edmonton and St. Albert, we offer compassionate and evidence-based trauma counselling to help you process what you’ve been through and move toward healing. Experiencing trauma can leave lasting emotional, physical, and psychological effects. Whether it’s from a single event or a series of ongoing experiences, trauma can impact your relationships, mood, self-esteem, and sense of safety in the world.
Our skilled therapists work with children, teens, and adults dealing with symptoms of PTSD, complex trauma, and difficult life experiences. We create a safe, non-judgmental space where you can begin to understand your reactions, build healthy coping strategies, and reconnect with yourself. Whether you’re struggling with flashbacks, anxiety, grief, emotional numbness, dissociation, or trust issues, we’re here to support your recovery.
Healing from trauma is possible. We’re here to walk with you every step of the way.
Direct billing is available for select insurance companies.
Support to Help You Heal, Cope, and Reclaim Your Life
Trauma Therapy in Edmonton
Our trauma-informed Psychologists at Solace Psychology & Wellness specialize in helping children teens and adults in Edmonton and St. Albert heal from trauma, reset their nervous system and find inner-peace.
When facing or witnessing a life-threatening, traumatic event, your whole world can be turned upside down. It can be hard to put everything back together again and feel normal. This is because your brain needs to heal.
Trauma-Informed Therapy can help give your brain a boost to begin the healing process and provide proper guidance for you to overcome the root of your symptoms. Our trauma team uses evidence-based approaches, including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), trauma-focused CBT, somatic experiencing, and mind-body strategies to help you process painful memories, reduce symptoms like anxiety or flashbacks, and reclaim a sense of control in your life. Learn valuable tools to manage stress and the unpleasant ripples of trauma.
Offering in-person trauma therapy sessions in Edmonton and St. Albert, as well as virtual sessions across Alberta.
Trauma Therapy Can Help With:
Distress due to Trauma – Emotional overwhelm or persistent distress tied to past events
Flashbacks & Unwanted Memories – Intrusive memories that replay traumatic experiences
Fear & Hypervigilance – A constant sense of danger or being on edge
Negative Thoughts Related to Trauma – Feelings of shame, guilt, self-blame, or low self-worth
Nightmares & Sleep Disturbances – Trauma-related dreams, night terrors, or insomnia
Physical Sensations of Trauma – Body-based reactions such as tension, pain, or startle responses
PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) – Including complex PTSD from ongoing or repeated trauma
Depression & Anxiety – Mood changes, withdrawal, worry, or panic related to trauma
Emotional Numbness or Disconnection – Feeling detached from oneself, others, or the world
Difficulty Trusting or Feeling Safe – Struggles with relationships, boundaries, or vulnerability
UNDERSTAND YOUR TRAUMA-RELATED SYMPTOMS AT SOLACE
What is the Difference Between Trauma & PTSD?
What is Trauma?
Trauma is the overwhelming emotional response to a deeply distressing event. Traumatic events threaten our sense of security, safety, and our well-being. They can make us feel helpless, alone, and overwhelmed, with effects lasting for years if not dealt with in therapy.
Traumatic events can happen once in our life time (like a car accident) or can be ongoing (like bullying). Common examples include:
- motor vehicle accident
- neglect & abuse (verbal, emotional, mental, physical, sexual)
- work-related incidents (vicarious trauma)
- natural disaster
- tragic death or loss
- major life changes & stressors (moving, divorce)
- violence
- severe bullying
- acts of terrorism
- intergenerational trauma (emotional and psychological impacts are passed down)
What is PTSD?
During a traumatic event, your nervous system can become flooded with emotion and information, leading to overload and overwhelm. Your brain is unable to process everything all at once and these memories can become frozen in your mind.
If you continue to experience distress when reminded of the traumatic incident, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop. PTSD is a natural response to trauma that does not fade away. PTSD symptoms usually appear within 3 months after the event, although you may not notice symptoms until years later. You may also experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues if trauma is not dealt with.
HOW OUR COUNSELLING TEAM CAN HELP
Counselling for Trauma & PTSD in Edmonton
Trauma therapy can help you become unstuck, so that you can process your past and move forward. You will get to the root of your symptoms so that you can truly heal. You will also learn helpful strategies to strengthen the relaxation response of the mind and body, to allow you to be more present. With the right guidance, you can restore your sense of self and find peace in your life again.
Healing After Trauma Starts Here
Symptoms of PTSD
We all react to trauma differently depending on our personal circumstances. There is no right or wrong way to respond. You are experiencing normal reactions to an abnormal incident.
Common symptoms of PTSD include:
- repeated, vivid memories of the event
- nightmares of the event
- re-experiencing the event over & over (flashbacks)
- feeling distress when reminded of the event (can be felt in the body)
- Avoiding people, places, & things that remind you of the event
- Feeling on edge or hypervigilent
- Startled easily
- Blaming yourself & feeling guilty
- Feeling helpless & inadequate
- Difficulty sleeping or staying asleep
- Irritable or becoming angry easily
- Difficulty feeling joy
- Loss of interest in activities that you usually enjoy
- Difficulty concentrating
Healing After Trauma Starts Here
Symptoms of PTSD
We all react to trauma differently depending on our personal circumstances. There is no right or wrong way to respond. You are experiencing normal reactions to an abnormal incident.
Common symptoms of PTSD include:
- repeated, vivid memories of the event
- nightmares of the event
- re-experiencing the event over & over (flashbacks)
- feeling distress when reminded of the event (can be felt in the body)
- Avoiding people, places, & things that remind you of the event
- Feeling on edge or hypervigilent
- Startled easily
- Blaming yourself & feeling guilty
- Feeling helpless & inadequate
- Difficulty sleeping or staying asleep
- Irritable or becoming angry easily
- Difficulty feeling joy
- Loss of interest in activities that you usually enjoy
- Difficulty concentrating
Support for the Hardest Moments
Benefits of Counselling for Trauma & PTSD
Counselling can lead to transformative healing and lasting recovery when you allow yourself to process your pain. Clients commonly tell us that they experience the following when working with our trauma team:
- Have a safe space to talk about your past & make meaning of your experiences
- Gain an understanding of the trauma that you experienced
- Heal from your past wounds so that you can move forward
- Learn practical tools to reduce stress & PTSD symptoms
- Learn how to calm the mind & regulate your nervous system
- Boost your confidence & self-esteem
- Feel more grounded & calm
- Reconnect with your true self
- Achieve balance in your overall life
EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPY FOR TRAUMA & PTSD
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is the gold-standard treatment for healing from emotional distress related to past trauma (or PTSD symptomology) or life-threatening experiences.
When experiencing or witnessing trauma, your whole world can be shaken and things may never seem to go back to normal. Your brain does not have time to effectively process the trauma, so you become easily reminded of it years later. You need more than temporary coping skills to fully recover from these experiences.
EMDR therapy heals the mind when you access those traumatic memories in a safe and controlled manner, with the guidance of a trained psychologist. This allows your brain to reprocess these memories properly and file them away in the right place. Your brain can heal itself, just as your body can heal from physical trauma.
*Various other strategies are utilized in counselling, based upon your unique situation and goals.
From Surviving to Thriving: Edmonton-Based Trauma Therapy That Works
What Else Helps You Heal from Trauma?
Resilience: The ability to bounce back from hardship
There’s a breadth of research on how to build resilience and live a meaningful life following a traumatic event. Here are a few helpful ways to begin healing:
- SUPPORT: talk to someone that you trust about how you’re feeling and what you’re going through.
- GROUPS: Find a local support group for trauma survivors. It can help to have people to relate to.
- STRESS REDUCTION: Practice strategies that relieve stress for you (try deep breathing, exercise, yoga, gardening, dancing, singing, colouring, painting, reading, cleaning).
- SELF-CARE: Take good care of yourself emotionally, physically, and mentally (eat nutritious food, try to rest when you can, get moving, stretch, cry, journal).
- BE KIND TO YOURSELF: We often take on more responsibility than we should for the traumatic event. Remind yourself that it is not your fault that this happened to you.
- GROUNDING: Learn effective strategies to deal with flashbacks and unwanted memories (ex: look around you and name 10 things you see of the same colour).
- THERAPY: Our therapists are specially trained in EMDR therapy, among other proven therapies (like CBT, CPT & DBT) to help people effectively heal from trauma.
INTEGRATIVE HEALTHCARE FOR YOUR MIND & BODY
Trauma-Informed Massage Treatments
Our Registered Massage Therapists at our Edmonton clinic (not offered in St. Albert) specialize in a variety of massage treatments with one goal in mind – to help ease physical and emotional pain, helping in trauma healing.
- Relaxation Massage
- Deep Tissue Massage
- Hot Stone Massage
- Signature Spa Massage
- Sports Massage
- Perinatal Massage
- Lymphatic Drainage Therapy
- Cupping Therapy
- Motor Vehicle Accident Massage (TMJ, migraines, whiplash)
- & More!
Learn more by visiting our Wellness Website: www.solacewellness.ca
COMPASSIONATE & PROFESSIONAL CARE
Trauma Therapists in Edmonton
We are trusted trauma therapists in Edmonton and St. Albert, combining compassionate care with deep clinical expertise. Our team is highly trained in evidence-based approaches such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic therapies, and cognitive-behavioural modalities proven to help clients heal from trauma. With diverse professional backgrounds and advanced training, we tailor each therapy plan to meet your unique needs. Our commitment to ongoing education, trauma-informed care, and ethical excellence allows clients to feel safe, supported, and empowered throughout their healing journey.
We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.
– Stephen Covey
Don’t live in Edmonton?
In addition to in-clinic sessions in Edmonton and St. Albert, our psychologists offer secure virtual trauma therapy sessions (video or phone) for anyone living in Alberta. Access quality therapy from the comfort of your own home.
Book your trauma therapy session in Edmonton or St. Albert.
YOUR TRUSTED EDMONTON TRAUMA THERAPY TEAM
Solace Psychology & Wellness
EDMONTON: hello@solacewellness.ca | 780-702-1079 | #205, 2435 90B Street SW, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6X 1V8
ST. ALBERT: StAlbert@solacewellness.ca | 780-702-1079 | #508, 1 Tache Street, St. Albert, AB, Canada, T8N 1B4