How We Approach Trauma Therapy

At Taproot Psychology, our practice is informed by a number of therapeutic modalities. Trauma therapy isn't a one-size-fits-all experience. We offer a combination of EMDR, Cognitive Analytical Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

EMDR stands for Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing. During an EMDR session, we direct your eye movements while you relive a traumatic event. The distraction of the directed eye movement allows you to experience the trauma less intensely and with greater control over your emotions.

Compassion Focused Therapy helps you rebuild a relationship with yourself. It reconnects you to your positive attributes and teaches you self-nourishment. We want to help you find your taproot and flourish. The goal of this type of trauma therapy is to stand tall and learn how to compassionately be there for yourself.

Cognitive Analytical Therapy is used when you're stuck in certain patterns and want to find a way out. We'll have you draw a map of your life and identify the patterns that need to be changed. This will guide you from a place of distress to a place of healing from the trauma.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy provides you with tools to manage difficult thoughts and emotions. CBT is useful for people who are managing depression and anxiety but can also help those healing from trauma. It focuses on how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours impact one another. The goal is to identify and change the negative thoughts into thoughts that are based on reality.

How therapy for trauma works at Taproot Psychology is that we follow three phases:


Stabilization and grounding
Making sense of what happened
Reclaiming your life and reconnecting with yourself, others, and the world


Aside from trauma therapy, we also engage in life reflection in individual therapy with our clients. This is a space for self-development. It allows you to explore yourself. This form of therapy is less about goal-setting and more about the open exploration of life difficulties. You'll assess your life, make hard decisions, and take stock of where you are in your life in order to create a life worth living for yourself.