Trauma isn’t just about what happened—it’s about how it impacted you
Trauma can stem from a single overwhelming event or the slow, steady buildup of painful experiences over time. If you’re struggling with trauma, you may feel:
Common symptoms of trauma: Is this what you’re experiencing?
This isn't a complete list. People struggling with trauma may experience persistent shame, guilt, or self-blame. You may find it difficult to concentrate or stay present. Physical symptoms (such as chronic tension, headaches, or stomach issues) are common too.
In therapy, we’ll gently explore these responses, understand how they’ve helped you survive, and begin to shift what’s no longer serving you. Healing from trauma is possible—and you don’t have to face it alone.
How does therapy help with trauma?
Therapy provides you with a safe space to slow down, make sense of what you've been through, and understand how it’s showing up in your life now.
Together, we’ll work to:
While we do the deeper healing work, we’ll also make sure you have the practical tools you need to manage your day-to-day.
Trauma therapy in Calgary
Is it time to reach out for help?
If you're feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or like you're just getting through the day rather than truly living, it might be time to reach out.
Maybe old patterns are showing up in your relationships, your emotions feel too big (or totally shut down), or your usual ways of coping just aren’t working anymore.
You don’t need to wait until things fall apart—trauma treatment can help you:
Oftentimes, you may even find new ways of showing up as a more integrated, authentic version of yourself.
Discover how trauma therapy works
Trauma therapy is a specialized kind of support that helps you safely process painful or overwhelming experiences.
It’s not about reliving the trauma but learning how it’s affecting your mind, body, and emotions today—and finding ways to heal from it.
Trauma counselling modalities I use to help you heal
Healing trauma isn’t one-size-fits-all, so I draw from several approaches tailored to your needs. This includes:
Understanding all the details of these modalities isn’t necessary. Together, we’ll find the right blend of approaches to support your healing journey—at a pace that feels right for you.
ART trauma therapy: Break the loop
Trauma often leaves the brain and body feeling like they’re stuck in a loop—reliving the same images, sensations, and emotional reactions over and over. Even when you know the event is in the past, your nervous system doesn’t always get the memo.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) helps the brain break that loop.
Using soothing, back-and-forth eye movements (similar to what your brain does during REM sleep), ART allows you to reprocess a traumatic memory in a way that feels safe, contained, and often surprisingly manageable. You don’t need to talk through every detail—instead, the process works at a deeper, neurological level to shift how the memory is stored.
With ART, the distressing images are replaced with new ones you choose. You’ll still remember the facts of what happened, but the emotional pain and body tension linked to that memory are significantly reduced—or gone altogether.
IFS trauma therapy: Feel free from the emotional weight you’ve been carrying around
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a compassionate, evidence-based approach that helps you understand and heal the different “parts” of yourself—like the inner critic, the anxious part, the one who shuts down, or the part that keeps everything together. These parts often develop in response to difficult or overwhelming experiences and have been working hard to protect you.
In the context of trauma, IFS is especially powerful. Trauma can leave us feeling fragmented or stuck in survival mode, with parts of us carrying pain while others try to manage or avoid it. IFS helps you gently connect with these parts, understand their roles, and begin to unburden the emotional weight they’ve been holding—without needing to relive the trauma in detail.
Meet Davita—an experienced trauma therapist in Calgary, AB
If you’re carrying the weight of past trauma, you don’t have to hold it alone. I’m here to help.
Hi, I’m Davita—and I’m so glad you’ve found your way here.
You may have tried short-term therapy before and found it helpful—but not quite enough. You might be looking for something deeper: a place to be truly seen, understood, and supported as you make sense of your experiences and move toward healing.
In our work together, we’ll build a genuine, trusting relationship. Along the way, we’ll strengthen your tools for coping with symptoms while also gently addressing the deeper wounds and patterns that often stem from trauma.
My approach is integrative, flexible, and collaborative. I draw from mindfulness practices, emotionally focused therapy, cognitive-behavioural and narrative therapies, and other trauma-informed modalities to meet you where you are. Together, we’ll discover the blend of approaches that best supports your growth.
I’m also trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)—a powerful, evidence-based alternative to traditional talk therapy. ART uses eye movements to help the brain process distressing memories without requiring you to relive them or discuss all the details. Many people find relief with ART more quickly than they expected.
If you’re ready to begin—or just curious about what this could look like—I’d love to connect. Start the conversation by booking a free initial consultation below.
Start trauma therapy in Calgary
Ready to start trauma therapy with me?
Our office location
Insurance
We offer direct billing to Alberta Blue Cross and Telus EClaims providers (includes Canadalife, Manulife, Beneva, Claimsecure, Desjardins, Johnson, Johnston Group, iA Financial Group, UV Insurance, Chambers of Commerce, Cowan, Manion, Maximum Benefit and more).
Start trauma therapy in Calgary
Book a free initial consultation
I understand that starting trauma therapy is not an easy decision. I imagine you’d like to work with someone you can trust and feel comfortable around. That’s why I warmly invite you to start with a free initial consultation where you can ask questions, and we can see if we're a good fit. If you decide to start counselling with me from there, I will guide you through the next steps. There is no obligation to start therapy with me after the initial consultation call.
Ready to get started?
Please use the booking button below. It will take you to our Jane booking website, where you can choose to book a free initial consultation—or go ahead and schedule a full session if you’re ready to dive in.
Have questions?
If you're looking for more information before booking, feel free to get in touch through the contact form or by emailing admin@ponakpsychology.com.
We’ll do our best to get back to you within 24 hours.
We look forward to connecting with you!
Davita & Dave
"*" indicates required fields