CPTSD & Complex Trauma Therapy in Vancouver

Queer Trauma Therapist in Vancouver

What does complex trauma feel like?

Complex trauma often shows up as ongoing relational and emotional patterns rather than a single event.

You might feel emotionally overwhelmed or pulled between extremes,longing for connection one moment, and feeling shut down or flooded the next. Many people I work with notice anxious, avoidant, or disorganized attachment patterns that make relationships feel confusing, intense, or fragile.

You may have a strong understanding of your patterns, yet still find yourself caught in cycles that don’t seem to shift. This can show up as choosing short-term relief over what you want long-term, or feeling at war with yourself: one part coping, another criticizing, another just wanting rest or relief.

If you’ve been told you’re “too sensitive,” “too reactive,” or “too much,” that likely never told the whole story. When early experiences taught you that love, care, or attention were inconsistent or came with conditions, it makes sense that closeness could feel both necessary and terrifying.

Many of the people I work with are queer, trans, neurodivergent, or otherwise feel out of place in normative systems and traditional therapy spaces. Alongside relational wounds, there may also be identity-based harm, chronic misattunement, or the long-term impact of having to adapt, mask, or self-monitor to belong.

How Somatic Therapy Can Support CPTSD

Complex trauma can shape how we experience safety, connection, and our capacity to respond to the world around us. Even when we understand the origins of our patterns, our nervous systems may continue to respond as though earlier experiences are still happening.

Somatic therapy invites us to become curious about how these experiences live in the body. We might begin by noticing shifts in sensation, tension, breath, movement, or the impulse to withdraw, protect, or reach toward connection. These responses often carry important information about how we've learned to navigate overwhelming experiences.

In our work together, we pay attention to your nervous system's capacity and pace. Rather than pushing toward difficult memories or intense emotional experiences, we create opportunities to explore what feels manageable, allowing space for regulation, curiosity, and new possibilities to emerge.

Drawing from Somatic Experiencing, relational approaches, and parts work, I support clients in developing a more compassionate relationship with their protective responses. Over time, this can help create greater flexibility in how we respond to ourselves, our relationships, and the challenges of everyday life.

Learn more about my approach to somatic therapy.

How can therapy help?

I work with people navigating complex trauma (PTSD and CPTSD), as well as those who’ve been diagnosed with trauma-related conditions such as borderline personality disorder (BPD) or dissociative identity disorder (DID). My approach is non-pathologizing and parts-oriented. I don’t see emotional intensity or relational struggle as something to fix, but as the imprint of survival strategies that once protected you.

Our work is somatic, relational, and experiential. Rather than relying only on insight or explanation, we slow down and attend to what’s happening in your body and inner world in real time. Using somatic and parts-based approaches, I support you in learning how to be with yourself differently, growing more choice, curiosity, and internal trust.

This work is especially supportive if insight alone hasn’t shifted things, and you’re drawn to embodied approaches that invite real change rather than self-management. Over time, this can support more emotional steadiness, clearer boundaries, and relationships that feel less exhausting and more possible, both with others and with yourself.

Ready to begin?

Book a free 20-minute consultation by completing the form below to see if we’re a good fit.