Trauma Therapy in Hamilton, Ontario

Healing From the Impact of Trauma, PTSD, and Complex PTSD
Trauma affects both the mind and the body. It may show up as flashbacks, nightmares, or feeling constantly on edge. It can also look like emotional numbness, withdrawal from others, or deep shame and self-blame. Many people live with a sense that something is wrong inside them without fully understanding why.

At eFIT, we understand trauma as a whole-person experience shaped by the nervous system, relationships, physical health, and daily environment. That is why our approach integrates psychotherapy, somatic regulation, physical activity, nutrition support, and community connection. Healing becomes more sustainable when the body and mind are supported together.

What Is Trauma? The eFIT Perspective

Trauma occurs when experiences overwhelm your ability to cope and recover. The nervous system adapts to survive, often through patterns of hyper-arousal, shutdown, or avoidance. These responses were protective at the time, but they can persist long after the danger has passed, keeping you stuck in cycles of fear, disconnection, or emotional pain.

In the eFIT model, trauma is addressed across multiple levels:

• Mind and emotions: We work gently with core emotions such as fear, powerlessness, shame, grief, and anger. Therapy focuses on reducing self-criticism, building self-compassion, and making meaning of what happened in a way that restores dignity and agency.
• Body and nervous system: Regulation is supported through trauma-sensitive somatic practices such as paced breathing, interoceptive awareness, and trauma-informed movement. These approaches help calm physiological arousal and increase tolerance for emotional experience.
• Lifestyle and physiology: Movement and nutrition are used to support sleep, energy, and stress resilience. Exercise can be a helpful adjunct to trauma treatment, and supportive nutrition helps stabilize the nervous system and reduce physiological strain.
• Relationships and community: Trauma disrupts trust and belonging. Healing in safe relational spaces reduces isolation and offers corrective emotional experiences that rebuild connection.

Symptoms of Trauma

• Intrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares
• Avoidance of reminders, people, places, or emotions
• Hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, irritability, or anger
• Emotional numbness, shame, guilt, or self-blame
• Difficulty concentrating or remembering
• Sleep disruption and ongoing fatigue
• Physical symptoms such as muscle tension, headaches, or digestive issues

These reactions are understandable protective responses. Treatment begins with safety and stabilization, then carefully supports processing what was too much to handle alone.

How the eFIT Model Supports Trauma Recovery

Psychotherapy
Our psychotherapy is emotion focused and trauma specific. We help you access and work through the emotions tied to traumatic experiences, supporting shifts such as transforming shame into self-protection, grief into release, and anger into healthy boundary-setting. This work is paced carefully and grounded in established trauma-informed frameworks.

Somatic Regulation
Trauma lives in the body as much as the mind. We teach body-based tools such as paced breathing, grounding, body scanning, and trauma-informed movement practices to reduce physiological arousal and expand your window of tolerance. These practices help you stay present without becoming overwhelmed.

Physical Activity
Movement is used intentionally and therapeutically. Aerobic and resistance training can support mood, sleep, and stress tolerance when introduced safely and gradually. We tailor activity to your capacity so it supports regulation rather than pushing the nervous system too far.

Nutrition Support
Trauma can disrupt appetite, digestion, and energy regulation. Our nutrition support focuses on consistent nourishment, blood sugar stability, and patterns that support brain and nervous system health. Guidance is individualized and practical, not rigid or trend-based.

Community and Group Work
Trauma isolates. Healing happens in connection. Our membership model offers safe opportunities to experience support, practice boundaries, and rebuild trust with others. Group settings provide powerful corrective experiences that complement individual therapy.