Complex Trauma Therapy in Surrey, BC
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Complex trauma therapy at Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback in Surrey, BC helps individuals struggling with the effects of childhood trauma, emotional neglect, relational trauma, and complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Our trauma-informed counsellors use approaches such as EMDR therapy, neurofeedback, mindfulness, and attachment-focused counselling to support nervous system regulation, emotional healing, improved relationships, and long-term recovery from complex trauma.
Living with complex trauma can feel exhausting, confusing, and isolating. Many people who seek complex trauma therapy or complex trauma counselling describe constantly feeling emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected from themselves, stuck in unhealthy relationship patterns, hypervigilant, emotionally numb, or unable to fully relax. Others struggle with shame, self-criticism, people-pleasing, difficulty trusting others, or a persistent sense that something is “wrong” with them even when life appears stable on the surface.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, we provide complex trauma therapy in Surrey, BC for individuals experiencing the lasting effects of childhood trauma, emotional neglect, relational trauma, attachment wounds, chronic stress, and complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Complex trauma often develops through repeated experiences that overwhelm the nervous system over time rather than from a single traumatic event. This can include growing up in unpredictable, emotionally unsafe, invalidating, abusive, or neglectful environments, as well as experiencing long-term relational pain, bullying, coercive relationships, or chronic exposure to stress and fear.
Many individuals living with complex trauma become highly skilled at surviving while feeling internally dysregulated. You may appear functional to others while privately struggling with anxiety, emotional reactivity, perfectionism, dissociation, burnout, relationship difficulties, sleep problems, or a constant sense of emotional exhaustion. Over time, these survival patterns can begin affecting self-esteem, identity, emotional regulation, physical health, and connection with others.
Our therapists use trauma-informed approaches tailored to the unique needs of each person. Depending on your goals and comfort level, therapy may include EMDR therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, attachment-focused counselling, nervous system regulation strategies, emotionally focused therapy, and neurofeedback to support emotional stability and resilience. Therapy for complex PTSD is often most effective when it moves at a pace that feels safe, collaborative, and grounded in the development of trust.
Whether you are seeking support for childhood trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, relational trauma, or longstanding patterns shaped by chronic stress, our goal is to help you better understand your nervous system, process painful experiences safely, strengthen emotional regulation, and move toward greater stability, connection, and self-compassion.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, we help clients understand the patterns complex trauma can leave behind while supporting emotional recovery and nervous system regulation. Depending on your needs, therapy may incorporate approaches such as EMDR therapy, mindfulness based counselling, emotionally focused therapy, IFS informed work, and neurofeedback. Our goal is not simply to help you keep coping, but to help you build safety, resilience, and a healthier relationship with yourself and others.
What Is Complex Trauma?
Complex trauma refers to the lasting emotional, psychological, relational, and nervous system effects of repeated or prolonged traumatic experiences. Unlike single-incident trauma, which may result from one overwhelming event, complex trauma often develops over months or years in situations where a person feels unsafe, powerless, emotionally unsupported, or unable to escape ongoing stress.
Many people seeking complex trauma therapy have lived through experiences such as childhood emotional neglect, chronic criticism, abuse, bullying, unstable caregiving, family conflict, emotionally unpredictable relationships, coercive control, or repeated exposure to fear and stress. In many cases, the nervous system adapts to these environments by remaining in a prolonged state of survival mode. Over time, these adaptations can continue long after the original circumstances have ended.
Complex trauma can affect far more than memories of difficult experiences. It often shapes how a person relates to themselves, other people, emotions, boundaries, trust, and safety. Individuals living with complex PTSD (C-PTSD) may experience anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, chronic shame, dissociation, perfectionism, difficulty relaxing, people-pleasing, fear of abandonment, emotional numbness, or ongoing struggles within relationships.
Many individuals who experienced childhood trauma learned to suppress emotions, stay highly alert to the needs of others, or disconnect from themselves in order to cope. These survival strategies were often adaptive at the time, but they can later contribute to burnout, relationship difficulties, low self-worth, emotional dysregulation, and a persistent sense of feeling unsafe or disconnected.
Complex trauma also affects the nervous system and body. Some people remain in a constant state of tension, anxiety, or emotional reactivity, while others feel emotionally shut down, detached, exhausted, or numb. This is one reason why therapy for complex trauma often benefits from approaches that support both emotional processing and nervous system regulation, including EMDR therapy, mindfulness, attachment-focused counselling, and neurofeedback.
Understanding complex trauma is often an important first step toward healing. Many people find relief in recognizing that their emotional responses, coping patterns, and relationship struggles may not reflect personal weakness, but rather adaptations developed in response to prolonged stress and emotional pain.
Complex Trauma vs. PTSD: Why the Difference Matters
Although PTSD and complex trauma share many similarities, they are not always experienced in the same way. Understanding the difference can help individuals make sense of symptoms that may otherwise feel confusing, overwhelming, or difficult to explain. Many people who seek complex trauma counselling have spent years wondering why they continue struggling emotionally even after difficult experiences are over.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with a single traumatic event such as a car accident, assault, natural disaster, or other life-threatening experience. Symptoms may include intrusive memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, emotional distress, avoidance, anxiety, or feeling constantly on edge.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), by contrast, is more commonly linked to repeated or long-term traumatic experiences, especially those occurring within relationships or during childhood development. This can include emotional neglect, chronic criticism, unstable caregiving, abuse, coercive relationships, bullying, or environments where emotional safety and support were consistently lacking.
In addition to many traditional PTSD symptoms, individuals living with complex trauma often struggle with:
- Chronic shame or harsh self-criticism
- Difficulty trusting others or forming secure relationships
- Fear of abandonment or emotional closeness
- People-pleasing or difficulty setting boundaries
- Emotional dysregulation or emotional numbness
- Dissociation or feeling disconnected from oneself
- Persistent anxiety, hypervigilance, or nervous system activation
- A deeply rooted sense of being unsafe, unworthy, or “too much”
Many of these patterns develop as survival adaptations. When someone grows up in environments where emotional safety is inconsistent, the nervous system often learns to stay alert, suppress emotions, anticipate danger, or prioritize the needs of others in order to maintain connection and safety. Over time, these adaptations can continue affecting relationships, identity, emotional regulation, and physical wellbeing long into adulthood.
This distinction matters because effective therapy for complex PTSD often requires a more gradual, relational, and nervous-system-informed approach than therapy focused solely on single-incident trauma. Therapy may involve building emotional safety, improving nervous system regulation, strengthening self-compassion, processing traumatic memories carefully, and developing healthier patterns of connection with others.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, our therapists tailor therapy to each individual’s experiences and goals. Approaches such as EMDR therapy, attachment-focused counselling, mindfulness, and neurofeedback may be integrated to support both trauma processing and emotional stabilization.
Signs You May Be Living With Complex Trauma
Many people living with complex trauma do not immediately recognize their experiences as trauma-related. Instead, they may believe they are simply “too sensitive,” overly anxious, emotionally reactive, disconnected, or bad at relationships. Others may have spent years functioning in survival mode without realizing how deeply chronic stress, emotional neglect, or relational pain has affected their nervous system and sense of self.
The effects of complex PTSD (C-PTSD) often extend far beyond memories of difficult experiences. Because complex trauma frequently develops within relationships or over long periods of time, its effects can shape emotional regulation, attachment patterns, self-worth, physical wellbeing, and the ability to feel safe or connected with others.
Some common signs of complex trauma may include:
- Feeling constantly on edge or unable to fully relax
- Chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, or overthinking
- Difficulty trusting others or fearing emotional closeness
- People-pleasing or difficulty setting boundaries
- Strong emotional reactions that feel difficult to control
- Emotional numbness or feeling disconnected from yourself
- Dissociation or “checking out” emotionally during stress
- Persistent shame, guilt, or harsh self-criticism
- Fear of abandonment or rejection
- Difficulty identifying or expressing emotions
- Burnout, exhaustion, or chronic nervous system dysregulation
- Relationship patterns that feel painful, repetitive, or unsafe
- Sleep difficulties, nightmares, or feeling unsafe at night
- A strong need to stay in control or avoid vulnerability
Many individuals who experienced childhood trauma or emotional neglect learned early in life to suppress emotions, monitor the moods of others, avoid conflict, or prioritize survival over authenticity and connection. These patterns were often protective adaptations that helped them cope in difficult environments. However, over time, they can contribute to anxiety, relationship difficulties, emotional exhaustion, and a persistent sense of insecurity.
Complex trauma can also affect the body and nervous system in significant ways. Some people feel chronically activated, restless, or emotionally reactive, while others experience shutdown, fatigue, numbness, or dissociation. This is why therapy for complex trauma often benefits from approaches that support both emotional processing and nervous system regulation.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, our therapists provide complex trauma therapy in Surrey, BC tailored to each individual’s experiences and goals. Depending on your needs, therapy may incorporate EMDR therapy, attachment-focused counselling, mindfulness, and neurofeedback to support emotional healing, resilience, and greater nervous system stability.
How Complex Trauma Can Affect Relationships, Identity, and the Nervous System
The effects of complex trauma often extend into nearly every area of life. Because complex trauma frequently develops within relationships or during important developmental years, it can shape how a person experiences connection, safety, emotional regulation, self-worth, and even their sense of identity. Many people seeking complex trauma counselling describe feeling stuck in patterns they do not fully understand despite years of trying to cope on their own.
For some individuals, complex trauma leads to chronic hypervigilance and a nervous system that remains constantly prepared for danger. This may appear as overthinking, anxiety, emotional reactivity, perfectionism, irritability, difficulty relaxing, or always anticipating worst-case scenarios. Others experience the opposite response: emotional shutdown, numbness, dissociation, exhaustion, or difficulty accessing emotions altogether.
Relationships are also commonly affected. Individuals living with complex PTSD (C-PTSD) may struggle with trusting others, setting boundaries, tolerating conflict, expressing vulnerability, or feeling emotionally safe within close relationships. Some become highly independent and avoid closeness, while others fear abandonment and become overly focused on maintaining connection at the expense of their own needs.
These patterns are often rooted in survival adaptations developed during periods of chronic stress, emotional neglect, or relational instability. A child who learned that emotions were unsafe, ignored, criticized, or overwhelming may later struggle to identify their feelings, communicate needs, or believe they deserve care and support. Similarly, individuals who grew up in unpredictable environments may develop a nervous system that constantly scans for danger even in safe situations.
Complex trauma can also contribute to:
- Chronic shame or feeling fundamentally flawed
- Difficulty knowing who you truly are
- Fear of making mistakes or disappointing others
- Burnout and emotional exhaustion
- People-pleasing or loss of personal boundaries
- Difficulty feeling present or connected in relationships
- Persistent stress-related physical symptoms
- Trouble calming the mind or body
- Cycles of unhealthy or emotionally unsafe relationships
Understanding these responses through a trauma-informed lens can help reduce self-blame. Many behaviours associated with complex trauma originally developed as ways of surviving emotionally difficult environments. Therapy aims not to judge these patterns, but to help individuals better understand them, develop greater nervous system regulation, strengthen emotional safety, and build healthier ways of relating to themselves and others.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, therapy for complex trauma may integrate approaches such as EMDR therapy, attachment-focused counselling, mindfulness, and neurofeedback to support emotional processing, nervous system resilience, and long-term healing.
How Therapy for Complex Trauma Can Help
Healing from complex trauma often involves far more than simply talking about painful experiences. Because complex trauma can affect the nervous system, emotions, relationships, identity, and sense of safety, effective therapy typically focuses on helping individuals build stability, emotional regulation, self-understanding, and healthier ways of relating to themselves and others.
Many people beginning complex trauma therapy feel discouraged after years of struggling silently or trying to “push through” symptoms on their own. Others worry that therapy will feel overwhelming or require revisiting painful experiences before they feel ready. Trauma-informed counselling aims to move at a pace that feels safe, collaborative, and respectful of each person’s nervous system and emotional capacity.
One of the first goals of therapy is often helping the nervous system experience greater safety and regulation. This may include learning to recognize trauma responses, understanding emotional triggers, improving grounding skills, and developing strategies for calming hypervigilance, anxiety, dissociation, or emotional overwhelm. As therapy progresses, many individuals begin developing greater self-awareness, emotional flexibility, and self-compassion.
Therapy for complex PTSD (C-PTSD) may also help individuals:
- Understand how past experiences continue affecting present-day emotions and relationships
- Reduce chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, and nervous system activation
- Improve emotional regulation and distress tolerance
- Develop healthier boundaries and communication patterns
- Strengthen self-worth and reduce shame or self-criticism
- Process painful memories safely and gradually
- Improve trust, connection, and attachment security in relationships
- Reduce dissociation or emotional numbness
- Reconnect with personal identity, values, and goals
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, therapy is tailored to the unique needs of each individual. Depending on your goals and experiences, therapy may integrate approaches such as EMDR therapy, mindfulness-based counselling, emotionally focused therapy, attachment-focused approaches, and neurofeedback to support nervous system regulation and emotional resilience.
Many individuals living with childhood trauma or relational trauma have spent years adapting to survive emotionally difficult environments. Therapy can provide a space to better understand these patterns, strengthen emotional safety, and begin developing new ways of relating to yourself and others that feel more stable, connected, and sustainable over time.
Many people with complex trauma find that somatic therapy, which works gently with sensation, breath and pacing to rebuild nervous system regulation, is a helpful part of this work alongside EMDR, IFS and relational counselling, including process oriented psychotherapy.
EMDR Therapy for Complex Trauma
EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the evidence-based approaches commonly used in the therapy for complex trauma and complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Many individuals seek EMDR when they feel stuck in patterns of anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, shame, dissociation, or painful memories that continue affecting daily life and relationships long after difficult experiences have ended.
Complex trauma often leaves the nervous system feeling persistently unsafe. Even when a person logically understands they are no longer in danger, the brain and body may continue responding as though threat is still present. This can contribute to emotional reactivity, chronic stress, difficulty trusting others, relationship struggles, sleep difficulties, intrusive memories, or feeling emotionally shut down.
EMDR therapy helps the brain process and integrate distressing experiences in a way that can reduce the intensity of trauma-related emotional and nervous system responses. Rather than forcing individuals to repeatedly relive traumatic experiences, EMDR focuses on helping the nervous system gradually process memories that may have become “stuck” in survival-based patterns.
For individuals living with childhood trauma or relational trauma, EMDR therapy is often approached carefully and gradually. Therapy may initially focus on stabilization, grounding, emotional regulation, and building a sense of safety before deeper trauma processing begins. This paced approach can be especially important for individuals who experience dissociation, emotional overwhelm, chronic hypervigilance, or difficulty feeling emotionally safe.
EMDR therapy for complex PTSD may help individuals:
- Reduce emotional intensity connected to traumatic memories
- Improve nervous system regulation and emotional stability
- Decrease hypervigilance, anxiety, and trauma triggers
- Address negative self-beliefs rooted in trauma
- Strengthen feelings of safety, confidence, and self-worth
- Reduce dissociation or emotional shutdown
- Improve relationship patterns and emotional connection
- Process childhood trauma and attachment wounds more safely
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, EMDR therapy is tailored to the unique needs and readiness of each individual. Some clients benefit from integrating EMDR with mindfulness, attachment-focused counselling, emotionally focused approaches, or neurofeedback to further support nervous system regulation and resilience throughout the healing process.
For many individuals struggling with complex trauma, healing involves more than reducing symptoms. It often includes rebuilding a sense of emotional safety, reconnecting with identity and self-worth, and developing healthier ways of relating to both themselves and others.
Neurofeedback and Nervous System Regulation for Complex Trauma
Many individuals living with complex trauma feel trapped in patterns of chronic nervous system dysregulation. Some experience constant anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, racing thoughts, irritability, or difficulty relaxing, while others struggle more with emotional numbness, exhaustion, dissociation, shutdown, or feeling disconnected from themselves and others. These responses are often not simply “mental” or emotional; they are deeply connected to how the nervous system has adapted to prolonged stress and trauma over time.
Neurofeedback is a non-invasive approach designed to support the brain’s natural capacity for self-regulation and flexibility. Many people seeking therapy for complex PTSD (C-PTSD) find that nervous system regulation work can complement trauma-focused counselling by helping the brain and body move out of chronic survival states more effectively.
When someone has experienced ongoing trauma, emotional neglect, or prolonged stress, the nervous system can become conditioned toward states of hyperarousal or shutdown. This may contribute to symptoms such as:
- Persistent anxiety or hypervigilance
- Difficulty calming the mind or body
- Emotional reactivity or overwhelm
- Sleep problems and chronic stress
- Difficulty concentrating or feeling mentally “stuck”
- Dissociation or emotional numbness
- Burnout and chronic exhaustion
- Difficulty feeling safe even in supportive environments
For some individuals, traditional talk therapy alone can feel challenging when the nervous system remains highly activated or dysregulated. Neurofeedback may help create greater physiological stability, allowing individuals to engage more effectively in emotional processing and relational work within therapy.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, neurofeedback is sometimes integrated alongside EMDR therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, and attachment-focused counselling as part of a broader therapy plan for complex trauma counselling. Many clients report improvements in emotional regulation, sleep, resilience to stress, concentration, and overall nervous system flexibility over time.
Healing from childhood trauma and complex PTSD often involves helping both the mind and body experience greater safety. Supporting nervous system regulation can be an important part of helping individuals move beyond chronic survival responses and toward greater emotional balance, connection, and stability.
Complex Trauma Therapy for Childhood, Family, and Relational Trauma
Many individuals seeking complex trauma therapy are not only affected by isolated traumatic experiences, but by patterns of emotional pain that developed over years within important relationships. Childhood trauma, emotional neglect, family conflict, inconsistent caregiving, criticism, emotional invalidation, bullying, or unhealthy attachment experiences can all leave lasting effects on emotional regulation, self-worth, and the nervous system.
When trauma occurs within relationships, it can deeply influence how a person experiences closeness, trust, vulnerability, and emotional safety later in life. Some individuals become highly independent and emotionally guarded, while others struggle with fear of abandonment, people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, or remaining in unhealthy relationships despite emotional pain.
Many adults living with childhood trauma learned early in life to suppress emotions, avoid conflict, monitor the moods of others, or prioritize survival over authenticity and connection. These adaptations often helped them cope in emotionally difficult environments, but over time they can contribute to anxiety, perfectionism, emotional dysregulation, burnout, shame, and relationship struggles. If your symptoms are connected to painful or overwhelming early experiences, our childhood trauma therapy page explains how therapy can help adults begin healing from unresolved childhood trauma.
Relational trauma therapy focuses not only on processing painful experiences, but also on helping individuals develop greater emotional safety, healthier attachment patterns, and more stable ways of relating to themselves and others. Therapy may involve exploring how past experiences continue affecting present-day emotions, beliefs, nervous system responses, and relationship dynamics.
Complex trauma counselling may help individuals:
- Recognize survival patterns rooted in childhood or relational trauma
- Improve emotional regulation and nervous system stability
- Develop healthier boundaries and communication skills
- Reduce shame, self-criticism, and fear of vulnerability
- Strengthen trust and emotional connection within relationships
- Understand attachment patterns and relational triggers
- Reconnect with identity, needs, and self-worth
- Develop greater resilience and emotional flexibility
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, our therapists provide trauma-informed care tailored to the unique experiences and goals of each individual. Depending on your needs, therapy may integrate EMDR therapy, attachment-focused counselling, emotionally focused approaches, mindfulness, and neurofeedback to support healing from complex PTSD, childhood trauma, and relational wounds.
Healing from complex trauma often involves more than reducing symptoms. It can include learning to feel safer within yourself, developing healthier relationships, understanding long-standing emotional patterns, and building a greater sense of stability, connection, and self-compassion over time.
If your main concern is long standing patterns around trust, closeness, and emotional safety rooted in early relationships, our attachment trauma therapy page offers a more specific starting point.
Online Complex Trauma Therapy Across BC
For many individuals living with complex trauma, accessing support consistently and from a safe environment can be an important part of the healing process. Online counselling provides greater flexibility and accessibility for individuals who may feel overwhelmed by commuting, have busy schedules, live outside the Surrey area, or simply feel more comfortable engaging in therapy from home. Book online or telephone counselling.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, we provide secure and confidential online complex trauma therapy across BC. Virtual sessions allow individuals throughout British Columbia to access trauma-informed counselling support from experienced therapists familiar with the effects of complex PTSD (C-PTSD), childhood trauma, emotional neglect, attachment wounds, and nervous system dysregulation.
Online therapy can be highly effective for many trauma-related concerns. Clients often appreciate being able to participate in sessions from a familiar and comfortable environment where they may feel more emotionally grounded and regulated. This can be especially helpful for individuals who experience anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, chronic stress, or difficulty feeling safe in unfamiliar settings.
Online complex trauma counselling may support individuals struggling with:
- Childhood trauma and emotional neglect
- Chronic anxiety and hypervigilance
- Relationship and attachment difficulties
- Emotional dysregulation or dissociation
- Shame, self-criticism, and low self-worth
- Burnout and nervous system exhaustion
- Trauma-related stress and emotional overwhelm
- Difficulty trusting others or feeling emotionally safe
Depending on your goals and needs, online therapy may incorporate trauma-informed approaches such as attachment-focused counselling, mindfulness, emotionally focused therapy, and elements of EMDR therapy adapted for virtual sessions. Therapists work collaboratively with clients to ensure therapy progresses at a pace that feels supportive, manageable, and emotionally safe.
Many individuals are surprised by how connected and effective online trauma therapy can feel. Whether you are located in Surrey, Vancouver, Langley, Victoria, Kelowna, or elsewhere in British Columbia, virtual counselling can provide meaningful support for healing from complex trauma and building greater emotional resilience, self-understanding, and stability over time.
Why Choose Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback for Complex Trauma Therapy?
Seeking support for complex trauma can feel vulnerable, especially for individuals who have spent years adapting to emotionally unsafe, invalidating, or unpredictable environments. Many people beginning therapy are not simply looking for symptom relief; they are searching for a space where they feel understood, emotionally safe, and supported at a pace that respects both their experiences and nervous system.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, we provide trauma-informed care tailored to the unique needs of each individual. Our therapists understand that complex PTSD (C-PTSD), childhood trauma, emotional neglect, and relational trauma can affect emotional regulation, relationships, identity, self-worth, and the nervous system in deeply interconnected ways. Therapy is approached collaboratively and with sensitivity to each client’s readiness, goals, and lived experiences.
We integrate evidence-based and nervous-system-informed approaches that may include:
- EMDR therapy for trauma processing
- Neurofeedback for nervous system regulation and resilience
- Attachment-focused and relational counselling approaches
- Mindfulness and grounding strategies
- Emotionally focused therapy and emotional regulation work
- Trauma-informed counselling tailored to individual needs
Our clinic recognizes that healing from complex trauma is rarely linear. Some individuals enter therapy feeling emotionally overwhelmed and hypervigilant, while others feel disconnected, numb, exhausted, or uncertain about their emotions altogether. Therapy is adapted to support the nervous system while gradually helping clients build greater emotional awareness, stability, trust, and resilience.
Located in Surrey, BC, Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback provides both in-person and online counselling options for individuals seeking support for complex trauma counselling, childhood trauma, relational trauma, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and attachment-related difficulties. Our goal is to create a therapeutic environment that feels grounded, compassionate, collaborative, and supportive of long-term healing.
For many individuals, healing from complex trauma involves learning that safety, connection, self-worth, and emotional stability are possible again. Therapy can help individuals move beyond chronic survival patterns toward a greater sense of balance, authenticity, and connection in their daily lives and relationships.
Book Complex Trauma Therapy in Surrey, BC
Living with complex trauma can feel exhausting and isolating, especially when emotional pain, anxiety, hypervigilance, relationship struggles, or nervous system overwhelm have been present for many years. Many individuals seeking support have spent a long time trying to cope on their own before reaching out for help. Beginning therapy can feel like an important and vulnerable step toward greater understanding, stability, and healing.
At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, we provide compassionate and trauma-informed complex trauma therapy at our Cloverdale office in Surrey, BC for individuals experiencing the effects of complex PTSD (C-PTSD), childhood trauma, emotional neglect, attachment wounds, and relational trauma. Our therapists work collaboratively with clients to create therapy plans tailored to each person’s experiences, goals, and nervous system needs.
Depending on your preferences and circumstances, therapy is available both in-person in Surrey and online throughout British Columbia. Therapy may incorporate approaches such as EMDR therapy, attachment-focused counselling, mindfulness, emotionally focused therapy, and neurofeedback to support emotional healing and nervous system regulation.
Whether you are struggling with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, shame, dissociation, burnout, relationship difficulties, or the lingering effects of childhood trauma, therapy can help you better understand your experiences, strengthen emotional resilience, and develop healthier ways of relating to yourself and others.
If you are ready to begin complex trauma counselling, you can book an appointment online through our secure booking platform or learn more about our therapists and services through the links below.
Book Online:
https://sojourncounselling.janeapp.com/#/list
Learn More About Our Trauma Therapy Services:
Healing from complex trauma often begins with developing greater safety, understanding, and support. Our team is here to help you move toward greater emotional balance, connection, resilience, and long-term wellbeing.
Therapists Who Support Complex Trauma Recovery
Everyone on our team is trained to support clients living with complex trauma. These therapists have particular training and experience in relational trauma work and EMDR:
For many people, the first step in complex trauma therapy is stabilization: learning to steady the nervous system before working directly with traumatic memories. Our DBT informed counselling teaches those emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills and can be paired with EMDR when the time is right; teens can also access DBT for teens.
Loretta Thorgeirson
MEd, RCC
EMDR and neurofeedback provider who works with children, youth, and adults, supporting anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, and neurodivergent clients.
Tarnia Pickard
MEd, RCC
More than 20 years of experience with children, youth, and families. Tarnia’s trauma work draws on EMDR, CBT, DBT, IFS, and family systems, and she accepts CVAP referrals.
Jonathan Wieser
MA-MFT, RCC-ACS, RMFT
Practising since 2010, Jonathan provides EMDR, neurofeedback, and emotionally focused approaches for trauma, anxiety, and relationship distress.
Katherine Ouano
MEd, RCC
Formal DBT training (Levels 1 and 2) and 25 years with children, youth, adults, and families. Katherine teaches the emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills that help stabilize the nervous system before and alongside trauma processing, and is also a neurofeedback provider. Evening and weekend appointments.
Prefer to browse the whole team? View all therapist profiles and availability.
From Our Blog
Related reading from our counsellors:
Frequently Asked Questions About Complex Trauma Therapy
What is the difference between PTSD and complex PTSD?
PTSD is often associated with a single traumatic event, while complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is more commonly linked to repeated or long-term traumatic experiences such as childhood trauma, emotional neglect, chronic relational stress, abuse, or unstable caregiving environments. In addition to traditional PTSD symptoms, complex trauma often affects emotional regulation, self-worth, attachment, relationships, and nervous system functioning.
What are common symptoms of complex trauma?
Symptoms of complex trauma can include chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, emotional numbness, dissociation, shame, people-pleasing, difficulty trusting others, fear of abandonment, relationship difficulties, perfectionism, burnout, sleep problems, and feeling constantly unsafe or emotionally exhausted.
Can childhood trauma affect adult relationships?
Yes. Childhood trauma and emotional neglect can strongly influence attachment patterns, emotional regulation, communication, trust, and boundaries later in life. Many individuals seeking complex trauma counselling notice recurring relationship patterns that may be connected to earlier experiences of emotional pain, instability, criticism, neglect, or unsafe relationships.
What therapy works best for complex trauma?
There is no single approach that works for everyone. Effective therapy for complex PTSD often involves a combination of trauma-informed approaches tailored to the individual’s needs and nervous system. At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback, therapy may include EMDR therapy, mindfulness, attachment-focused counselling, emotionally focused therapy, and neurofeedback to support emotional healing and nervous system regulation.
Can EMDR help with complex trauma?
Many individuals find EMDR therapy helpful for processing traumatic memories and reducing the emotional intensity connected to past experiences. For complex trauma, EMDR is often approached gradually and combined with stabilization and nervous system regulation strategies to help clients feel emotionally safe throughout the process.
How long does therapy for complex trauma take?
Healing from complex trauma is highly individual. Because complex trauma often develops over long periods of time and affects multiple areas of functioning, therapy may involve gradual work focused on emotional safety, nervous system regulation, attachment patterns, and trauma processing. Some individuals benefit from shorter-term support, while others find longer-term therapy helpful for deeper healing and relational growth.
Do you offer online complex trauma therapy?
Yes. Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback provides secure and confidential online complex trauma therapy across BC, allowing individuals throughout British Columbia to access trauma-informed counselling support remotely.