Trauma

Jan 16

Understanding Trauma

Trauma is not defined by what happened, but by how your nervous system was affected. Two people can experience the same event and carry very different responses. Trauma can result from a single overwhelming experience, repeated exposures over time, or long-term situations where safety, control, or connection were compromised.

Trauma is common, often misunderstood, and frequently minimized—especially when the experiences do not fit common stereotypes. At Lodestone Psychology, we recognize that trauma responses are adaptive reactions to overwhelming circumstances, not signs of weakness.

How Trauma Can Show Up

Trauma can affect emotional, cognitive, physical, and relational functioning. You may notice:

Hypervigilance or feeling constantly on edge
Emotional numbness or shutdown
Intrusive memories or flashbacks
Difficulty trusting others
Strong emotional reactions that feel out of proportion
Chronic anxiety, depression, or shame

Many people live with trauma responses for years without realizing that their symptoms are connected to earlier experiences.

Our Trauma-Informed Approach

Trauma therapy at Lodestone Psychology is grounded in safety, choice, collaboration, and respect. We do not rush clients into retelling traumatic events. Instead, we focus on helping your nervous system regain a sense of stability and control.

Depending on your needs, therapy may include:

EMDR and trauma-processing approaches
Somatic and body-based strategies
Parts-based and attachment-informed work
Cognitive approaches for trauma-related beliefs
Nervous system regulation and grounding skills

Therapy is paced carefully, with ongoing consent and attention to what feels manageable.

We work with adults across Calgary, Alberta and the country who are navigating PTSD, complex trauma, childhood trauma, medical trauma, and relational trauma. Both in-person and virtual sessions are available.

Healing from trauma does not require reliving the past alone. Support is available when you’re ready.

Featured

Tracy Firth, MA, CCC, Provisional Psychologist

For many of the people who find their way to Tracy, life looks fine on the surface but doesn’t feel that way inside. They’re holding it together at work, managing too many responsibilities, or trying to make sense of who they are after an ADHD diagnosis that explains a lot but also stirs up grief. What they want most is to feel like themselves again.

In therapy, Tracy offers a calm, grounded space to slow down and make sense of what’s been building up. Clients describe her as honest, curious, and quietly funny. Humour helps people relax, but she’s not afraid to name the hard things. Tracy isn’t one to gloss over the hard stuff; she believes in the kind of hope that grows from understanding yourself clearly, not from pretending everything is okay.

Jodey Sharman, BSc OT, MA, Registered Psychologist

Jodey, is a Registered Psychologist in Calgary with over 35 years of experience in healthcare and rehabilitation. She works with adults of all ages coping with Trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, grief, and relationship difficulties. Many of her clients are professionals, in high stress occupations, and are health care providers and therapists.

Jacqulynn Joy (Jake) Mulyk, MA, CCC

Jake’s approach is creative and deeply trauma-informed. She often integrates Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma treatment, and expressive arts to help clients rebuild inner safety and emotional regulation. Before becoming a therapist, she spent two decades as a professional artist, and that creative lens continues to shape how she helps people explore meaning, story, and identity through their own healing process.

Rachel Clare, MSW, RSW

Rachel Clare, MSW, RSW, is a Calgary-based Registered Social Worker with more than 20 years of counselling experience. She works primarily with adults, often high-achieving Gen X and Millennial women, who are navigating anxiety, burnout, grief, or the lasting impacts of trauma. Her work often supports clients recovering from religious or relational wounds, managing chronic illness or ADHD, and rebuilding steadiness after prolonged stress.

Aaron Esler, MACP, CCC, RCC

Known for his calm steadiness and a quick sense of humor, Aaron helps clients feel at ease from their very first session. He approaches therapy as a collaborative process, using warmth and curiosity to help clients explore what’s been hard without judgment or pressure. His work blends Cognitive and Dialectical Behaviour Therapies (CBT and DBT) with mindfulness and psychoeducation, guiding people to recognize unhelpful patterns, reframe beliefs, and build practical tools for lasting change. He believes people already have what they need to heal — therapy simply creates the space and safety to rediscover it.

Mariah Hunt, BKin, MACP, CCC

Mariah believes that therapy begins with safety and connection. She creates a space where clients can exhale, feel seen, and start to come home to themselves, whether that means navigating the overwhelm of anxiety, finding steadiness in postpartum life, or exploring the questions of early adulthood. Her calm and compassionate presence helps people slow down enough to discover what truly matters to them.

Danica Heidebrecht, MEd, Registered Psychologist

Danica Heidebrecht is a Registered Psychologist (M.Ed.) who believes therapy is first and foremost about connection. For nearly two decades, she has supported adults navigating anxiety, shame, stress, trauma, and relationship challenges.

Danica’s presence is warm, steady, and collaborative. She draws from trauma-informed, somatic, mindfulness, and attachment-based approaches to help clients feel safer in their bodies, more at ease in their emotions, and more connected in their relationships.

Kristen Paliwoda, MACP, Registered Psychologist

Kristen Paliwoda offers a gentle, grounding presence that helps clients feel understood and supported from the moment they meet her. She works primarily with women navigating life transitions — from the growing pains of early adulthood to the changing identity that often accompanies motherhood. Her approach is warm, collaborative, and guided by curiosity. She integrates EMDR, CBT, and mindfulness-based practices, creating a process that feels both steady and flexible — never rushed, never one-size-fits-all.

Jennifer Straub, MSW, RCSW

Jennifer meets clients in the places where life feels heavy—grief that lingers, trauma that resurfaces, and transitions that leave people uncertain of their next step. Her work is grounded in the belief that healing begins when people feel safe enough to be seen, heard, and understood.

As a Registered Clinical Social Worker (RCSW) with more than 20 years of experience, she supports adults navigating complex and developmental trauma, anxiety, depression, and loss through a calm, collaborative, and relational approach.

Darren Wood

Trauma

Understanding Trauma

How Trauma Can Show Up

Our Trauma-Informed Approach

In-Person Locations

Availability

On-Line Appointments

Contact

Get Support

Trauma

Understanding Trauma

How Trauma Can Show Up

Our Trauma-Informed Approach

Women’s Issues

Therapy for Therapists

In-Person Locations

Availability

On-Line Appointments

Contact

Get Support