Your questions answered
Common Questions
Do you offer in-person therapy sessions?
Yes. In-person sessions are available through my clinic, South Etobicoke Therapy (SET). Our private sessions offices are located at 2405 Lakeshore Blvd West, near the intersection of Mimico and Lakeshore in South Etobicoke.
SET offers a quiet, welcoming space for to provide in-person sessions for residents of Mimico, Long Branch, Alderwood and the surrounding area.
Do you offer virtual / online therapy sessions?
Yes. Secure virtual therapy is available to anyone residing anywhere in the province of Ontario.
This provides flexibility if you live outside of the primary service areas or simply prefer the comfort and privacy of conducting sessions from your own home.
Is therapy with an MSW, RSW covered by insurance in Ontario?
Yes. Therapy services provided by a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with a Master of Social Work (MSW) are covered by most extended health benefits plans in Ontario.
You pay upfront and receive a detailed receipt to submit for reimbursement.
How long does trauma therapy typically take to see results?
There is no set timeline, as it depends on your unique needs. Some clients find relief from specific symptoms after a few months, while others prefer ongoing, long-term support to navigate complex trauma.
We will regularly review your progress together.
What if I feel uncomfortable with body-based somatic exercises?
Your comfort and safety are always the priority. Every somatic practice is an invitation, never a demand. If something feels overwhelming, we stop. We work entirely at your pace, focusing only on techniques that feel accessible and helpful to you.
Somatic Therapy & Nervous System Regulation
What is the difference between somatic therapy and regular talk therapy?
While talk therapy focuses on analyzing your thoughts, somatic therapy incorporates your body. It helps you notice physical sensations and release stored tension.
This is highly effective for trauma, as your body often holds onto stress that words alone cannot resolve.
How do I know if my nervous system is stuck in fight or flight?
Signs can include chronic muscle tension, digestive issues, a racing heart, irritability, and an inability to relax.
Maybe you feel constantly “on edge” or braced for the worst, even when you are safe? Somatic therapy helps train your body to return to a calm baseline.
Can somatic therapy help with physical symptoms of stress?
Yes. Chronic emotional stress often manifests physically as headaches, jaw tension, stomach aches, or fatigue. By treating the nervous system directly rather than just the mind, somatic therapy helps release the emotional burden causing these unexplained physical symptoms.
What happens during a somatic therapy session?
A session involves gentle exploration of where you feel emotions in your body.
We might pause while you talk about a stressful event to notice tightness in your chest or shoulders, then use grounding, breathwork, or subtle movement to help release that tension safely.
How does somatic therapy work for complex trauma (C-PTSD)?
Complex trauma overwhelms the nervous system over time. Instead of forcing you to retell painful memories (which can be re-traumatizing), somatic therapy slowly builds your capacity to feel safe in your body right now.
We process the trauma in small, manageable portions.
Why do I understand my trauma logically but still feel emotionally stuck?
Logic lives in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, but trauma is stored deeper in the body and nervous system. You can intellectually understand why something happened, but until your nervous system physically feels safe, the triggers remain. Somatic therapy bridges that gap.
Functional Anxiety & Burnout
What is functional anxiety and how do you treat it?
Functional anxiety is when you appear highly productive and capable on the outside, but feel exhausted and overwhelmed on the inside. Treatment involves learning to notice early physical cues of stress and implementing micro-regulation techniques so your body doesn’t have to stay on high alert to function.
How can therapy help with sensory overload and tech burnout?
Constant digital input overloads your nervous system, leading to brain fog and irritability. Therapy helps you establish boundaries with technology, build “sensory diets” (planned quiet time), and use somatic practices to discharge the excess neurological energy built up from constant screen time.
Why do I constantly feel exhausted even when I sleep enough?
Emotional exhaustion and nervous system dysregulation drain your energy faster than sleep can restore it. If your body is constantly bracing against perceived threats or managing heavy emotional loads, you will experience a deep, systemic fatigue that requires nervous system regulation to heal.
How do I stop being hyper-vigilant and constantly bracing for the worst?
Hyper-vigilance is a trauma response where your brain tries to keep you safe by predicting danger. We work to gradually teach your nervous system that you are safe in the present moment through grounding exercises, helping your body unlearn the habit of chronic bracing.
What is the difference between typical stress and chronic burnout?
Typical stress is temporary and usually resolves once a specific challenge passes. Chronic burnout occurs when the stress never stops, leading to emotional numbness, physical exhaustion, and a sense of detachment. Therapy helps rebuild your energetic capacity and establish sustainable boundaries.
Can therapy help me stop intellectualizing my feelings?
Yes. Intellectualizing is a defense mechanism where you think about your feelings rather than actually feeling them. Somatic therapy gently shifts your focus from your racing mind into your body, helping you safely process the emotions you’ve been avoiding.
Addiction & Coping Mechanisms
How does trauma-informed therapy help with substance use and addiction?
Addiction is rarely just about the substance; it is usually an attempt to soothe a dysregulated nervous system or escape unresolved trauma. Therapy addresses the root pain driving the behaviour, helping you build internal safety so you no longer need the substance to cope.
Why do I rely on numbing behaviours even when I want to stop?
Numbing behaviours, like substance use, overworking, or endless scrolling, are your nervous system’s way of managing emotional pain it feels unequipped to handle.
We work on increasing your tolerance for difficult emotions so you don’t feel the overwhelming urge to check out.
Do I need to be completely sober to start therapy for addiction?
No, you do not need to be perfectly sober to begin. Therapy is a collaborative process to help you understand your triggers and build coping skills.
We meet you where you are, using harm reduction and compassionate exploration of your habits.
How does somatic regulation help break the addictive cycle?
Addictions often provide an immediate (but temporary) shift in how your body feels. Somatic regulation teaches you how to generate a sense of calm and safety from within your own body naturally, reducing the physiological craving for external substances.
Is it possible to heal from addiction without focusing entirely on willpower?
Yes. Willpower eventually runs out if the underlying emotional pain remains untouched. Sustainable healing comes from regulating your nervous system and healing the trauma beneath the addiction, making the urge to use less powerful and easier to manage.
What is the connection between nervous system dysregulation and addiction?
When your nervous system is stuck in distress, your body instinctively seeks relief. Substances offer a quick way to artificially regulate that distress.
Healing involves rewiring the nervous system to handle stress naturally, breaking the physical dependency on the addictive behaviour.
Relational Trauma & Boundaries
How does therapy for intergenerational trauma work?
We identify painful emotional and behavioural patterns passed down through your family line.
Therapy helps you untangle your authentic self from inherited scripts, allowing you to heal ancestral wounds and stop passing the trauma forward to the next generation.
What is "invisible labour" in relationships and how does therapy address it?
Invisible labour is the exhausting, unseen mental work of anticipating needs, planning, and managing a household’s emotional climate.
Therapy helps partners recognize this imbalance, communicate their burnout, and restructure the relationship to share cognitive and emotional responsibilities equally.
How can therapy help me heal an anxious attachment style?
Anxious attachment stems from early relational inconsistencies, making you fear abandonment.
Therapy works to build a secure attachment with yourself first, teaching you to self-soothe your activated nervous system so you can navigate relationships with confidence rather than fear.
Why do I feel guilty every time I try to set a boundary?
Guilt around boundaries often comes from childhood conditioning where compliance was equated with love or safety.
We work on rewiring this belief, helping you understand that setting clear boundaries is an act of self-respect and the foundation of healthy relationships.
Can trauma therapy help me stop people-pleasing or fawning?
Yes. “Fawning” is a trauma response where you appease others to avoid conflict and stay safe. Somatic therapy helps you recognize the physical urge to abandon yourself, building your capacity to tolerate others’ discomfort while staying true to your own needs.
How do past childhood experiences impact my adult relationships?
Early childhood experiences create the blueprint for what you expect from others. If you experienced emotional neglect or instability, you may subconsciously recreate those dynamics as an adult.
Therapy helps you identify and rewrite these old blueprints.