BreakThrough Counselling
Trauma-Informed Care in Montreal
In person trauma-informed care in Montreal for Teens and Adults. Online sessions across Québec and Ontario.
Release trauma stored in the body
Reduce tension held from stress and trauma, restoring a sense of safety and calm in your body.
Improve emotional regulation
Manage emotional reactions by building awareness of bodily sensations.
Increase mind-body connection
Understand how physical states affect your emotions, thoughts, and behaviours.
You are not broken.
The ways you’ve coped with past experiences were survival strategies, not flaws. Your reactions were a way to protect yourself, and now it’s time to create a safe, healing space where you can rebuild your sense of self, free from judgment.
At BreakThrough Counselling, we help you build resilience, find healing, and regain control of your life.
Are you struggling with:
- Overwhelming anxiety, fear, or persistent feelings of depression?
- Saying no, setting boundaries, or breaking free from people-pleasing habits?
- Feeling anger or rage that seems to come out of nowhere, or difficulty expressing emotions in a healthy way?
- Holding yourself to impossibly high standards, feeling like you’re never quite “good enough”?
- Self-control, low self-esteem, or a harsh inner critic?
- Forming close relationships, trusting others, or feeling emotionally connected?
- Flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive memories that make the past feel like it’s happening all over again?
- A constant sense of unease, like you’re always on high alert or waiting for something bad to happen?
- Unexplained body pain, headaches, or chronic tension that won’t go away?
At BreakThrough Counselling, we understand how overwhelming life’s challenges can feel—but you don’t have to face them alone. Our trauma-informed care creates a compassionate and safe environment to help you feel heard, supported, and empowered.
trauma-informed care montreal
What is Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma is pervasive in people’s lives – about two-thirds of adults report experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience. Our counselling practice therefore assumes that any client could have trauma in their history. Trauma-informed care shifts the focus from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”, recognising that past experiences profoundly shape one’s well-being. This approach prioritises emotional safety, empowerment, and understanding. We strive to create a supportive therapeutic environment that acknowledges the impact of trauma while avoiding any practices that might re-traumatise you. In essence, a trauma-informed therapist works with you with sensitivity to past trauma, helping you feel safe, heard, and empowered to heal.
Who Can Benefit from Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma-informed care is for anyone who feels weighed down by past experiences, whether they happened recently or long ago. If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward, trauma-informed care can offer the support you need. It’s not just about addressing past pain; it’s about creating a compassionate, safe space where you can reclaim your sense of self, build resilience, and move forward with confidence, whether or not you’ve experienced overt trauma.
The care we offer is personalised to fit your needs, helping you move from just getting by to feeling stronger and more in control. You don’t have to identify with trauma to benefit from this approach—it’s about giving you the support and tools to feel empowered and better able to navigate life.
trauma-informed care montreal
Key Principles of Trauma-Informed Care
Our approach is guided by widely recognised principles of trauma-informed care. These core principles ensure that we see and support you as a whole person, not just a collection of symptoms. Trauma-informed care calls us to understand that your problems may be your mind and body’s best way to cope with something awful that happened, which helps us respond with empathy and unconditional regard.
Safety
We prioritise creating a physically and emotionally safe environment for our clients. From the office setting to the therapy interactions, we aim to ensure you feel secure and not at risk of further harm. Feeling safe is the foundation for any healing work.
Trustworthiness & Transparency
We build trust through honesty, clarity, and consistency. Our therapists are open about the therapy process and set clear boundaries and expectations, so you know what to expect at each step. This transparency helps form a reliable therapeutic relationship you can count on.
Peer Support
We recognize the value of shared experiences in healing. Whenever appropriate, we may incorporate peer support or stories of others’ recovery to help you feel less alone. Knowing that others have overcome similar struggles can instill hope and a sense of normalcy in the healing process.
Collaboration & Mutuality
Therapy is a partnership – we work with you, not on you. The therapist is not an authority figure giving orders, but a supportive partner walking alongside you in your healing journey. We level power differences by involving you in choices about your therapy and respecting the expertise you have about your own life.
Empowerment, Voice & Choice
You are in charge of your story. Trauma-informed care emphasizes empowering you to make decisions, express your needs, and build on your strengths. We encourage your voice in setting goals and pacing therapy. By recognizing your resilience and capabilities, we help you regain a sense of control over your healing.
Cultural, Historical & Gender Sensitivity
We are attentive to cultural and identity factors that shape your experiences. Our therapists avoid making assumptions based on race, ethnicity, gender, or background – instead, we let you define your own experience. We strive to be responsive to cultural and historical issues (including intergenerational trauma) so that support is respectful and tailored to you.
trauma-informed care montreal
Modalities We Use with Trauma-Informed Care
At BreakThrough Counselling, we utilise a variety of therapeutic modalities, all guided by trauma-informed care principles. Meaning your safety, comfort and empowerment are always our priority. Our trauma-informed therapists will work with you to determine which approach best suits your needs, moving at your pace and creating a supportive, healing environment.
Somatic Therapy
Focuses on the connection between your body and emotions, helping you release stored trauma and stress through mindful awareness and body-based techniques.
Parts Work
This approach helps you understand and integrate different parts of yourself, allowing you to heal and build harmony between conflicting inner voices or feelings.
Mindset Training
Focuses on reshaping your beliefs and thought patterns to foster a more positive and empowered outlook on life, helping you cultivate resilience.
Mindfulness & Meditation
Techniques that help you stay present, reduce anxiety, and cultivate emotional regulation through breathing exercises and focused attention.
Psychoeducation
Provides you with the knowledge and tools to understand how trauma affects the brain and body, empowering you to make informed choices for your healing journey.
Pain Psychology
Addresses the mind-body connection in chronic pain, offering strategies to manage pain through emotional and psychological approaches.
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
A structured approach that helps you identify and challenge negative thought patterns, building healthier ways of thinking and responding to emotional triggers.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
A powerful tool that combines tapping on specific acupressure points with cognitive processing, helping you release emotional blockages, reduce stress, and regain balance.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
A powerful therapy designed to help you process and reframe traumatic memories, reducing their emotional charge and impact on your life.
Drama therapy
Drama therapy offers a safe and experiential way to explore difficult emotions and experiences without relying only on words. Using storytelling, movement, role-play, and metaphor, it can help process trauma, build self-awareness, and support healing at a pace that feels right for you.
Breathwork
Trauma can leave the nervous system feeling stuck in survival mode. Breathwork uses intentional breathing techniques to help regulate the nervous system, reduce stress and anxiety, and create a greater sense of safety, presence, and connection with your body. Learn more.
Cranial sacral
Craniosacral therapy is a gentle, hands-on approach that supports relaxation and nervous system regulation. By encouraging the body to release tension and restore balance, it can help reduce the physical effects of stress and trauma while promoting a greater sense of calm and well-being. Learn more.
trauma-informed care montreal
What Progress Can Look Like with Trauma-Informed Care
As you receive trauma-informed care, you may begin to notice shifts in both your emotional and mental well-being. Positive outcomes can include:
- Learning to Regulate Your Nervous System: Develop tools to manage your stress response, helping you stay calm, grounded, and present in the face of challenges.
- Increased Awareness of Triggers: Gain the ability to recognise situations that trigger emotional reactions, allowing you to respond with greater balance and stability.
- Reduced Shame and Guilt: Understand that the challenges you face were survival strategies and ways to protect yourself, helping you release feelings of shame or guilt.
- Improved Emotional Resilience: Build the ability to process emotions in a healthy way, without feeling overwhelmed or shutting down.
- Increased Self-Compassion: Learn to be kinder and more compassionate with yourself, recognising that your reactions were the best you could do given the circumstances.
- Feeling Safer in Relationships: Gradually build trust, both in yourself and others, allowing you to feel more comfortable, connected, and secure in your relationships.
Let go of past trauma or unresolved emotional pain to move forward with your life.
Step into a life of possibility.
Start your journey to healing with a free 15-minute consultation. Book online or contact us.
Audrey Elkeslassy, MSW, RSW
Founder and Clinical Director
Why Us
BreakThrough Counselling
We believe that true safety starts from within.
When you feel secure in yourself, that sense of safety goes with you wherever you are. But how do you find that inner safety?
You can’t always control your environment, but you can build a solid foundation within yourself. We help you develop a toolkit of resources to strengthen your confidence, self-awareness, and emotional resilience so you can navigate your world with more calm and security.
Every member of our team works from a trauma-informed place and uses what we call a “trauma lens.” This means that we understand how trauma or stress can impact the mind, body, and soul. A trauma lens helps us see how your experiences might influence how you feel, think, and respond today, even if you don’t identify your past as “traumatic.”
Are you ready to shift from surviving to thriving? Book a free 15-minute consultation.
At BreakThrough Counselling, we practice:
Trauma-Informed Care
We use evidence-based methods like EMDR, IFS, and somatic techniques to address and heal the effects of trauma.
Collaboration
We work closely with clients and other professionals to provide holistic, coordinated care that supports effective healing.
Empowerment
Our approach equips clients with tools and strategies to confidently navigate their healing journey and challenges.
BreakThrough Counselling Montreal
Meet our Trauma-Informed Therapists
Meet our counsellors offering trauma-informed therapy in-person in Montreal. Online sessions available across Québec and Ontario.
Our Approach
How Our Trauma-Informed Care is Integrated
Trauma-informed care is more than just a method—it’s a way of being. Our trauma-informed therapists take a compassionate, individualised approach to support you, recognising that every person’s experience is unique. Here’s how the process works:
1. Safety & Stabilisation
The first step is creating a safe environment, both emotionally and physically, where you can begin to stabilise and feel in control of your responses.
2. Processing Trauma
Once you feel safe, we gently begin incorporating different modalities to help you explore past trauma at your pace, helping you process painful emotions without re-living the trauma, and integrating them into your life.
3. Reconnection & Integration
In the final stage, we help you rebuild your life, reconnect with your sense of self, and integrate the trauma as just one part of your story, empowering you to move forward.
Throughout this process, our therapists remain attuned and supportive. We understand that healing is not linear and can take time. By following trauma-informed best practices at every step – ensuring safety, working collaboratively, and empowering you with choices and skills – we aim to provide compassionate support that fosters real recovery. Our trauma-informed approach allows you to heal without added harm, and to gradually rebuild a sense of hope, connection, and strength beyond the trauma.
trauma-informed care montreal
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is trauma-informed care?
Trauma-informed care is an approach to therapy that recognises the impact of trauma on your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. It prioritises your safety and empowerment, ensuring that the care you receive is sensitive to your experiences and helps you heal at your own pace. Rather than focusing solely on past trauma, trauma-informed care is about creating a supportive and compassionate environment where you can regain control, build resilience, and move forward in your healing journey.
How is trauma-informed care different from traditional therapy?
While traditional therapy might focus directly on processing past trauma, trauma-informed care is about understanding and addressing the effects of trauma without requiring you to revisit painful memories right away. The focus is on building trust, establishing safety, and helping you feel empowered before delving into any traumatic experiences. The approach is gradual and respects your boundaries, with the primary goal being your emotional safety and well-being.
How long will it take to feel better?
Healing from trauma and stress is a journey that looks different for everyone. Trauma-informed care offers a path forward that honours each person’s individual experience and provides the tools and support necessary for long-term resilience. Whether you’ve experienced trauma or simply feel overwhelmed by the demands of life, you deserve care that recognizes the full picture of your experiences. So you may not experience immediate relief, but you will be supported at every step along the way.
Is trauma-informed care only for people who have experienced trauma?
Not at all. Trauma-informed care is for anyone who feels impacted by life’s challenges. Whether you’ve experienced overt trauma or ongoing stress, trauma-informed care can help you heal, build emotional resilience, and find balance. It’s designed for individuals who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected, and can benefit anyone who wants to regain a sense of control over their emotional and mental well-being.
How does trauma-informed care help me if I don’t feel ready to talk about my trauma?
One of the key principles of trauma-informed care is that you are in control of your healing process. If you don’t feel ready to talk about your trauma, your therapist will not pressure you. Instead, they will work with you to build safety, confidence, and coping skills, allowing you to heal without having to immediately revisit painful memories. The therapy process respects your boundaries and supports you in ways that feel comfortable to you.
Will I have to relive my trauma during the therapy process?
No, trauma-informed care doesn’t require you to relive or re-experience past trauma unless and until you feel ready. The focus is on healing and empowerment, not reliving past pain. Your therapist will use a variety of techniques that allow you to process emotions and experiences safely, often starting with tools to manage anxiety, stress, and overwhelm before addressing traumatic events if you feel comfortable doing so.
What are the benefits of trauma-informed care?
Trauma-informed care helps you build emotional resilience, improve self-regulation, and regain a sense of control. By focusing on safety, trust, and empowerment, trauma-informed care can help you move forward with confidence and clarity, without the need to rehash every painful experience. It allows you to heal at your own pace, with the support of a compassionate therapist who understands the impact of trauma on your overall well-being.
BreakThrough Counselling Montreal
How To Get Started
Get started with BreakThrough Counselling using the form below. We will schedule you in for a free consultation or answer any questions you have. Our services are available in Montreal with online sessions across Québec and Ontario.
We typically respond within 1 business day.*
*By providing my phone number to BreakThrough Counselling, I agree and acknowledge that BreakThrough Counselling may send text messages to my wireless phone number for any purpose. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary, and you will be able to Opt-out by replying “STOP”. For more information on how your data will be handled, please visit https://btcounselling.
Book Online
If you’re a new client, you can book a consultation directly online using the button below.
Note: You will be prompted to create a profile in order to book online.