Anxiety and Trauma Therapy in Calgary: Moving Beyond Coping to True Healing

Understanding Your Journey: When High-Functioning Anxiety Meets Deep Healing

If you're a successful woman who appears to have everything together on the outside while struggling with racing thoughts, perfectionism, and emotional exhaustion on the inside, you're not alone. Many of my clients in Calgary are accomplished professionals—nurses, teachers, social workers, and executives—who've spent years managing anxiety and trauma symptoms while excelling in their careers and caring for others.

You might recognize yourself in this pattern: overgiving at work, people-pleasing in relationships, and maintaining impossibly high standards while your nervous system runs on overdrive. Perhaps a recent health diagnosis, relationship change, or traumatic event has finally brought you to seek the deeper healing you've been putting off.

I'm Vivienne Livingstone, a mental health professional specializing in anxiety and trauma therapy here in Calgary. My approach at Resilience Counselling and Consulting goes beyond traditional talk therapy to address the root causes of your distress using evidence-based trauma focused treatments like EMDR therapy and Accelerated Resolution Therapy. I understand that your time is valuable and your healing needs are complex—that's why I offer both weekly individual therapy sessions and intensive treatment options designed for busy, achievement-oriented women ready to transform their relationship with anxiety and past trauma.

The Reality of High-Functioning Anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

When Your Success Masks Your Struggle

High-functioning anxiety often goes unrecognized because you're still achieving, still showing up, still taking care of everyone else. Many mental health conditions, including anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, can remain hidden beneath a successful exterior. On the surface, you might appear confident and capable. Internally, you may experience:

• Constant mental chatter and overthinking
• Perfectionism that feels impossible to turn off
• Imposter syndrome despite your accomplishments
• Physical symptoms like tension, fatigue, or autoimmune flares
• Difficulty saying no or setting boundaries
• Hypervigilance and people-pleasing behaviors
• Intense fear of failure or judgment
• Disturbing thoughts that feel intrusive

This type of anxiety often stems from deeper traumatic experiences—perhaps developmental trauma where you learned that your worth depended on performance, or specific traumatic events that taught your nervous system to stay constantly alert for danger.

How Trauma Lives in Your Body and Mind

Trauma isn't just about what happened to you—it's about how those experiences continue to affect your nervous system today. When overwhelmed by a traumatic event or series of disturbing events, your brain can get stuck in protective patterns that once kept you safe but now limit your freedom and joy.

Your amygdala—your brain's alarm system—may have become hyperactive, constantly scanning for threats even in safe situations. This creates intense fear responses and anxiety symptoms that feel disproportionate to current circumstances. Meanwhile, your prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational thinking and emotional regulation, might feel offline when you need it most.

These neurological changes help explain why logical thinking alone often isn't enough to resolve symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or anxiety. Your body holds the traumatic memories and reactions in ways that create lasting behavior patterns. Bodily sensations, negative beliefs, and disturbing thoughts can persist long after the original traumatic event, affecting your mental health and daily functioning.

Complex trauma, which results from repeated or prolonged traumatic experiences, can be particularly challenging because it affects multiple areas of your life—relationships, self-perception, and emotional regulation. Understanding how traumatic experiences reshape your nervous system is crucial for effective trauma therapy.

My Approach: Evidence-Based Therapies for Lasting Change

EMDR Therapy: Reprocessing Traumatic Memories

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is one of the most thoroughly researched trauma focused treatments available. Research studies consistently demonstrate its effectiveness for treating PTSD and related conditions. As an EMDR-trained mental health professional, I've witnessed its remarkable ability to help clients process traumatic memories that have felt "stuck" for years.

EMDR therapy involves using bilateral stimulation—typically guided eye movements—while you briefly focus on traumatic memories or distressing experiences. This process helps your brain naturally process traumatic memories so they become integrated rather than constantly activated wounds that trigger symptoms.

EMDR therapy consists of eight phases designed to ensure comprehensive treatment:

1. History and Treatment Planning: Understanding your traumatic experiences and current symptoms
2. Preparation: Building coping strategies and establishing safety
3. Assessment: Identifying target traumatic memories and negative beliefs
4. Desensitization: Using eye movements to reduce emotional charge
5. Installation: Strengthening positive beliefs and feelings
6. Body Scan: Ensuring complete processing of bodily sensations
7. Closure: Returning to a calm state
8. Reevaluation: Checking progress and planning additional sessions if needed

Many of my clients describe EMDR therapy as helping their brain "unstick" painful experiences. You don't need to provide extensive details about your trauma, which many find deeply relieving. Instead, your brain does the healing work naturally while I guide the therapy process.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy: Rapid Relief from Trauma

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is another excellent option for treating PTSD and anxiety symptoms. ART combines eye movements with visualization techniques that help you literally "rescript" how trauma memory is stored in your brain.

What makes ART particularly appealing to my busy professional clients is its efficiency. Many experience profound relief in just 1-5 sessions, making it an excellent option for those seeking effective treatment that respects their time constraints. This movement desensitization and reprocessing approach allows you to keep the facts of what happened while changing the emotional charge and physical sensations associated with those memories.

EMDR and ART Intensives: Accelerated Healing

For clients who want to dive deeper or who travel from outside Calgary, I offer therapy intensives—condensed treatment programs that deliver multiple EMDR sessions over a short timeframe. These intensives can accelerate healing dramatically compared to traditional weekly therapy approaches.

Intensives are particularly valuable for:

• Processing specific traumatic events
• Breaking through therapeutic plateaus
• Accommodating busy schedules or travel constraints
• Creating momentum in your trauma therapy journey
• Addressing complex trauma comprehensively

Additional sessions may be recommended based on your individual needs and the complexity of your traumatic experiences.

Internal Family Systems and Parts Work

Internal Family Systems (IFS) recognizes that we all have different "parts" of ourselves—the perfectionist, the people-pleaser, the inner critic, the vulnerable child. Often, these parts developed to protect you from disturbing events but may now feel overwhelming or create internal conflicts.

Through Parts Work, we'll explore these different aspects of yourself with compassion and curiosity. You'll learn to understand what each part is trying to accomplish and how to create internal harmony rather than internal conflict. This approach helps address negative beliefs and behavior patterns that maintain anxiety symptoms.

This trauma focused treatment is particularly powerful for high-achieving women who often have strong internal critics or protector parts that drive perfectionism and overwork.

Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment

Before diving into processing traumatic memories, we often need to build a foundation of safety and stability. Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment focuses on:

• Nervous system regulation techniques
• Grounding and containment coping strategies
• Window of tolerance expansion
• Resource building and resilience strengthening
• Managing disturbing thoughts and bodily sensations

These skills ensure you have effective tools for managing any distress that might arise during deeper trauma therapy work. This preparation is especially important for complex trauma cases where symptoms may be more intense.

Observed and Experiential Integration Therapy

This approach combines observation and experience to help you integrate new insights and healing into your daily life. Rather than just talking about changes, you'll experience them in your body and nervous system, creating lasting transformation and improved emotion regulation.

What Makes My Approach Different

Personalized Treatment Plans

Every client's healing journey from anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder is unique. During our initial sessions, I'll conduct a comprehensive assessment to understand your specific symptoms, traumatic experiences, strengths, and goals. Together, we'll create individualized treatment plans that honor your unique needs and preferences.

Your treatment might include a combination of trauma focused treatments—perhaps EMDR therapy for specific traumatic memories, Parts Work for internal conflicts, and stabilization techniques for nervous system regulation. The goal is always to find what works best for your particular mental health conditions and trauma history.

Understanding Your Nervous System

Much of my trauma therapy involves helping you understand your nervous system responses and develop coping strategies for regulation. When you understand why your body reacts the way it does to triggers and traumatic memories, you can work with your nervous system rather than against it.

We'll explore concepts like your "window of tolerance"—the zone where you feel calm and capable—and learn how to expand this window over time. You'll develop skills for recognizing when you're moving toward hyperarousal (anxiety, panic attack responses, anger) or hypoarousal (depression, numbness, disconnection) and tools for returning to balance.

Addressing the Root Causes

While symptom management has its place in mental health treatment, my focus is on addressing the underlying causes of your anxiety and trauma responses. This deeper work creates lasting change rather than temporary relief from symptoms.

We'll explore how traumatic experiences shaped your current patterns and negative beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. Through processing traumatic memories and integration work, you'll develop new neural pathways that support calm, confidence, and clarity.

The Healing Process: What to Expect

Initial Consultation and Assessment

I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation where we can discuss your mental health concerns and determine if my trauma focused treatments might be a good fit for your needs. This brief conversation allows you to get a sense of my therapeutic approach and ask any initial questions about treating PTSD or anxiety.

If we decide to move forward, your first appointment will be a 50-minute intake session. This is a guided conversation designed to help me understand your history of traumatic events, current symptoms, and healing goals. I'll also explain my treatment approaches and answer any questions about the therapy process.

Building Safety and Stability

The early phase of trauma therapy often focuses on building internal resources and stability skills. This foundation is crucial for effective processing of traumatic memories and lasting change. You'll learn techniques for:

• Grounding yourself when overwhelmed by symptoms
• Regulating your nervous system responses
• Identifying and interrupting anxiety spirals and panic attack patterns
• Building self-compassion and internal safety
• Managing disturbing thoughts and intense fear responses

Processing and Integration

Once you have a solid foundation of coping strategies, we'll begin processing work using approaches like EMDR therapy or ART. This phase involves revisiting difficult traumatic memories or experiences in a safe, structured way that promotes healing and integration.

Many clients are surprised by how manageable this process feels. The bilateral stimulation and structured protocols of EMDR therapy create a sense of safety even when accessing difficult material. The eight phases of EMDR ensure that each session is comprehensive and that traumatic memories are fully processed.

EMDR sessions typically include careful attention to bodily sensations, negative beliefs, and disturbing thoughts to ensure complete processing of traumatic experiences.

Strengthening and Maintenance

As your symptoms decrease and your coping strategies strengthen, we'll focus on consolidating gains and preparing you to maintain progress independently. This might include:

• Developing relapse prevention strategies for anxiety
• Practicing new skills in challenging situations
• Processing any remaining traumatic memories
• Planning for future stressors or transitions
• Addressing related conditions that may have developed

Between-Session Support

To maximize the effectiveness of our trauma therapy work together, I may suggest between-session practices such as:

• Nervous system regulation exercises
• Journaling or reflection activities to process feelings
• Mindfulness or grounding practices
• Applying new insights to daily situations
• Monitoring symptoms and triggers

These practices help integrate therapeutic insights into your everyday life and accelerate the healing process from post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety

Who Benefits from My Approach

Women Ready for Deep Change

My trauma focused treatments are particularly effective for women who:

• Have tried traditional talk therapy with limited success for their mental health conditions
• Want to address root causes of traumatic experiences rather than just manage symptoms
• Are motivated to do the work necessary for lasting change from anxiety
• Prefer evidence-based, efficient treatment approaches for treating PTSD
• Value both professional expertise and compassionate care from an experienced mental health professional

High-Functioning Anxiety and Trauma

You might benefit from my specialized trauma therapy approach if you experience:

• Perfectionism and imposter syndrome rooted in past trauma
• People-pleasing and boundary difficulties
• Overthinking and racing thoughts
• Physical symptoms related to stress and traumatic memories
• Hypervigilance and emotional exhaustion
• Difficulty relaxing or being present
• Relationship patterns that feel familiar but unfulfilling
• Panic attack episodes triggered by reminders of traumatic events
• Intense fear reactions that seem disproportionate to current situations

Recent Crisis or Motivation for Change

Often, a specific incident or realization brings successful women to seek deeper healing from their mental health professional:

• A health diagnosis that can't be ignored
• A relationship crisis or major life transition
• Recognition that current coping strategies for anxiety aren't sustainable
• Realization that past trauma or complex trauma is affecting current relationships
• Desire to break generational patterns of behavior patterns
• Readiness to prioritize your own mental health and well-being

Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Conditions

PTSD Treatment and Diagnosis

Post traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, PTSD involves four main symptom clusters:

1. Intrusive symptoms: Disturbing thoughts, flashbacks, and nightmares about the traumatic event
2. Avoidance: Avoiding reminders of traumatic experiences
3. Negative changes in mood and thinking: Persistent negative beliefs about yourself or the world
4. Changes in reactivity: Being easily startled, having trouble sleeping, experiencing intense fear

Many effective approaches exist for treating PTSD, including EMDR therapy, which research studies have shown to be highly effective. Veterans Affairs recognizes EMDR as a first-line treatment for veterans experiencing post traumatic stress disorder.

Complex Trauma and Related Conditions

Complex trauma results from repeated or prolonged traumatic experiences, often beginning in childhood. This type of trauma can lead to multiple related conditions beyond PTSD, affecting emotional regulation, relationships, and self-perception.

Signs of complex trauma may include:

• Difficulty regulating feelings and emotions
• Negative beliefs about self-worth
• Relationship difficulties and trust issues
• Dissociation or feeling disconnected from your body
• Difficulty managing disturbing thoughts and bodily sensations

My trauma therapy approach is specifically designed to address complex trauma comprehensively, recognizing that these traumatic experiences require specialized treatment plans.

The Mind-Body Connection in Trauma

Traumatic experiences are stored not just in your mind but throughout your body. This is why trauma therapy that addresses bodily sensations and physical responses is so important. Through approaches like EMDR therapy and body scan techniques, we can help your nervous system release the trapped energy from traumatic events.

Understanding this mind-body connection helps explain why symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder often include physical manifestations like chronic pain, autoimmune conditions, or digestive issues. Effective trauma therapy addresses both the psychological and physical aspects of traumatic memories.

Practical Information

Session Formats and Scheduling

I offer both in-person individual therapy sessions at my Calgary office and secure online sessions for clients throughout Alberta. This flexibility allows you to access specialized trauma focused treatments regardless of your location or schedule constraints.

Sessions are typically scheduled weekly or bi-weekly, depending on your needs and goals for treating PTSD or anxiety. Consistent attendance is particularly important when doing deep trauma therapy work, as it maintains momentum and builds on previous EMDR sessions.

For those seeking more intensive treatment for complex trauma or multiple traumatic experiences, I offer condensed therapy programs that can be scheduled over several days or weeks rather than months.

Investment in Your Healing

While I don't publish specific pricing online, I'm happy to discuss investment information during our initial consultation. My focus is on providing effective trauma therapy that creates lasting change, and I believe that quality mental health treatment is an investment in your long-term well-being and happiness.

I provide receipts that you can submit to your extended health benefits for potential reimbursement. During our consultation, we can discuss how to maximize any coverage you might have for mental health services.

Getting Started

The first step toward healing from post traumatic stress disorder or anxiety is often the hardest, but you don't have to take it alone. I invite you to schedule a free 15-minute consultation where we can discuss your mental health concerns and explore whether my trauma focused treatments might be right for you.

During this brief conversation, you can ask questions about my methods for treating PTSD, share your healing goals, and get a sense of whether we might work well together. There's no pressure or obligation—just an opportunity to explore your trauma therapy options with an experienced mental health professional who understands the unique challenges faced by high-achieving women.

Your Nervous System and Healing

Understanding Your Body's Responses

One of the most powerful aspects of trauma-informed therapy is learning to understand and work with your nervous system rather than against it. Your body's responses—the racing heart, the tension, the need to stay busy—aren't signs of weakness. They're adaptive responses that once protected you from traumatic events.

Through our trauma therapy work together, you'll develop what I call "nervous system literacy"—the ability to recognize your body's signals and respond with appropriate coping strategies and techniques. This knowledge becomes a lifelong resource for maintaining your mental health.

Building Your Window of Tolerance

Your "window of tolerance" is the zone where you feel calm, connected, and capable of handling life's challenges. Trauma and chronic stress from anxiety can narrow this window, making you more reactive to everyday stressors and more likely to experience panic attack episodes.

Through trauma therapy, we'll work to gradually expand your window of tolerance so you can stay grounded and present even during difficult situations. This expansion happens naturally as we process traumatic memories and build new resources for managing symptoms.

Regulation Techniques for Daily Life

I'll teach you practical regulation techniques that you can use anywhere, anytime to manage symptoms of anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder:

Breathing Techniques: Simple but powerful methods for calming your nervous system in moments of stress or when experiencing disturbing thoughts.

Grounding Exercises: Ways to reconnect with your body and the present moment when anxiety pulls you into future worries or traumatic memories drag you back to past events.

Movement Practices: Gentle movements that help discharge tension and stress from your body, supporting the processing of traumatic experiences.

Mindfulness Skills: Present-moment awareness techniques that interrupt anxiety spirals and promote inner calm, helping manage feelings of intense fear.

The Transformation Process

From Surviving to Thriving

Many of my clients come to trauma therapy feeling like they're constantly in survival mode—managing, coping, and pushing through symptoms of anxiety or post traumatic stress disorder. The goal of our work together is to move you from surviving to thriving, from managing symptoms to experiencing genuine peace and joy.

This transformation often happens gradually, with small shifts building into significant changes over time. You might notice that situations that once triggered intense fear feel more manageable. Relationships become more authentic as you learn to set boundaries and express your needs. Work stress decreases as you develop healthier behavior patterns and perspectives.

Developing Authentic Confidence

True confidence isn't about being perfect or having all the answers. It's about trusting yourself to handle whatever life brings, even when faced with challenging feelings or difficult memories. Through processing traumatic experiences and building new coping strategies, you'll develop the kind of deep, authentic confidence that comes from knowing yourself and trusting your ability to navigate challenges.

This confidence shows up in your willingness to take healthy risks, your ability to speak up for yourself, and your capacity to rest without guilt. It's the difference between performing confidence and genuinely feeling secure in who you are, free from the grip of anxiety and past trauma.

Creating Sustainable Patterns

One of my priorities in trauma therapy is helping you create sustainable patterns that support your long-term mental health. This means developing practices and perspectives that you can maintain even during busy or stressful periods.

We'll work together to identify what truly nourishes you versus what just temporarily distracts from symptoms. You'll learn to recognize early warning signs of stress and overwhelm so you can respond proactively rather than reactively to potential triggers or disturbing events.

Moving Forward: Your Next Steps

If you recognize yourself in these pages—if you're tired of feeling anxious despite your success, ready to address traumatic experiences that have been affecting your life, or simply drawn to a more comprehensive approach to mental health—I invite you to take the next step.

Healing from anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder is possible, even if you've struggled for years. The trauma focused treatments I use are specifically designed to address the complex ways that traumatic memories and anxiety symptoms show up in high-functioning individuals. They honor both your strength and your vulnerability, your achievements and your need for deeper peace.

Your healing journey from trauma is unique to you, and it deserves specialized attention from a mental health professional who understands the particular challenges faced by accomplished, caring women. You don't have to figure this out on your own, and you don't have to settle for just coping with symptoms.

The path to genuine calm, confidence, and clarity is available to you through effective trauma therapy. It starts with a single conversation, a willingness to try something different, and the belief that you deserve more than just getting by.

To schedule your free 15-minute consultation or learn more about my anxiety and trauma therapy services in Calgary, including EMDR therapy and other trauma focused treatments, please visit my website or contact me directly. I look forward to learning about your unique situation and exploring how I might support your healing journey from anxiety and past traumatic experiences.

Remember: seeking help from a mental health professional isn't a sign of weakness—it's a sign of wisdom. You've spent years taking care of others and meeting external demands. Now it's time to invest in your own healing and mental health. You deserve nothing less than the peace, joy, and authentic confidence that come from true healing from trauma.