Therapy for Relationship Trauma
Heal from harm in close relationships. Trauma therapy in Ottawa, in person and online.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationHeal from harm in close relationships. Trauma therapy in Ottawa, in person and online.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationEvery clinician is registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) or the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW).
We want therapy to be financially accessible for everyone. Reduced rates are available case-by-case based on need and availability.
We submit directly to most major insurers, so you don't pay out of pocket upfront.
Our office is in Ottawa. All client records are stored in Canada and handled under PIPEDA and PHIPA.
Therapy is a space to slow down and look at what's underneath. These are some of the patterns people bring into the room.
FOR WHEN SOMETHING FEELS OFF
The people are different. The dynamic is familiar. Something keeps pulling you toward relationships that look the same as the one that hurt you — or your old survival strategies keep showing up in relationships that are actually safe, treating a current partner as though they're someone from your past.
Getting close to someone requires lowering your guard. And your nervous system has very good reasons not to do that. You know intellectually that the person in front of you isn't the person who hurt you. But the body doesn't quite believe it yet.
The shame of having stayed. The shame of having loved someone who treated you badly. The shame of not seeing it sooner, or not leaving sooner. These are the wrong containers for what you went through, and untangling them is part of the work.
Relationship trauma therapy at Auren Wellness uses the therapeutic relationship as part of the treatment. This isn't just a backdrop for the work — it is part of the work. When trauma developed in a relational context, healing also needs a relational context: one where showing up consistently, being honest, maintaining appropriate limits, and caring about your wellbeing are all demonstrated, not just described.We may draw on attachment-based approaches and trauma-focused models to help you understand the patterns that developed in response to relational harm, and to gradually build a more expansive sense of what safety feels like — in the therapeutic relationship first, and then in your wider life.We also address the somatic dimension. Relationship trauma is held in the body's threat-detection system — the flinch, the hypervigilance to tone, the shutting down when someone gets close. Body-based work helps regulate those responses so they become less automatic and more responsive to what's actually present.For clients where emotional abuse was a central part of what happened, see our page on therapy for emotional abuse recovery.
Email, phone, or fill out our booking form. There's no script and no pressure. You can share as much or as little as you want.
A real person, not a bot, will reply as soon as we can with a few options for a free 15-minute consultation.
We listen. You ask questions. No paperwork, no obligation. If we're not the right match, we'll point you toward someone who might be.
Direct billing where possible. Evening and weekend availability. Virtual or in-person in Ottawa.
Sessions are 50 minutes in length. Rates vary by therapist and are confirmed during your free consultation. We accept e-transfer and credit cards, and direct-bill most insurers.
Sliding-scale spots are available based on need. Ask during your free consultation.
Same 50-minute format, structured for two participants and shared concerns.
Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Social Worker services are covered by most extended health plans in Canada. We recommend confirming your specific coverage before your first paid session. Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Green Shield, and most major insurers include coverage.
We direct-bill where your insurer allows it. Otherwise, you pay at the time of session and submit the receipt for reimbursement.
Every session generates a receipt listing the provider's license number, suitable for insurance reimbursement.
In-person sessions are held at our Ottawa office. Virtual sessions use a secure, PIPEDA-compliant video platform. You can switch between the two.
We ask for 24 hours notice on cancellations. Late cancellations and no-shows are charged the full session fee.
After the free 15-minute consultation, your first paid session is intake-focused. Bring questions, anything you have already tried, and any goals you have in mind.
QUESTIONS
Relationship trauma is the lasting impact of harm that happened within a close or intimate relationship, through betrayal, abuse, control, or repeated hurt. Because the wound is relational, it often affects how safe you feel getting close again.
Signs can include difficulty trusting, hypervigilance with partners, anxiety about closeness or abandonment, emotional flashbacks, and repeating painful relationship patterns. These responses are common after relational harm.
Healing involves processing what happened, restoring trust in yourself, and slowly rebuilding a sense of safety in connection. We may use attachment-based, somatic, and EMDR approaches, paced to your comfort.
Relational and attachment-based approaches, often combined with somatic work or EMDR, fit relationship trauma well because the harm happened in connection. The therapeutic relationship itself becomes part of the healing.
It can lead to difficulty trusting, fear of being hurt again, emotional reactivity, or guarding against closeness. Recognizing these patterns helps you respond from the present rather than the past.
It depends on the depth and duration of the harm. Some people feel steadier within months; rebuilding trust and safety in connection can take longer. We'll talk through what's realistic for you.
Yes. A prolonged harmful or abusive relationship can produce trauma responses, including PTSD or complex PTSD, even without physical violence. The effects are real and treatable.
Therapy can help you recognize triggers, understand what they're connected to, and build skills to stay grounded when they arise. Over time, the nervous system can learn that closeness is safer than it once was.
Rebuilding trust is gradual and starts with trusting your own perceptions and boundaries again. Therapy supports this through processing the past and practising safety in relationship at a pace you set.
OHIP generally doesn't cover psychotherapy with RPs or RSWs, but many extended health plans do. Check your plan for RP or RSW coverage. Auren direct-bills many insurers and provides receipts.
Therapy is a longer-term relationship. If you're in acute distress, please reach the services below first. They are free, confidential, and available right now.
