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Kelowna EMDR Clinic, 506-550 Osprey Avenue, Kelowna, BC (2026)

01/07/2026

Getting rid of anxiety isn’t quick, clean, or linear.

It takes time, patience, and a lot of compassion for yourself, because anxiety is often your nervous system trying to protect you based on past experiences. You can’t just “think” your way out of it.

This is where EMDR therapy can help. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) works by helping the brain safely reprocess distressing memories and patterns that keep anxiety stuck on repeat.

Instead of constantly reacting as if the danger is still happening, the nervous system learns that the threat has passed.

Over time, this can reduce emotional intensity, calm the body’s stress response, and create a greater sense of control and relief—without having to relive everything in detail again and again.

[ anxiety therapy, anxiety treatment, EMDR therapy, EMDR for anxiety, trauma and anxiety, nervous system regulation, therapy for overthinking, panic disorder treatment, trauma-informed therapy, mental health support, healing anxiety naturally, evidence-based therapy ]

01/03/2026

We’re excited to welcome Jack Parkyn (they/them) to the team at Kelowna EMDR Clinic.

Jack brings a compassionate, evidence-based approach to working with adults navigating trauma, identity shifts, life transitions, and reproductive mental health, with a strong focus on 2SLGBTQIA+-affirming care.

They are currently accepting new clients, and appointments are now available to book.

[ therapist, therapists in kelowna, trauma informed therapy ]

12/28/2025

Sometimes your body remembers what your mind hasn’t fully named yet.

Somatic trauma shows up as physical sensations—tightness in the chest, chronic tension, shallow breathing, gut discomfort, numbness, or a sudden freeze response—often without a clear memory attached.

This happens because trauma is stored in the nervous system, not just in thoughts or stories.

Your body learned to react quickly to stay safe, and those survival patterns can resurface long after the danger has passed.

These responses aren’t overreactions or weaknesses; they’re intelligent signals from a system that adapted to protect you. Healing begins when we stop trying to think our way out of trauma and start listening to what the body is communicating through sensation, movement, and regulation.

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12/27/2025

As an EMDR therapist, I hear many stories about relationships that leave clients drained, anxious, and doubting themselves. Most don’t call their relationship “toxic.”

They describe confusion, emotional exhaustion, and a constant sense that they’re the problem.

What I listen for isn’t just events—it’s patterns in the nervous system.

How I Identify a Toxic Relationship

Certain themes show up again and again:

• Chronic self-doubt and second-guessing reality
• Strong body reactions before conscious awareness
• One-sided responsibility for emotional repair
• Fear or guilt around setting boundaries
• Cycles of harm followed by brief relief or closeness

These patterns point to trauma bonding. The nervous system learns to associate connection with distress, not safety.

Five Ways EMDR Helps Clients Heal

1. Targets early moments of lost safety, not just the breakup

2. Breaks trauma bonds by separating love from survival

3. Restores internal trust so red flags register sooner

4. Reprocesses shame and self-blame that keep clients stuck

5. Builds boundary capacity at the nervous-system level

The Reality

Toxic relationships retrain the nervous system. Insight alone isn’t enough. EMDR works because it addresses the injury where it lives—in the body, not just the mind.

Healing means your system no longer mistakes harm for connection.

[ EMDR therapy toxic relationships, trauma bonding EMDR, EMDR for emotional abuse, healing from toxic relationships, nervous system trauma therapy ]

12/24/2025

A humanistic therapist responds to stress by slowing everything down and centering your lived experience.

When they say, “I hear that you’re stressed—and that’s totally okay,” they’re communicating unconditional acceptance, not urgency to fix you.

The long silence isn’t neglect; it’s intentional space. In that quiet, you’re invited to notice what you’re feeling without judgment, to exist as you are, and to trust that nothing about your stress makes you broken or too much.

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12/23/2025

Full Video on YouTube - Link in Bio

Intrusive thoughts can feel scary, confusing, and completely out of character—but having them does not mean something is wrong with you.

These unwanted thoughts, images, or urges often show up when the nervous system is stressed or overwhelmed, especially with anxiety, OCD, trauma, or major life changes. The more you judge or fight them, the louder they tend to get.

Learning to name them, let them pass, and understand where they come from can take away their power. With the right tools—and therapies like EMDR—intrusive thoughts can lose their intensity and stop running the show.

[ intrusive thoughts, intrusive thoughts anxiety, intrusive thoughts ocd, intrusive thoughts therapy, emdr therapy, emdr for intrusive thoughts, unwanted thoughts, anxiety coping skills, trauma and intrusive thoughts, ptsd intrusive thoughts, mental health awareness, nervous system regulation, overthinking anxiety, racing thoughts, trauma informed therapy ]

12/22/2025

When therapists share that a client has childhood trauma, it’s not a label meant to blame or shame—it’s an explanation.

Many adult patterns like emotional overwhelm, people-pleasing, hyper-independence, or fear of closeness are rooted in early experiences where safety, consistency, or emotional attunement were missing.

Understanding childhood trauma helps clients reframe their struggles as learned survival responses rather than personal failures, opening the door to compassion, nervous-system regulation, and real healing instead of self-criticism.

[ childhood trauma, trauma therapy, nervous system regulation, emotional responses, healing childhood wounds, attachment trauma, trauma-informed therapy, mental health awareness, EMDR therapy, inner child healing ]

H

12/19/2025

We often attract emotionally unavailable people not because we want pain, but because our nervous system is drawn to what feels familiar.

If you grew up with emotional distance, inconsistency, or having to earn love, those dynamics can register as “normal” even when they’re exhausting.

Emotional unavailability can feel exciting, challenging, or magnetic because your system is still trying to resolve an old pattern.

Healing isn’t about blaming yourself—it’s about retraining your body and mind to recognize that steady, responsive, emotionally available love isn’t boring.

It’s safe. And once your nervous system learns that safety, your attraction patterns begin to change.

emotionally unavailable partners, why we attract emotionally unavailable people, attachment styles in relationships, anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, trauma bonding, relationship patterns, nervous system healing, emotional intimacy issues, healing relationship patterns

12/18/2025

Setting boundaries often feels unsafe—not because someone is rude or difficult, but because the nervous system learned early on that speaking up could lead to conflict, rejection, or emotional harm.

For many people with trauma histories, especially relational or childhood trauma, boundaries were once followed by punishment, withdrawal of love, or emotional invalidation.

As a result, the body associates boundary-setting with danger rather than self-respect.

EMDR therapy helps reprocess these stored trauma responses by targeting the memories and beliefs that say “it’s not safe to say no” or “I’ll lose connection if I assert myself.”

Through EMDR, the brain and body learn that boundaries can coexist with safety, connection, and emotional regulation.

Setting boundaries is not about being rude—it’s about nervous system healing, trauma recovery, and learning to protect yourself without fear.

[ EMDR therapy, setting boundaries, trauma and boundaries, nervous system regulation, childhood trauma, relational trauma, trauma-informed therapy, emotional safety, people-pleasing, boundary setting in therapy, trauma healing, EMDR therapist, fear of setting boundaries ]

12/16/2025

A somatic therapist responds to a client in stress by paying close attention to what the body is communicating, not just the words being spoken.

Instead of rushing to analyze or fix the problem, they gently slow things down, helping the client notice physical sensations like tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, clenched muscles, or a racing heart.

The therapist may guide the client to ground themselves through breath, posture, or small movements, creating a sense of safety in the nervous system.

By validating the body’s stress response as protective rather than “wrong,” a somatic therapist helps the client move out of overwhelm and back into regulation.

Over time, this body-based awareness allows stress to release naturally and teaches the client how to recognize and calm their nervous system before it spirals.

[somatic therapy, somatic therapist, stress response in the body, nervous system regulation, body-based therapy, trauma-informed therapy, somatic experiencing, stress and the nervous system, mind-body connection, grounding techniques, emotional regulation, healing trauma through the body ]

12/13/2025

Listening like a therapist isn’t about fixing people or giving the perfect advice — it’s about presence.

It means slowing down, reflecting what someone is feeling instead of rescuing them from it, noticing what’s said and unsaid, and allowing silence to do its quiet work. When people feel truly heard, they open up differently.

They go deeper. This video breaks down simple, practical ways anyone can learn this skill — whether you’re a friend, partner, parent, or just trying to show up better in your relationships.

Watch the full video on YouTube — link in story.

[ how to listen like a therapist, therapeutic listening skills, active listening techniques, emotional validation, holding space, communication skills, mental health education, therapy tools, listening vs hearing, building deeper relationships ]

12/11/2025

Sometimes the body keeps score long before the mind is ready to look at the full picture.

When you “forget” a trauma in your thoughts, it doesn’t magically disappear; it goes underground and shows up as tight shoulders, random stomach aches, sudden anxiety, irritability, or that strange freeze response you can’t explain.

That’s your body’s memory system doing its clumsy, overprotective version of a security drill.

Therapies like EMDR help translate these physical alarms into emotional understanding so your body and mind stop arguing and start collaborating.

Your body isn’t betraying you—it’s protecting you, just using outdated instructions that need to be rewritten in safety.

[ trauma memory, body remembers trauma, somatic symptoms trauma, EMDR therapy, trauma healing, mind-body connection, body keeps the score, nervous system regulation, trauma responses, emotional healing, somatic healing, PTSD symptoms, trauma therapy benefits, unresolved trauma signs, body stress signals ]

Kelowna EMDR Clinic

01/07/2026

01/03/2026

12/28/2025

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12/23/2025

12/22/2025

12/19/2025

12/18/2025

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12/11/2025

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