AMES Therapy

Talk therapy can be incredibly helpful for understanding experiences. But trauma doesn’t just live in thoughts—it lives in the nervous system. This is why psychologically healing from medical trauma has to address the BODY.

Have you ever said to yourself:
“I know I’m safe… but I don’t FEEL safe.”

Healing requires more than insight. It requires experience. Approaches that support this include:
Somatic therapy
EMDR
Nervous system regulation
Safe relational connection

These approaches help the body process what hasn’t been completed.
Healing is not about forcing the body to move on. It is about helping the body feel safe enough to update.

One of the most important shifts in trauma work is this:

Symptoms are not the problem.

They are protection.

Anxiety says: stay alert. Panic says: something is wrong. Sleep disruption says, "Don’t fully relax". These responses were helpful during a crisis. They increased survival. The challenge is that they haven’t updated.

Instead of asking:

“What’s wrong with me?”

A more helpful question is:

“What did my body learn?”

Your body is not broken.

It adapted.

www.amestherapy.ca/post/why-the-body-doesn-t-just-move-on-after-medical-trauma

Why the Body Doesn’t Just Move On After Medical Trauma? After a major medical experience, many people expect that once treatment is over, they will feel better—not just physically, but emotionally.But for many, that’s not what happens.Even after recovery, the body can still feel on edge. Anxiety, sleep disruption, and a constant sense of waiting for ...

Hello wonderful humans!

Today is a gentle reminder that healing doesn’t always happen inside four walls. 🌿

If you know me, you know that Mother Nature and I have a connection. It’s a beautiful understanding of how supported I am by this earth. In so many ways nature has healed me and so many others.

The Earth holds, regulates, and restores in ways that our nervous systems deeply recognize—often before our minds can make sense of it. When we slow down, step outside, and reconnect with the natural world, we’re not escaping… we’re returning.

Returning to rhythm.
Returning to breath.
Returning to ourselves.

Nature doesn’t rush. It doesn’t judge. It simply allows space for things to be exactly as they are—and in that space, healing begins.

On this Earth Day, I invite you to find or hope you’ve already taken a few moments to step outside, feel the ground beneath you, notice the air, and let your system settle. Personally, my gratitude overflowed today as I appreciated sparkling water, rustling leaves, a beautiful blue sky and solid, steady ground. Such beauty all around us.

You are part of this Earth.
And just like it—you are allowed to take up space, to rest, and to grow. I hope you found a little connection today. 🌎

🌱

Free Organ Transplant Mental Health Series

I've compiled the 5 webinars focused on the mental health side of the transplant journey and posted them on my website. These sessions explore the emotional realities that often go unspoken—grief, trauma, anxiety, identity shifts, managing chronic illness and other mental health complexities that arise.

These recordings are available to watch at your own pace and are designed for:

• Transplant recipients
• Individuals waiting for a transplant
• Family members and caregivers

They might also be relevant if you have experienced long-term medical trauma or chronic illness.

You can access all 5 webinar recordings here:

www.amestherapy.ca/organtransplantsupport

They are also available on the Canadian Transplant Association (Ontario) YouTube channel.

Feel free to share this with anyone who might benefit. 🤍

Your nervous system responds to your environment.

Nature offers cues of safety that the body recognizes automatically:
• Rhythmic sounds (water, wind)
• Organic movement (trees, leaves)
• Open space and fresh air

These signals can help shift the nervous system out of survival mode.

In Walk & Talk Therapy, we intentionally use nature as part of the therapeutic process — not just a backdrop.

This supports:
• Reduced anxiety
• Increased regulation
• Easier emotional processing

Healing isn’t just cognitive.
It’s physiological.

Now booking at www.amestherapy.ca

Sometimes talking isn’t enough.

Walk & Talk Therapy integrates:
• Somatic awareness (tracking body sensations)
• EMDR-informed processing
• Bilateral stimulation through walking

Movement itself can support the brain’s natural processing system.

You might notice:
• Thoughts becoming clearer
• Emotional intensity shifting
• A greater sense of “unstuckness”

Nature + movement + evidence-based therapy = deeper processing.

So what’s the strategy?

“Check the Evidence Gently”
When you notice yourself scanning for danger, try:

“What do I know right now — not what might happen?”

Then orient to:
• current medical information
• what your doctor has said
• what your body is doing in this moment

This helps shift from future-based fear → present-based reality without dismissing your experience.

During a medical crisis, life becomes structured around:

• appointments
• test results
• decisions
• getting through the next step

Your brain prioritizes function over feeling.

This is adaptive.

But it often means emotional processing is delayed.

Later, when stability returns, you may notice:

• unexpected sadness
• emotional exhaustion
• fear or uncertainty
• difficulty relaxing

Nothing “new” is happening.
Your system is finally allowing what was put on hold.

Delayed emotion is not dysfunction — it’s timing.