Trauma Therapy in Oshawa

Trauma work goes better with a safety net underneath it, and much of Durham Region's is in or near Oshawa. As Durham's largest city, it is home to Lakeridge Health Oshawa, the region's main hospital site. Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, a specialized public mental health hospital, is just west in neighbouring Whitby. Distress Centre Durham, a 24/7 distress line, has been running since 1970, and Catholic Family Services of Durham runs Safety Network Durham for people affected by gender-based violence.

Private psychotherapy is a different thing from those services, and it works alongside them rather than instead of them. A crisis line is there for the worst night. Weekly trauma therapy is for the slower work: understanding why your body still reacts as if the danger were present, why closeness feels risky, why you go numb just when you want to feel something. Trauma can arrive from many directions: a childhood home that never felt safe, a relationship that became frightening, an injury at work, a collision on the 401 in a January storm, or years of smaller hurts that added up. Each deserves the same careful attention.

In schema-based trauma therapy, Ghazal looks with you at the patterns trauma left behind: the beliefs about safety, trust and worth, and the coping modes that once protected you. The pace is yours. You will not be asked to describe everything that happened, and emotion-focused and cognitive-behavioural techniques help you steady yourself before a session ends.

Early sessions can include something practical: knowing which local line you would call on a bad night, who you could text, and what helps your body settle. Having that plan in place can make the deeper work feel safer to begin.

For students living away from family for the first time, old trauma sometimes resurfaces, or something new happens that feels impossible to mention at home. Online sessions mean that support doesn't depend on getting across the city between classes, shifts or placements.

Because sessions are online, you can meet from wherever in the city feels safest, from Kedron and Taunton in the north end to the Lakeview neighbourhood by the lake, without sitting in a waiting room or explaining an absence from work. Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO #21300, works in English and Farsi with people across Oshawa and Ontario. Tina Abadi, RP, also offers trauma-informed, CBT-based therapy online, in English or Farsi.