Trauma and PTSD Therapy in Cambridge, Ontario
Trauma work asks a lot of you, so our experienced trauma therapists are here to meet you where you are at.
Booking takes a few minutes and a phone call to (519) 621-8858. You decide what you say and when, including in session one. And if walking into a building is itself part of what's hard right now, every therapist on our Cambridge team also works online.
Who Can We Help
Children, Teenagers, Adults, Couples and Families who have experienced a traumatic event.
You’ve experienced a traumatic event recently or in the past, and would like help with processing it with an experienced professional.
You were injured at work, or you watched a co-worker get hurt. You went back on modified duties and everyone treated it as finished. You did not feel finished.
You came to Canada from somewhere you had to leave. You're working, your kids are in school here, and the past shows up at night when the house is quiet.
You grew up in a home where you had to read the room before you read anything else, and now every relationship you have runs on that same radar.
You've been told you have "anger issues." What you actually have is a nervous system stuck at high alert with nowhere to put it.
What Happens During Trauma Therapy
Trauma therapy that starts with the worst memory on day one does harm. Ours doesn't.
Session one is stabilisation, not disclosure. We look at what your system does now — the startle, the shutdown, the sleep, the numbing — and build a couple of reliable ways to bring yourself back down. Therapists call this widening your window of tolerance. You'll leave with something you can use before you ever describe an event in detail.
Sessions two to four are preparation and choice of approach. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is the best-known trauma treatment for good reason: it targets memories that got stored raw, without needing you to narrate every detail out loud, and many clients find the memory loses its charge even though the facts stay the same. It suits single-incident trauma particularly well — a collision, an assault, an incident at work.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) works further down, with the pre-emotional shock response — the orienting reflex that fires before you even have a feeling about what happened. Clients who describe going blank, freezing or "not being in my body" often do better here than with talk-based approaches. Internal Family Systems fits developmental and childhood trauma, where the issue isn't one memory but a whole internal cast of protectors built to survive a household. Psychodynamic and somatic-informed work helps when the trauma has shaped how you relate to everyone, not just how you sleep.
Jessica Barnes (RSW), Lauren Marshall (RSW) and Sherry Maxwell (RP) are among a few of our Cambridge clinicians who work with trauma. Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers treat trauma; they do not diagnose PTSD or prescribe medication — a physician or psychiatrist does that. If you need a formal diagnosis for an insurer or a WSIB claim, tell us early and we'll point you the right way.
Cost, insurance and coverage in Cambridge
Registered Social Worker (RSW)
$130–$185 per Individual therapy session
$170–$195 per Family Therapy session
Registered Psychotherapist (RP)
$130–$185 per Individual therapy session
$170–$195 per Family Therapy session
Clinical Psychologist
$250 per Individual therapy session
$250 per Family Therapy session
Trauma work is often paid for by someone other than you. Motor vehicle accident benefits through your auto insurer can fund treatment after a collision. WSIB may fund psychological treatment connected to a workplace injury. Employer plans at the region's manufacturers and automation firms, WRDSB and WCDSB staff benefits, and Conestoga and University of Waterloo student plans generally reimburse RSWs, MSWs and RPs. We direct bill where insurers allow it. If you're paying yourself, ask about our sliding scale and reduced-rate spots — and note that documentation and letters, if an insurer needs them, start at $25.
What trauma therapy looks like at our downtown Galt office
We're at 188 Main Street, in the Civic Square block of downtown Galt, near the Gaslight District and a short walk from the Grand. It's a normal downtown street with normal downtown foot traffic — nobody clocks who goes into which door. That matters more than clinics admit. In a city where your cousin works at the same plant as your neighbour, privacy is a practical concern, not a squeamish one.
Getting here from the rest of the city is straightforward. If you're coming from Preston or Hespeler, ten local routes plus the 302 ION Bus serve the terminal at Cambridge Centre on Hespeler Road, and the 302 runs down to the Ainslie Street terminal downtown. If you're driving in from Ayr, Paris, Puslinch or Glen Morris, you're coming into the core anyway.
Cost, Insurance and Coverage in Cambridge
Registered Social Worker (RSW)
$130–$185 per Individual therapy session
$170–$195 per Family Therapy session
Registered Psychotherapist (RP)
$130–$185 per Individual therapy session
$170–$195 per Family Therapy session
Clinical Psychologist
$250 per Individual therapy session
$250 per Family Therapy session
Most extended health plans reimburse RSWs, MSWs and RPs, that covers the workplace plans at Cambridge's large manufacturing and automation employers, WRDSB and WCDSB staff benefits, and Conestoga, Waterloo and Laurier student plans. We direct bill where your insurer permits. ERP tends to be a defined piece of work rather than open-ended therapy, which helps with a capped annual benefit: tell us your limit and we will plan the course around it. Reduced-rate and sliding-scale spots exist.
How to Get Started
Call (519) 621-8858 — or book the free 15-minute consult yourself with our admin team. You don't have to describe what happened to book.
We match you within 24 hours with a Cambridge therapist who does trauma work, and who has room in the schedule this week.
Come to Main Street or Water Street North, or start online. Pace is yours. If a session feels like too much, we slow down. That's a normal part of trauma therapy, not a setback.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to talk about what happened in detail?
No. Trauma therapy begins with stabilisation — building your capacity to handle the material before you go near it. EMDR in particular does not require you to narrate every detail aloud, and Deep Brain Reorienting works with the body's shock response rather than the story. You control what gets said and when, in every session.
Is EMDR available in Cambridge, or do I have to go to Kitchener?
It's available here. Our Cambridge team includes therapists trained in EMDR as well as Deep Brain Reorienting and Internal Family Systems, at our Main Street and Water Street North locations, and online across Ontario. You don't need to drive to Kitchener or Guelph for it.
Can therapy be covered after a car accident on the 401?
Often, yes. Ontario auto insurance includes accident benefits that can fund psychological treatment after a collision, and our admin team can help you understand what your insurer needs. Bring your claim number to the first appointment if you have one.
What if my trauma happened before I came to Canada?
That's common in Cambridge, where nearly a quarter of residents are immigrants. Pre-migration trauma, refugee experiences and separation from family are all treatable, and you do not need to be a citizen or have OHIP to see us. Tell us during your consult if language, faith or cultural fit matters in your therapist match, and we'll take that seriously.
How many sessions does trauma therapy take?
Single-incident trauma is sometimes worked through in a shorter course of EMDR; trauma that goes back to childhood usually takes longer. We'll review progress with you openly rather than leaving it open-ended. No responsible therapist will promise you a fixed number of sessions or a guaranteed outcome at intake.
What if I'm in crisis before my appointment?
Use our crisis lines page, or call Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247, which answers around the clock for Waterloo-Wellington. If you're in immediate danger, go to Cambridge Memorial Hospital's emergency department, which has a psychiatric assessment nurse available 24/7.
Have another question?
Feel free to connect with our admin team using the contact information below:
Transformation Counselling Cambridge - Water St N Contact Information
Address: 73 Water St N #300, Cambridge, ON N1R 7L6
Email: admin@transformationcounselling.com
Phone Number: (519) 340-5778
Fax Number: (437) 296-0654
Transformation Counselling Cambridge - Main St Contact Information
Address: 188 Main Street, Cambridge, ON N1R 1W9
Email: admin@transformationcounselling.com
Phone Number: (519) 621-8858
Fax Number: (437) 296-0654