NARM Therapy in Ontario
Healing Developmental Trauma Online
You understand your patterns. You can name them, trace them back to childhood, explain exactly why you react the way you do. But knowing hasn't changed how your body responds. You still freeze, or people-please, or go numb when things get too close. The understanding lives in your head. The patterns live somewhere deeper.
NARM (the NeuroAffective Relational Model) was developed specifically for this. It is a therapeutic approach designed for people carrying developmental trauma and complex trauma, and it works differently from talk therapy.
Rather than spending years revisiting the past, NARM focuses on the survival patterns you developed in response to what happened, the ways you learned to disconnect from your needs, your body, your emotions, in order to stay safe.
These survival patterns made sense at the time. They kept you functioning. But they are running your life now in ways that leave you exhausted, disconnected, or stuck in cycles you can see but cannot seem to break.
What NARM Addresses
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Developmental trauma and complex trauma (C-PTSD)
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Childhood emotional neglect
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Chronic disconnection from emotions or the body
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People-pleasing, perfectionism, and the need to perform
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Difficulty trusting, receiving, or allowing yourself to need anything from anyone
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The experience of understanding your patterns intellectually but not being able to change them
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Shame that feels like it lives in your bones, not your thoughts
Somatic therapy can be especially supportive for people who sense that "just talking" isn't enough — those who understand their patterns cognitively yet still struggle to feel different in their bodies. This work often resonates with overachievers, deep thinkers, and emotionally aware individuals who can articulate their pain clearly but haven't found lasting relief through talk therapy or CBT alone. Through body awareness, creative expression, and grounded embodied practice, this approach helps your nervous system remember that it is safe to feel again.
How NARM Works
NARM addresses five core needs that are often disrupted by early relational trauma: connection, attunement, trust, autonomy, and love-sexuality.
When these needs go unmet in childhood, we develop identity patterns, deep beliefs about ourselves and relationships, that shape everything.In session, we work with what is happening in the present moment.
We pay attention to your body, your nervous system, the way you organize yourself relationally. This is not about analyzing the past endlessly. It is about noticing where you are disconnected now and gently supporting reconnection.
I bring somatic awareness into NARM work, which means we are always tracking what is happening in your body. Not in a forced or overwhelming way, but with curiosity and at your pace. The body holds what the mind has tried to manage alone.
Is NARM Right for You?
NARM tends to resonate with people who have done some self-work already. You have read the books, maybe done some therapy, possibly had experiences with plant medicine or meditation.
You are not starting from zero.
But there is a gap between what you understand and what you feel, and that gap is what keeps you stuck.
If you are someone who learned early to be easy, small, invisible, responsible, or perfect, and you are tired of living that way, NARM can help you find your way back to the parts of yourself you had to set aside.
Training & Approach
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I am currently completing NARM professional training (November 2026) and integrate NARM principles with somatic therapy, expressive arts, and parts work. I practice under clinical supervision as a Registered Psychotherapist candidate (RP designation expected 2026).
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My background includes 17 years working with people in traditional healing and ceremonial contexts in Peru, which informs the depth and embodied presence I bring to this work.
Begin
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If any of this resonates, I offer a free consultation where we can talk about what you are experiencing and whether NARM might be a good fit.
No pressure, no performance required. Just a conversation.
