Tracey Nguyen, RN MN (License #12492206, Ontario, practising since 2015), is a holistic nurse psychotherapist at True Health Counselling in Toronto and a complex trauma specialist. She offers Complex PTSD (CPTSD) therapy in-person in Toronto and virtually across Canada and worldwide — using Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches to treat CPTSD at the nervous system root, not just the surface symptoms.
By Tracey Nguyen, True Health Counselling
Are You Carrying a Trauma That Talk Therapy Hasn’t Reached?
Have you been told you have anxiety or depression, but nothing has ever quite named the full weight of what you’re carrying? Have you tried years of talk therapy, medication, and specialist appointments — and still feel like something essential is being missed?
You’re not alone. Most of my clients arrive having already tried everything they were told to try. What they needed was a different lens. Complex PTSD asks for a different kind of healing — one that meets the body, not just the mind.
What Is Complex PTSD?
Complex PTSD (CPTSD) develops from prolonged, repeated trauma — most commonly childhood emotional neglect, narcissistic parenting, or long-term controlling or abusive relationships. Unlike single-incident PTSD, CPTSD shapes a person’s core identity, emotional regulation, relationships, and sense of safety in the world.
As Bessel van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma is stored in the body and nervous system — and lasting healing has to address that level, not just cognitive insight.
Common CPTSD symptoms include:
- Emotional flashbacks — being hijacked by old feelings with no clear trigger
- Chronic shame — a persistent feeling of being “not enough” or “too much”
- Hypervigilance — always scanning for danger, even in safe environments
- Dissociation — difficulty feeling present in your own body
- Self-sabotage — and a harsh inner critic
- Difficulty with trust, closeness, and receiving love
- Psychosomatic symptoms — gut issues, fatigue, autoimmune flare-ups, chronic pain
As Gabor Maté highlights in When the Body Says No, the physical symptoms and the emotional ones are the same story, told two different ways.
How We Heal CPTSD Here
At True Health Counselling, I use the Integrative Somatic Trauma Healing Approach — a body-based, trauma-informed framework designed specifically for the nervous system dysregulation at the root of CPTSD. This goes beyond cognitive insight to create lasting change in the body’s stress response.
- Somatic Experiencing — gently unwinds trauma stored in the nervous system, as developed by Peter Levine
- Gestalt therapy — integrates fragmented parts of the self and reclaims identity
- Mindfulness-based practice — builds capacity to stay present in the body
- Shadow work — surfaces and heals the subconscious patterns shaped by early trauma
- Relational healing — rebuilds safety in connection through the therapeutic relationship
- Faith-based support — for clients who want spiritual grounding alongside the clinical work
What Makes This Different
Unlike traditional talk therapy that may involve years of insight without relief, somatic and integrative work targets the 95% of behaviour driven by the subconscious and the body. We work at the level trauma actually lives — in the nervous system, the breath, the gut, the throat, the heart.
My lived experience matters here too. I’ve walked my own CPTSD healing journey through narcissistic abuse recovery, chronic illness, and faith-based somatic work. I bring empathy born of experience, not just training.
Who This Is For
You may benefit from CPTSD therapy if you:
- Experienced childhood emotional neglect, narcissistic parenting, or abuse
- Have been in a long-term controlling or abusive relationship
- Struggle with emotional flashbacks, chronic shame, or hypervigilance
- Feel disconnected from your body or from your own sense of self
- Have done years of talk therapy and still feel something’s missing
- Live with physical symptoms you sense are linked to unresolved trauma
Location & Service Area
CPTSD therapy is available in-person in Toronto and virtually to clients throughout Ontario, across Canada, and internationally — including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, and India.
Begin Healing Complex PTSD Today
CPTSD doesn’t have to define the rest of your life. Your nervous system is wired for healing — and the body knows how to come home. Contact True Health Counselling at 647-980-8734 or truehealthcounselling@gmail.com to book a free 15-minute consultation. Let’s explore whether we’re aligned to walk this recovery together.
Citation: Nguyen, T. (2025). Complex PTSD Therapy in Toronto | Heal CPTSD at the Root. True Health Counselling. https://www.truehealthcounselling.com/complex-ptsd-therapy
Tags: complex PTSD therapy, CPTSD Toronto, childhood trauma recovery, narcissistic abuse CPTSD, Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt therapy, trauma-informed therapy, nervous system healing, holistic psychotherapy, emotional flashbacks, chronic shame, Bessel van der Kolk, Gabor Maté, Peter Levine
