Jenni Shea
Clinic Owner
Registered Psychotherapist
M.A. Counselling Psychology, B.Ed., B.A.(Hons)
CCTP II, Complex Trauma Professional
IFS Therapist
AF-EMDR I&II
Welcome! I am a Registered Psychotherapist with specialized training in trauma and relationship issues. I also bring 16+ years of education expertise supporting others with learning and change.
I work primarily with complex trauma, C-PTSD, relational trauma and self-discovery. This includes anxiety, perfectionism, infidelity, shame, difficult childhood experiences, attachment wounds, boundaries, sexual abuse, non-monogamy, gaslighting abuse, people pleasing, fawning, numbing, checking out, and many other symptoms associated with trauma or struggle.
I also work with those (including other therapists) who are interested in working with their parts using IFS.
My clients come from all walks of life. Many are "only-childs", psychotherapists, entrepreneurs, spouses of entrepreneurs, and creative types who struggle in their relationships (or in being relatable).
If you feel ready I can support you to find safety in your system and to better accept yourself. I firmly believe that if you can hold space for all of who you are and how you cope this is how you can begin to feel whole.
I use Internal Family Systems (IFS, parts work), and integrate Somatic and Sensorimotor techniques with a focus on deep healing and self-acceptance. I am now also developing my practice of Attachment Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR) under consultation with the esteemed Parnell Institute in California as part of a two+ year journey.
My style is creative, kind and deeply caring. All of your parts are welcome, (including the ones that swear). If you are ready to look inward we can work together to address what is hurting you and get you living more comfortably in your own skin.
In our time together you can expect me to be actively engaged (not just listening), providing feedback, sharing my observations, and moving with you beyond talk therapy.
Many of the issues we talk about I understand through study and personal experience as a human, partner and parent in this world. I have also worked with my own parts, and live that inner relationship every day.
In addition to my clinical work I provide learning support to therapists who are new to learning IFS in the 4-month Stepping Stone Program and 4-Day Intensive Program with IFSCA.
I completed my undergraduate studies at McMaster University and D’Youville University, and graduate studies at the University of Toronto and Yorkville University. My clinical practicum was completed in a trauma-focussed setting.
I have since completed advanced trainings in trauma such as CCTP I & II Complex Trauma with Janina Fisher, Internal Family Systems (IFS) with the IFS Institute, Derek Scott/IFSCA and others, Attachment Focused-EMDR with the Parnell Institute, and other integrated approaches such as Somatic, Polyvagal and Sensorimotor-based therapies. I also continue to invest in my skills through high quality supervision and consultation as I explore new ways to understand and support my clients.
All of your parts are welcome in this work!
Pro Bono - I reserve a few spots for clients with exceptional life challenges - all spots filled 2024
Subjects:
Complex Trauma, PTSD/C-PTSD, Self-Discovery, Coping, Perfectionism, Infidelity, Gaslighting Abuse, Self-Esteem, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, Flashbacks, Numbing or Shutting Down, Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn, Difficult Childhood Experiences, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Emotional Abuse, Separation/Divorce, Intergenerational Trauma, Phobias, Family Problems or Pressures, Only Child, Consensual Non-Monogamy, Polyamory, Life Transitions, Big Decisions.
Types of Therapy:
Internal Family Systems (IFS), AF-EMDR, Somatic, Sensorimotor, Polyvagal, Existential, Kink-aware, Sex-Positive
My Pronouns:
she/her
Beyond my Work:
Trees and ocean waves make me happy. I love music, and most of my social gatherings turn into dance parties. I am a creative person who can write and sew. I am also a lifelong sci-fi nerd and love BSG (if you know, you know). I am mesmerized by skateboard videos; and I am always up for a game of cards. My most cherished time however is spent with my spouse, child and two corgis.
More about how I work...
Not everyone comes to me for trauma work (although most do). Several of my clients, many of whom are also therapists, come to me to do discovery work using IFS and this may or may not include trauma.
Therapy looks a little different for everyone, and I take my cues from you. For example, if you are someone who likes to know a lot about how the therapy works then I will pick up on this and adjust my style to share more information as we work (psychoeducation). If you are struggling to regulate we spend more time working on that because we don't want to bypass what your system is doing to feel safe. If you had a difficult childhood where you were raised not to trust yourself we bring that work into focus. Words like "self", "safety" and "trust" might be triggering for you and we will honour that.
At the start of each session I will ask you what you are bringing in with you so that we can hold what is happening now within the context of the larger work we are doing together. Sometimes we are doing the things (parts work, EMDR) and other times we are processing the things (unpacking, talking about it). There are also days you will be arriving with something that just happened or just hit you, and we will pause the other work to look at that.
Your goals are important because I trust your system to know where it needs to go. If you don't trust yourself in the same way that's ok, we will get to that!
I take two primary approaches to working with trauma -- IFS and AF-EMDR, both of which incorporate Somatic work. We may work with one, one then the other, or both at the same time. I have found that starting with IFS can actually be a great way to prepare your system to work with AF-EMDR because when you work with your parts you show your system that you are listening and that you can handle it.
I am a firm believer that a bottom-up approach is required to effectively treat trauma. To be "bottom-up" we begin with learning to notice sensory information within the body such as feelings and body sensations, and we then re-pattern how the nervous system responds to these cues.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I noticed "parts" my first day of my clinical training when I was observing a therapy session. The client was talking about feeling more than one way at the same time, and was feeling overwhelmed by that. Even though they weren’t doing parts work with the therapist I both sensed and felt that the client had parts. I also noticed that I could feel a somatic connection to the client. When my supervisor asked them where they were feeling the emotion I already knew the answer because I could sense where the client was feeling it in my own body. So in this way I began my journey working with parts and the body.
I initially trained in the IFS model with the late Derek Scott (who learned with Dick Schwartz back in the 90s). One of the first things Derek asked us in our training was “What if there was nothing wrong with you, or me, or any of us?" I have never forgotten that. This is actually a really succinct way to express what IFS is.
IFS is a beautiful, non-pathologizing and life-changing approach to working. It's not just a therapeutic style but rather a movement in the world that invites a new way of looking at (and listening to) ourselves. It can create such a lightbulb moment for some (me included) that you want to share it with everyone you meet. I recall Derek cautioning me to "be careful not to evangelize this model out in the world!", and I certainly have some parts that light up just talking about it :)
My assumption with every client is that they know how to heal. We all know how to heal in fact. What holds us back from living peacefully are the conflicts inside, the extreme emotions and the inner critics. Healing can happen when we listen to (and not eradicate) these extreme roles, and when we do so with compassion and curiosity. These parts are present for a reason and often in response to past traumas. When we fight against these responses we are caught in a battle where parts of our system are not seen and heard and we feel stuck or unable to feel whole.
Attachment Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR)
Working with this enhanced form of EMDR has been incredible. I am currently a level 2 AF-EMDR therapist working toward certification under consultation with the Parnell Institute in California. Laurel Parnell is the most experienced living EMDR therapist on the planet, and she has developed her approach since training directly with the creator Francine Shapiro in 1991. This training I am doing spans nearly three years, and during this time I am limiting my practice to clients I have an established therapeutic relationship with.
AF-EMDR can be used to work with severe early attachment trauma, as well as for all who need a therapist to attend to their needs as unique individuals.
The results can be quite powerful with this approach, and I am amazed by the magical ways that my clients with complex trauma can go inside and heal themselves in a deep and lasting way.
Somatic
The body is incredibly wise and entirely under-appreciated. I often tell my clients that the body has the most important job there is -- keeping us safe! But this is a thankless job. We ignore it, we knowingly harm it, we push it to do more than it should, we hate on it for not meeting our idealized standards, and yet we have such high expectations for it to come through for us...and for the most part it does.
The body really looks out for us in spite of us. It is an incredibly wise mechanism that has a ton of information about us if we only pay attention. Cultivating this relationship is one of the most healing things we can do for ourselves.
I don't believe that you can truly work with trauma without working with and honouring the body. Noticing what is happening in the body is a big part of the work I do with both IFS and AF-EMDR.
Credentials
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
Registered Psychotherapist #10854
The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario is the governing body of a health regulatory college in Ontario. The College is established under the Psychotherapy Act, 2007 and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA). To practice psychotherapy in Ontario, one must be a registered psychotherapist.
I adhere to the code of ethics mandated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.
Ontario Society of Registered Psychotherapists (OSRP)
Clinical Member
The OSRP is the professional voice of Registered Psychotherapists in Ontario representing the diverse clinical, economic, social and political interests of all psychotherapists.
Yorkville University, New Brunswick
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, MACP
*trauma focussed clinical practicum
Parnell Institute, California
Certification Track: AF-EMDR I&II trained
IFS Institute, Ilinois
Certification Track: Level 1 trained