A Leader in Providing Trauma Therapy for Over 15 Years!
Our founder, Lori Gill, has been a leader in providing trauma-specialized therapy for over 15 years and is an internationally sought after trainer providing training to therapists, agencies and communities to become trauma-informed or to provide trauma-specialized therapy.
Lori has provided over 200 trainings on the topic of trauma over the past 15 years for agencies seeking to become trauma-informed or learn to provide trauma-specific treatment. She is honoured to have been an invited conference presenter and keynote speaker for several high-level events for organizations such as Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), American Psychological Association (APA), National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP), the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW), the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals (OAMHP), The Ontario Community and Justice Association, National Institute forTrauma and Loss in Children (TLC), Child and Youth Care World Conference, Canadian Critical Incident and Stress Foundation (CCISF), Ontario Association of Residences Treating Youth (OARTY); Autism Ontario; Association of Psychologists in Newfoundland Labrador (APNL); Newfoundland & Labrador Counsellors’ & Psychologists’ Association, Department of Health and Social Services, Government of the Northwest Territories, Northern Intertribal Health Authority Saskatoon; Alberta Health Services; Horizon Health Network; Vitalité Health Network; Family Services of Greater Vancouver etc. She also regularly offers customs trainings. You can learn more about the custom trainings offered here.
We specialize in the treatment of trauma, PTSD, attachment dysregulation, grief and loss, attachment-informed parenting, wellness, and the prevention of compassion fatigue. Our primary approach to treatment is ATTCH's Integrative Trauma and Attachment Model (ITATM)®. ITATM is a layered / integrative model that incorporates multiple modalities and layers to regulate the body, brain and mind simultaneously. This model provides a safe structured way to work through trauma by de-potentiating the fear looping process, regulating the nervous system, and promoting integration in a manner that seems to consolidate the memory in proper space and time. It is a rich integrative approach with components of sensory processing, somatic therapy, resource installation, bilateral stimulation, sensory regulation work and cognitive reframing.
ITATM is not a talk therapy model. Research has helped us to understand that trauma and negative states decrease integration in the brain, body and nervous system whereas positive states increase integration. Brain images have demonstrated that when recalling trauma right hemisphere (centrally involved in our senses emotional felt state and embodied awareness) where as left hemisphere (centrally involved in reflection, meaning making, and also where are speech centres are) demonstrates little to no activity. This is part of why we often can't talk about what happened.
This model is specifically designed to help people work through their trauma experiences in a safe, structured way. Therapists are trained to focus on presenting trauma experiences, while also treating the underlying experiences that may be amplifying present day experiences. All of our therapists are intensively trained in working with complex trauma and are highly skilled at using the Integrative Trauma and Attachment Treatment Model (ITATM) ®
Our Primary focus is on helping those we work with obtain a sense of safety through holistic wellness for health:
Helping clients shift from chaos to calm
Evidence-based and best practice approaches
Mind-body connection
Treating trauma at a sensory and cognitive level
Our treatment approaches offer creative approaches to treatment of stress, mental health and trauma and attachment dysregulation including use of sand, art, play, story telling, guided imagery, and therapeutic games. We also offer an eclectic approach to counselling using our Integrative Trauma and Attachment Treatment Model (ITATM) ®. ITATM is an embodied model that uses an integrative and neurosequential approach for the reprocessing and reappraisal of the central details of trauma memories. It is a rich integrative approach with components of sensory processing, somatic therapy, art, visualization, resourcing and reframing in an integrative and structured manner to regulate the body, brain and mind simultaneously. Therapists around the world are learning the efficacy and power of this treatment model - and one of the best features for clients is that they DON’T NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED! We have actively been using this model at our 2 treatment centres (@ATTCH Niagara and @Lori_Gill_Psychotherapy) with great efficacy for treating complex trauma. It is a highly effective and accelerated treatment model for treating the underlying issues causing the pain, addiction, suicide ideation, high risk behaviour etc. Using the Integrative Trauma and Attachment Treatment Model (ITATM)® we observe statistically and clinically significant reductions in suicide ideation, tension reduction behaviours (self-harm, addictions, high risk behaviours), anger, depression, anxiety, and dissociation are observed with the use of our treatment approach. These are areas that often impact daily life skills, education, employment, the ability to remain regulated, maintaining safe housing, utilization of high risk and crisis services, etc.
Results from the program evaluation of ITATM used in the treatment of complex trauma by ATTCH Niagara completed by Victoria Dobson and Dr. Paul Frewen, Western University Hospital demonstrated clinically and statistically significant changes in these areas, often with observable reductions occurring in as few as 5-6 sessions! This is not to say everyone is fully recovered at the completion of treatment as we are working with complex trauma and as such there are no easy solutions. However these are outcomes that are very realistic of a complex trauma population and demonstrate that there is benefit to the treatment being offered.
Average reductions at the time of review in high risk areas were as follows: Depression 9.61 reduction Suicidality 10.20 reduction Anger 9.98 reduction Dissociation 8.71 reduction
These are areas that often impact daily life skills, the ability to remain regulated, maintain safe housing, utilization of high risk and crisis services etc. As such any reductions in these areas demonstrates a positive shift towards a more emotionally regulated state.
We also utilize Structured Sensory Interventions, somatic therapies, Theraplay ® Techniques, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and Attachment Focused EMDR, the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) also referred to as the 'Tapping Solution,' Solution Focused, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Rational-Emotive Therapy, and Psychodynamic approaches based on the unique needs of each client. Approaches focus on increasing integration between the right and left hemispheres to help individuals learn to embody their emotions in a way that is safe and manageable allowing for self-reflection and a greater sense of agency.