Lisa Shouldice MA, RP, CCP Psychotherapy Clinic

10/08/2026

The Most Important Thing When Choosing a Therapist Is Not What You Think

10/06/2026

Feeling overwhelmed? Learn practical steps to stop a panic attack and manage symptoms in the moment. Read Lisa Shouldice’s concise guide for evidence-based breathing techniques, grounding exercises, and when to seek professional help. Read more: https://wix.to/micAMZ4

Stop a panic attack treatment and management

10/01/2026

Letting Negativity Go This Fall & Complex Trauma Resources

NEW ON THE BLOG:

09/30/2026

Listen, Learn, Reflect.

09/23/2026

When does PTSD become Complex Trauma (C-PTSD), and does it change how treatment works? In our latest blog, Lisa Shouldice breaks down signs of complex trauma, how it can affect therapy planning, and what to expect from a trauma-specialized approach. Read more: https://wix.to/YJkBwVy

Complex Trauma what is it, treatment, meet the clinic team

09/18/2026

The idea that you need to be in a crisis to start therapy is one worth letting go of.

Gen Z is coming in differently. Not because something catastrophic happened, but because they want an ongoing space to understand their attachments, their relationships, how they show up. That is a completely valid reason to start.

A breakup, a hard season, a general sense that something is not quite right. All of it is enough. There is no threshold you have to cross first.

What made you decide to start therapy, or what is making you hesitate?

09/16/2026

By session four or five, you should feel challenged. Warm and safe, yes. But also pushed. If you do not feel that, do not waste your time.

And when you are choosing who to work with, your gut is doing something smarter than you realize. If you are working through something with your dad, you will likely gravitate toward someone who feels a little like him. Because the brain needs a relational experience similar enough to the original wound to create the conditions for change.

You choose intuitively. That is exactly right.

How did you know your therapist was the right fit?

09/14/2026

Symptom relief comes fairly quickly at the start. Less anxious. Less low. That is one signal.

But the deeper signs take more time. Your relationships start to shift. You bring more of your real feelings into how you connect with people. You start to like yourself more. Self-acceptance grows.

If none of that is moving after consistent time in therapy, the work does not have the depth you need. It might be good. It might be supportive. But you need to go deeper.

Has therapy ever helped you feel better temporarily but not actually changed things?

09/13/2026

The first assessment is longer because it matters.

If you are creative and drawn to visual work, that gets used. If you are imaginative and less verbal, the approach adjusts. If you want to process trauma but do not want to spend every session going back to the past, that gets worked with too.

Trauma therapy is not one-size-fits-all. It is built around who you are, what has worked before, and what has not. The work gets co-created as you go.

What kind of therapy environment has felt most like you?

09/09/2026

When people say triggered, they often mean a strong emotion. But that is not what a trigger actually is.

A trigger is a strong emotion with older material underneath it. Something that connects back to the past. And if your therapist does not know how to work with trauma, they will help you work through the feeling. But the old stuff, the trauma underneath, stays untouched.

That is the biggest difference between a session that helps and a session that actually changes something.

Has a therapist ever helped you feel better in the moment but the same patterns kept coming back?