Desiree Gagnon

M.Ed

Registered Psychologist

EnglishFrench

Background

Welcome/Bienvenue! I’m so glad you’re here. Losing someone you love, saying goodbye to a beloved pet, the end of a friendship or relationship, or carrying the wounds of trauma, rejection, or abandonment can feel like your heart has been torn open — leaving you raw, numb, or overwhelmed with grief and emptiness. In the midst of that pain, it’s easy to feel invisible, unworthy, or completely alone. But your hurt is real, your feelings matter, and you don’t have to face this darkness by yourself. My passion is creating a safe, supportive space where you can openly share your experiences, emotions, and struggles.

Your therapeutic experience with me

As a bilingual psychologist (English/French), I provide a trauma-informed, compassionate space to explore how your past shapes your present. Together, we look at what has happened to you. I view symptoms like shutting down or being on edge not as flaws, but as your body’s natural attempt to keep you safe. Using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we will: calm the nervous system (learn gentle ways to calm your body and process physical responses to trauma), uncover patterns (slow down to understand the deeper emotions and "missed" feelings that drive your reactions), and heal connections (build secure, healthy relationships with yourself and others).

Areas of expertise

These are the areas I commonly work with, and they form a big part of the support I offer in my practice:

Trauma & PTSD?

Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?

Grief, Loss, And Bereavement?

Attachment?

Inner Child And Attachment Healing?

Childhood Trauma?

Therapeutic approaches

These are the approaches at the heart of my work, and I use them often because they help create meaningful change:

Emotionally Focused Invidividual Therapy (efit)

EFIT focuses on the science of attachment to transform "stuck" patterns. By slowing down and accessing core emotions in a safe space, we move from survival-based reactions to secure self-connection. It shifts us from "what’s wrong with us" to "we can handle my emotions and connect deeply.

Equine-assisted Psychotherapy

Equine therapy uses horses' natural sensitivity to help you regulate your nervous system. By interacting with them, you gain immediate feedback on your emotional state, helping you build trust, set boundaries, and process trauma through felt experience rather than just talk.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

EMDR uses eye movements or bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories. By reducing the emotional charge of past events, it moves "stuck" memories into a healthy perspective, allowing you to heal from trauma without having to speak about it in detail.

Focused populations and cultural backgrounds

These are the communities and cultural backgrounds I focus on, and I bring a sincere commitment to supporting you in a way that feels respectful and genuine: