
Penelope (Penny) Waller Ulmer
She/HerMACP, BA
Registered Psychologist

Welcome. Reaching out is a courageous act. Know this space is held with care. I support individuals navigating life challenges, anxiety, and trauma, as well as perinatal mental health, and the emotional complexities of caregiving (PLwD). My approach is relational, somatic, and grounded - honouring the whole person and the body’s wisdom in healing. Whether it’s a first step or a return to yourself, I invite you to connect to explore how we might work well together.
Background
I began my career at the Lois Hole Hospital focused on perinatal mental health, birth trauma, and fertility and infant loss. I continued in public health at a Primary Care Network offering individual and group therapy for adults navigating anxiety, trauma/complex-trauma, mood concerns, and life transitions, while opening Waller Psychology and continuing in my value for professional growth. My approach is relational and grounded, integrating somatic therapy, attachment theory, cognitive and psychodynamic theory, and neuroscience to support meaningful change. Let’s explore how we can work together to transform what feels self-limiting into something more adaptive, congruent, and empowered.
Your therapeutic experience with me
Sessions are collaborative and paced with care. We work with both narrative and the body’s implicit story,tracking sensation and emotion, posture, breath, or movement to uncover patterns shaped by past experience. We might use experiments, mindful movement, parts work, or voice to support mindfulness, processing, and integration. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy invites shifts that may be subtle or profound,a softening in the shoulders, a new boundary, or the discarding of a deeply held belief in favour of an emerging, embodied sense of presence and capacity. Transformation is reinforced through savouring - embedding coherence. It looks like talk therapy but feels very different.
Areas of expertise
These represent my core areas of expertise, backed by specialized training and extensive clinical experience.

Complex Trauma

Perinatal Mental Health

Anxiety & Worry

Self Esteen & Self-worth

Caregiver Stress (caregivers Of Plwd)

Career & Life Transitions
I also provide skilled support in these additional areas and welcome clients seeking help with these concerns.

Assertiveness & Boundaries

Anger Management

Attachment

Childhood Trauma

Communication

Coping Skills

Grief Over Health Losses

Interpersonal Relationships

Passive-aggressive Behaviours

Personal Growth

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Trauma Regulation Integration Process (T.R.I.P.)
Therapeutic approaches
These are my primary therapeutic approaches, backed by specialized training and extensive clinical experience.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy/body-centered Approach
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) is a body-based, neurobiological approach that helps clients work with trauma, anxiety, self-esteem, and attachment wounds. It focuses first on somatic stabilization by supporting awareness and regulation of physical sensations, impulses, or emotions linked to trauma or developmental wounds. SP tracks the nervous system in real time, helping clients process not only what happened but also what didn’t get to happen, such as suppressed emotions or interrupted boundaries. This creates space for agency, safety, and new experiences. SP identifies adaptive strategies once used to survive, connect, or disconnect, which may now limit vitality or relationship. Rooted in respect for internal pacing, SP integrates body awareness, emotional presence, and relational safety to support lasting change.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a brief, structured, evidence-based approach that helps clients process distressing images, memories, and sensations that continue to affect emotional and mental well-being. Traumatic experiences are often stored as visual fragments that trigger the nervous system, even without full memory recall, leading to anxiety, mood issues, and negative beliefs about safety, trust, or self. ART uses image recall, bilateral eye movements, and therapist-guided rescripting to lower emotional arousal and help the brain reconsolidate memories with less intensity. As distress fades, clients generate new imagery that reflects strength or resolution, changing how the experience is held in the body without erasing it. ART is especially helpful for clients stuck in visual loops or unresolved emotional patterns.

Client-centered / Rogerian Therapy
Client-Centered Therapy, or Rogerian therapy, is a humanistic approach developed by Carl Rogers that emphasizes a person’s innate capacity for healing and growth when supported in a safe, accepting relationship. The therapist offers unconditional positive regard, empathy, and authenticity to foster a space where clients feel seen, heard, and valued without judgment. Rather than directing, the therapist follows the client’s process, allowing for a deeper connection to emotions, values, and inner conflict. As self-understanding grows, clients often gain clarity, confidence, and the ability to set boundaries that reflect their true self. This approach is especially helpful for those with relational trauma, chronic self-doubt, or a history of feeling dismissed or unheard.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps clients recognize and shift unhelpful thinking patterns that contribute to emotional distress. By identifying cognitive distortions, such as negative, rigid, or self-critical thoughts, clients can develop more balanced and flexible ways of thinking, reducing reactivity and strengthening a sense of agency. Third-wave CBT approaches expand on this foundation. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) promotes psychological flexibility by helping clients relate differently to difficult thoughts, emphasizing values-based action and present-moment awareness. Schema Therapy addresses deep-rooted beliefs formed in early relationships, allowing clients to understand how past patterns shape their current sense of self. Together, these methods offer practical tools for symptom relief and deeper support for emotional healing, meaning-making, and self-understanding.
I also incorporate these evidence-based approaches when clinically appropriate:

Attachment Lens

Mindfulness-based Therapy

EMDR

Acceptance Commitment Therapy

Polyvagal-informed Therapy

Psychodynamic Therapy

Somatic Therapy
Client communities & cultural expertise
These are the client communities and cultural backgrounds I have specialized experience supporting.
Client populations I serve

Adults

Young Adults

Older Adults

Seniors
Cultural expertise

First And Second Generation Immigrants

Indigenous Community
Professional credentials

Registered Psychologist
- No.5090
College of Alberta Psychologists
Educational background

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology
Yorkville University, Canada

Bachelor of Arts
Focus: Psychology
Concordia University, Canada
Specialized training
SPI Approved Consultant Program
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Advanced: Complex Trauma / Dissociation
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Level 3: SP Certification Training
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Level 2: Emotional, Meaning, Attachment
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Level 1: Affect Dysregulation, Survival
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Foundational T.R.I.P.
Relationshipworx - Monique Hoving
Accelerated Resolution Therapy - Basic
IS - ART
EMDR - Foundational
EMDRIA
Practice locations & services
FAQ
Did you know?

This our late, great, office-companion, Ruby - our once toothless, eyeless, smart and sassy shih-tzu cross.

Such an lovely environment in which to practice embodiment. SP training was offered on the UBC campus over the 6 years in which I trained.

Nature as personal and professional self-care. This year, we stayed home and are sending support to the 2025 Saskatchewan Wildfires Appeal.

My Mom on her 84th Hallowe'en. Our relationship inspired my development of a caregiver-stress course for professionals.

My brother decorated the therapy room with his art & I love his work in the space where we meet. (A few may recognize this piece from an album)
Blog
I created the following content. Feel free to read and share it.