Penelope Waller Ulmer, Registered Psychologist (AB) | Stellocare
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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.

Expertise area 1

Complex Trauma

Expertise area 2

Perinatal Mental Health

Expertise area 3

Anxiety & Worry

Expertise area 4

Self Esteen & Self-worth

Expertise area 5

Caregiver Stress (caregivers Of Plwd)

Expertise area 6

Career & Life Transitions

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

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Assertiveness & Boundaries

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Anger Management

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Attachment

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Childhood Trauma

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Communication

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Coping Skills

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Grief Over Health Losses

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Interpersonal Relationships

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Passive-aggressive Behaviours

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Personal Growth

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Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

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Accelerated Resolution Therapy

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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

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Trauma Regulation Integration Process (T.R.I.P.)

Therapeutic approaches

These are my primary therapeutic approaches, backed by specialized training and extensive clinical experience.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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Attachment Lens

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Mindfulness-based Therapy

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EMDR

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Acceptance Commitment Therapy

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Polyvagal-informed Therapy

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Psychodynamic Therapy

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Somatic Therapy

Client communities & cultural expertise

These are the client communities and cultural backgrounds I have specialized experience supporting.

Client populations I serve

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Adults

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Young Adults

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Older Adults

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Seniors

Cultural expertise

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First And Second Generation Immigrants

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Indigenous Community

Professional credentials

Alberta regulatory jurisdiction flag

Registered Psychologist
- No.5090

College of Alberta Psychologists

Educational background

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Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology

Yorkville University, Canada

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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

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FAQ

Did you know?

Did you know fact 1

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

Did you know fact 2

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.

Did you know fact 3

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

Did you know fact 4

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

Did you know fact 5

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)