Sondra Budd Counselling Services

11/09/2025

Healing your relationship with food, your body, and your past is possible. Whether you’re struggling with the weight of trauma, disordered eating, or body image pain, you don’t have to face it alone. Lauren offers a compassionate, trauma-informed space to help you reconnect with your body, release shame, and rediscover safety within yourself. Healing isn’t about control; it’s about coming home to who you are. Reach out today to begin your journey toward healing and self-acceptance.

📩 info@sondrabudd.ca
📞 519-631-3290
🌐 www.sondrabudd.ca

“In the space between who you are and who you’re becoming, we uncover your story, your strength, and your next step toward lasting change.”

11/09/2025

Lest we forget…♥️
🌹 ❤️ 🇨🇦 🌹🇬🇧

11/08/2025

PACT promotes secure functioning in relationships.

10/27/2025

When society moves the goal post...read on.

Generational Culture: The Missing Piece When Society Moves the Goalpost

10/20/2025

Exciting news!

Roger Chapman has joined our team 😁

Roger is a student therapist, completing his internship at Sondra Budd Counselling Services.

Check out his bio to learn more…

Explore our counselling therapy services tailored to meet your needs. Our experienced therapists offer various other psychotherapeutic interventions to help you on your journey to healing.

10/17/2025

What does it really mean to be trauma-informed?
It’s more than a buzzword. It’s about understanding how the body, brain, and nervous system hold experiences that words alone can’t express.

A trauma-informed therapist recognises that symptoms like anxiety, depression, or disconnection are not “problems to fix”, they’re adaptive responses to overwhelming experiences.

When therapy honours safety, choice, and trust, the nervous system can begin to heal.
That’s where real change happens, not by reliving the past, but by learning to feel safe in the present.

Read the full article: https://sondrabudd.ca/blog-articles/f/what-is-trauma-informed-therapy

10/16/2025

Exciting News!
Lauren, our therapist who specialises in intuitive eating, body image, and adolescent support, is now accepting new clients!

Whether you or your child are struggling with food relationships, self-esteem, or navigating the challenges of growing up, Lauren offers a compassionate, evidence-based approach to help you reconnect with your body and emotions in a healthy way.

Sessions are available in-person and online.
📞 Call 519-631-3290
🌐 www.sondrabudd.ca
📧 info@sondrabudd.ca

Let’s work together toward healing, confidence, and connection.

Lauren Krause, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), St Thomas, ON, N5R, (548) 290-8518, Do you find yourself trapped in cycles of overthinking, self-doubt, or pressure, or struggling with anxiety, disordered eating, or major life transitions? I provide a safe, compassionate space to explore your...

10/15/2025

We’re not born with emotions, we build them.

From the moment we’re born, our brains are equipped with instinct, not emotion. Emotion develops through experience, through what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. It’s shaped by how others respond to us, by the safety (or lack of it) we sense in our environment, and by the meaning our brain learns to assign to sensation.

This understanding changes how we view emotional health, trauma, and healing. If emotions are constructed through experience, they can also be reconstructed through new ones, with safety, attunement, and connection.

I explore this fascinating process in my latest blog article:
👉 https://sondrabudd.ca/blog-articles/f/we-are-not-born-with-emotions-we-are-born-with-instinct-h

We Are Not Born With Emotions; We Are Born With Instinct: How Our Senses Shape Our Emotional World

10/12/2025

When Healing Outgrows the Relationship

In trauma recovery, co-regulation plays a vital role, yet the same mechanisms that draw us toward emotional safety can also keep us connected to relationships that no longer align with our growth.

My latest article, When Healing Outgrows the Relationship: Why We Sometimes Evolve Beyond the Partner Who Once Rescued Us, explores what happens when the nervous system changes through healing, and the relationship that once regulated us begins to feel restrictive.

This piece follows my previous two articles:
1️⃣ Recovering from Emotional Pain: Why Isolation Isn’t Healing
2️⃣ The Risk of Romance During Emotional Recovery: How Vulnerability Can Lead Us Astray

Together, they trace how emotional pain, co-regulation, and neuroplasticity shape the way we connect, and why evolving beyond certain bonds is often a sign that healing is working, not failing.

In trauma recovery, co-regulation plays a vital role, yet the same mechanisms that draw us toward emotional safety can also keep us connected to relationships that no longer align with our growth.

My latest article, When Healing Outgrows the Relationship: Why We Sometimes Evolve Beyond the Partner Who Once Rescued Us, explores what happens when the nervous system changes through healing, and the relationship that once regulated us begins to feel restrictive.

This piece follows my previous two articles:
1️⃣ Recovering from Emotional Pain: Why Isolation Isn’t Healing
2️⃣ The Risk of Romance During Emotional Recovery: How Vulnerability Can Lead Us Astray

Together, they trace how emotional pain, co-regulation, and neuroplasticity shape the way we connect, and why evolving beyond certain bonds is often a sign that healing is working, not failing.

🔗 https://sondrabudd.ca/blog-articles/f/when-healing-outgrows-the-relationship-why-we-sometimes-evolve

10/12/2025

Feeling lonely or disconnected? Searching for love after a long period of being single can feel urgent, but did you know that our brains and bodies can trick us into settling for relationships that aren’t safe?
When we’re emotionally vulnerable, the nervous system craves connection, and that drive can make it easier to be drawn into controlling or manipulative relationships without even noticing the red flags.
In my latest article, I explore:
📌 Why loneliness and low self-worth increase relational risk
📌 How our nervous system responds to romantic attention
📌 Why healing first, through safe, non-romantic connection, is so important
📌 Practical steps to rebuild stability before seeking intimacy
Learning to co-regulate safely before entering a new relationship protects your emotional well-being and helps you choose a partner who truly matches your restored sense of self.
Read the full article here 👉

https://sondrabudd.ca/blog-articles/f/romantic-rescue-when-loneliness-leads-to-love

10/12/2025

Healing Isn’t Meant to Happen Alone
When we’re in emotional pain, our instinct may be to retreat and isolate, but science tells us that recovery happens fastest through connection. Humans are wired for co-regulation: the calming exchange that happens when we feel safe, seen, and supported by another person.
Here are 5 gentle ways to start shifting from isolation to connection 👇
1️⃣ Start small: Tell one trusted person, “I’ve been struggling… could you sit with me for 10-15 minutes?” Ask them to simply listen, not fix.
2️⃣ Use bodily cues: Try breathing together (three slow breaths), name how your body feels, and notice your rhythm sync.
3️⃣ Set boundaries: Let others know what you need: comfort, space, distraction, or conversation. Clear requests reduce misunderstandings.
4️⃣ Use relational regulation tools: Reflective listening (“It sounds like…”), validating words, and gentle touch (if safe and wanted).
5️⃣ If you have no safe person: Seek therapy, support groups, or community spaces where connection is predictable, safe, and attuned.
Why this matters:
· For children, co-regulation from parents teaches their nervous systems safety and emotional balance.
· For couples, it deepens trust and helps partners respond rather than react.
· For teens and friends, it builds emotional literacy and belonging during years when isolation can easily take hold.
Healing is biological, and relational. When we learn to reach out safely, we literally teach our nervous systems that we are not alone.
👉 Read the full article: https://sondrabudd.ca/blog-articles/f/recovering-from-emotional-pain-why-co-regulation-heals-better-th
(Available now on www.sondrabudd.ca)

10/08/2025

Curious about your relationship with food, or disordered eating? Having unhealthy or unhelpful body image issues? Therapy can help! Give us a call 📞

Understanding Eating Disorders: What You Need to Know