Claire Cummings, Psychotherapist, Registered Social Worker

As a psychotherapist and registered social worker in Calgary, I offer trauma-informed therapy for adults navigating anxiety, burnout, complex family dynamics, and spiritual or religious trauma. Many of the people I work with are high-functioning caregivers, adult children of emotionally immature parents, or women in midlife who feel responsible for everyone else, while quietly carrying their own overwhelm. My approach integrates internal family systems (IFS), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), trauma-sensitive mindfulness, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Rather than focusing only on symptom reduction, we work to understand the protective strategies that once kept you safe, but may now be keeping you stuck. Together, we explore patterns such as people-pleasing, perfectionism, hyper-independence, and emotional over-responsibility, with curiosity instead of judgment. I view anxiety, depression, and relational distress not as personal failures, but as adaptive responses to childhood. Therapy becomes a space to build self-trust, strengthen boundaries, process unresolved trauma, and develop greater emotional clarity. We attend to both thinking and embodied experience, recognizing that healing happens not just cognitively, but through the nervous system. Clients often tell me they feel deeply seen and understood in our work. My style is collaborative, steady, and attuned. I do not position myself as the expert on your life; instead, I help you reconnect with your own internal wisdom, so you can move forward with greater confidence and alignment. I offer in-person therapy in Calgary and secure virtual therapy across Alberta and Ontario.

My in-person therapy space is located in downtown Calgary, and is accessible by transit. It is located within the Riverwest Therapy Collective, in Suite 840. The building is wheelchair accessible. I also offer workshops on Coercive Control and Religious Trauma.

Many of the people who seek my support are thoughtful, capable adults who have spent years caring for others while quietly carrying their own stress. I work with clients who are navigating anxiety, burnout, and relationship patterns that leave them feeling depleted or unsure of themselves. I have particular experience helping people who grew up in environments where emotional needs were not fully recognized or supported. This can show up later as people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, chronic overthinking, or a feeling of being responsible for everyone else?s wellbeing. I also work with individuals healing from spiritual trauma or high-control religious environments. Many clients come to therapy trying to untangle beliefs about responsibility, guilt, and worth that developed in those systems. Together we create space to examine those experiences and rebuild a sense of trust in one?s own thoughts, feelings, and values. In addition, I support caregivers and professionals experiencing burnout, adults navigating complex relationships with parents or family members, and people who feel caught between independence and the desire for connection in their relationships. My approach integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy and trauma-informed mindfulness. These approaches help clients develop greater awareness of their internal experience, relate differently to difficult thoughts and emotions, and move toward a life that reflects their values rather than old survival patterns.