My story

I’m always healing

When I think back to my childhood, what I remember most is the anger. I grew up in an angry home, with an angry father whose hair-trigger temper controlled the rest of the household. We all walked on eggshells to avoid setting him off. I learned early on how to manage his moods, shoving my own needs and emotions aside to make room for his.

I’m not even sure where my story begins, because the complex trauma I grew up with was my normal. I can’t narrow my life down to one moment that changed the way I saw myself—there were thousands of them. Thousands of moments, thousands of pinpricks, and a background pain so constant, dependable, and normal that I didn’t even think to acknowledge it.

I didn’t know I was traumatized

Those pinpricks continued to take pieces of me over the years, replacing them with the belief that I was the problem. I learned to stop trusting my feelings. I stopped listening to my intuition. And I spent the next 20 years in a state of dissociation so extreme, I could hardly even feel my own body.

During that time, I struggled with severe depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and complex PTSD. I had no idea how to set boundaries. I gave everyone else my time and energy and saved none for myself, partly because I didn’t know how to say no. But also because so long as I was busy, I was okay. So long as I was busy, I didn’t have to feel those pinpricks and sit with the emotions they brought up.

That worked for me. Until it didn’t

I reached a breaking point in my early thirties, when my depression and burnout became so heavy that I could barely get out of bed. My body was saying what my mind couldn’t: no. No, I cannot keep going like this. No, I will not keep pretending that everything is okay.

I knew I needed time, space, and support in order to have any hope for my future. So I took a step away from my job and the other obligations that were pulling me in every direction and stepped onto a path of healing. That meant setting up appointments with a trauma-informed therapist, working with a trauma recovery coach, and unlearning the harmful patterns and beliefs I’d been holding on to since childhood. Those coping mechanisms were necessary to survive my childhood, but they were actively harming me in adulthood. I’ve spent years unlearning those habits, and I know it will be an area of growth for the rest of my life.

Becoming a trauma recovery coach has been a long time coming for me. I’ve navigated a very frustrating mental health system, and I know firsthand just how many policies, procedures, and people are re-traumatizing survivors rather than helping them heal.

I want to do better

I believe that trauma is the root cause of most mental health issues and unwanted coping mechanisms. I believe that pathologizing someone’s behaviour just leads to more shame and stigma for trauma survivors.

I believe that trauma is intergenerational and intersectional. And I believe that we need to dismantle the systems that propagate it in the first place—the same systems that say trauma-informed mental health care is a privilege and not a human right.

I believe that you matter. Your story matters. You deserve to be heard, and you deserve to heal in a safe, non-judgmental space.

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My values

Our work together is client-led, which means I’ll follow your lead instead of trying to take it myself.

My role is to act as a guide, providing you with knowledge, support, and validation as we navigate your trauma recovery together. Once we have a relationship established, I’ll offer my own insights and suggestions, but only with your permission. I won’t tell you what to do, and I’ll never try to diagnose you.

I follow a strict code of ethics and guiding principles.

I follow a strict code of ethics and guiding principles as set out by the International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching (IAOTRC), but I’ll be the first to admit that I can still make mistakes. I may say or do the wrong thing, or I may make a suggestion that doesn’t align with who you are. Ruptures in every relationship happen, but I’m committed to the repair. Please tell me if I misstep and I’ll do everything I can to correct my mistake and get us back on track.

Who I show up as is the real me, no masks or pretensions.

I come to our sessions as my core Self. Who I show up as is the real me, no masks or pretensions. I’ll never waste your time by coming to our sessions as anything other than the real me, and I take care of myself outside of our sessions to ensure I can do that without burning out.

We exist within relationships, not just as individuals.

We exist within relationships, not just as individuals, and I look at trauma through the systems that affect us all, including institutionalized racism, sexism, classism, colonialism, transphobia, and homophobia. We’re all part of a whole, and that whole must be considered when we’re trying to address and heal from trauma.

I see my own therapist and coach, and I make sure to prioritize my mental health.

I am committed to my own work. I see my own therapist and coach, and I make sure to prioritize my mental health. I’m also continually learning about my field, whether through courses, workshops, books, articles, podcasts, or documentaries. I always strive to be a better, more informed coach than I was yesterday.

Sheena Moore, Trauma Recovery Coach

Where you can find me

I’m located in Edmonton, Alberta, known as ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (amiskwacîwâskahikan) in the Cree language. I live and work on Treaty 6 Territory and Métis Nation of Alberta Region 4. This is the traditional territory of the Nehiyawak (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Nakota Sioux (Stoney), Denesuliné (Dene), Inux (Inuit), Tsuut’ina, Métis, Anishinaabe/Ojibway/Saulteaux, and many other Indigenous Peoples who continue to give their strength and vibrancy to this land.

Virtually, I’m on Instagram @SheenaTalksTrauma. Follow me for posts about recognizing abuse, healing from trauma, and dismantling the patriarchy.

Sheena sitting in front of her computer and smiling

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