Acknowledgment
We honour the voices of Indigenous people telling us that they are – and have been – victims of racism in Canadian institutions, including the healthcare system.
We at the Trauma-focused Therapy program acknowledge the truth of past and present traumas perpetrated against Indigenous peoples in Canada and are committed to moving forward holding these truths in our hearts and minds.
We are committed to listening and hearing the truth, taking responsibility for our role in systems of oppression and working to heal the impact of trauma.
"Since you had all the resources within you to survive, you have all the resources within you to heal."
— Janina Fisher
Trauma-Focused Therapy Program
Founded in 2019, the first program of its kind in Quebec, the Trauma-Focused Therapy Program is a specialized psychotherapy program to help people overcome the impacts of childhood and adult trauma.
Through group and individual therapy, the program aims to enhance resilience and promote recovery from post-traumatic stress response (PTSR) and complex post-traumatic stress response, in order to allow people to reconnect with themselves and their communities.
Our program is grounded in principles of trauma and violence-informed care, namely safety, collaboration, choice, empowerment and trustworthiness. In the spirit of collaboration, our program is client-centered and strengths-based. We are committed to creating a space free from violence and discrimination in which everyone is welcomed without judgment. We operate from a feminist anti-oppressive approach, understanding that personal experiences of trauma are layered in structural intersectionalities and social inequalities.
The program is designed according to a stage-based approach to healing from trauma as described by Judith Herman. We offer confidential, time limited and primarily group-based therapy, which is offered for free between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. We do not provide ongoing psychiatric follow-up, crisis services or long-term therapy.
Specialized Branches of the TFT Program
- Perinatal Branch: Provides priority individual trauma processing to pregnant individuals to mitigate intergenerational trauma and the impact of post-traumatic stress. By Internal Referral Only.
- Indigenous Branch: Provides accessible individual trauma processing therapy to Indigenous clients within a framework that strives to be culturally safer. By Family Physician referral.
Objectives
- Promote recovery from PTSR and complex PTSR symptoms
- Enhance resilience and post-traumatic growth
- Develop skills needed to manage PTSR symptoms
- Effectively process traumatic memories
- Improve interpersonal relationships
- Foster reconnection with self and within the community
Therapeutic Approaches
The program combines a variety of approaches, most of which are delivered in the group format, and some reserved for individual therapy.
- Psychoeducation
- Relational Therapy
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
- Mindfulness
- DBT-based Therapy
- Narrative Exposure Therapy
- Art Therapy
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
- Mentalization-Base Therapy
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Internal Family Systems
- Partner and Family Approaches
- Sexual Healing
The Team
- Psychiatrist: Zoë Thomas, MD FRCPC
- Psychologists: Kate Drury, PhD, Gaëlle Cyr, PhD, Serena Mennitto, PhD
- Social Worker: Megann Ayotte, MSW
- Multidisciplinary interns
Referral process
*** Please note: due to high volumes of referrals and limited clinical resources, we unfortunately are no longer accepting referrals from family physicians or physicians outside of the Department of Psychiatry of the Jewish General Hospital until further notice. We are actively seeking to expand our service offer as soon as possible. We apologize for this inconvenience. ***
Patients will require a physician’s referral to begin assessment for the program. Referring physicians can complete the referral form and an ACE questionnaire with the patient. As this program only provides specialized time-limited therapy, referring physicians will need to ensure ongoing follow-up with the patient.
In order to access the program, patients will need to attend an orientation session. If they do not attend this orientation, they will be removed from the waiting list, and will need to be re-referred.
Research and Clinical Internships
Clinical
At this time we are only accepting students from graduate programs in psychology and residency programs in psychiatry.
Research
We are accepting applications from students currently enrolled in a graduate program.
Trauma Fundamentals Training
The team offers 1-2 day trainings on trauma and violence-informed care and key therapeutic interventions for complex trauma. The training can be adapted to assisting clinicians establish a psychoeducation and skills-based trauma therapy group within their clinical services, with additional supervision provided. For more information, contact us at: 
tft.ccomtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.
Location and Contact
Jewish General Hospital
3755 Côte Sainte-Catherine Road
Pavilion B, 6th floor
Montreal, QC
Email: tft.ccomtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
Fax (internal): 28290
Fax (external): 514-340-8290
Telephone: 514-340-8222, ext. 25633
| Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria |
|---|---|
|
|
Documents
TFT Pamphlet- ACE Questionnaire
- Trauma Focused Therapy Info Sheet Clinicians 2024
- Trauma Focused Therapy Referral Sheet External Partners
This program welcomes participants of all racial and cultural identities, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and religious backgrounds.
An initiative of the Doggone and JGH Foundations