HER years of experience in treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and other traumatic responses have made Jamaican-born Dr Joan Samuels-Dennis one of Canada’s top psychotherapists.

Dr Samuels-Dennis has been passionate about providing individuals, organisations and communities impacted by traumatic life and health experiences with advice and a safe space to overcome challenges, reclaim their lives and become their own advocates for change.

“I treat clients experiencing traumatic responses every day. Each of my sessions helps my clients move through important moments that have deeply wounded them and created a pattern of fear-based responses that we would classify as depression, anxiety, PTSD or other mental health difficulties. By the time most individuals turn 40 years of age they will have experienced three events we would deem traumatic in nature,” Dr Samuels-Dennis said. “My clients are no different and depending on their age, by the time they come to see me they have been experiencing their particular traumatic symptoms for anywhere between five and 25 years.”

She continued, “Illnesses like depression, anxiety, or PTSD are really caused by an unresolved emotional response to an event that was deemed traumatic by that individual even if they are not consciously aware of it. A trauma is not so much about an event as it is about our response to that event. A traumatic moment is characterised by fear, overwhelm, panic and the sense that one is being unjustly punished.”

Dr Samuels-Dennis has more than 15 years of experience in her field. She is also the founder of Becoming Inc, a private practice that offers coaching and therapy to individuals and couples who have a big vision that they are trying to fulfil. She also created a psychotherapeutic model called Smashing Mirror which has successfully helped 99 per cent of her clients overcome serious traumatic responses in as little as three sessions.

“There are certainly some clients with chemical imbalances that are inherited from their parents; and there are definitely some clients that have a cognitive deficit that can lead to a mental health diagnosis; but in my practice, my primary focus is on locating the timeline of a specific traumatic encounter that connects to how my clients are feeling right now. I use a process called applied kinesiology (if the client is with me in person) or body memory retrieval (if working from via Zoom and from a distance).

“Once we locate the specific moment in which the trauma occurred and move a client through a conscious forgiveness process, their traumatic response whether that is depression, anxiety or PTSD will immediately resolve itself. So, I guess at the end of the day I would say that the majority of our illnesses whether they are physical, mental, or social are really caused by unforgiveness. The good news is as soon as we treat the unforgiveness the client heals physically and emotionally,” said Dr Samuels-Dennis.

Further, Dr Samuels-Dennis shared how she has been able to assist people experiencing other mental health issues.

“COVID-19 and the social isolation caused by the lockdowns has led to a massive increase in loneliness, despair, and social anxiety. But if we were to ask each of those individuals if they were suffering with those issues before COVID-19, I anticipate that most of them would answer “yes”. I have a very specific therapeutic process that helps my clients to get well and very quickly. The first three sessions are about identifying one to three significant events that have impacted the individual over their lifetime. In the first three sessions my goal is rather simple; it is to move the client through a conscious forgiveness process that helps them understand the gravity of that moment and not so much because of its intensity or severity, but because of the betrayal experienced in that moment,” she disclosed.

Dr Samuels-Dennis continued, “These three sessions will help a client understand the negative thoughts, false beliefs, and body memories that continue to be stored impact their everyday decisions, relationships, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and spiritual connection. The last four sessions places great emphasis on examining 12 core beliefs we all hold about ourselves (that is, I am good/not good, I am valued/not valued, I am safe/unsafe) and examine how each false belief connects to a traumatic moment. Each session raises the individual’s conscious awareness of who they were before the traumatic moment and the specific thoughts or behaviours connected to the traumatic moment that led to a distortion in the core beliefs they hold about themselves, others, the world and even God.”

Dr Samuels-Dennis is the author of a number of books including 490: Forgive and Live Fearlessly, Forgive: Master the Art of Letting Go, and Becoming the Journey to Love. She also hosts a weekly podcast called ‘Hey I’m Listening‘ where she uses her psychotherapeutic skills to bring together voices from the African, Caribbean and black communities.

She has also taught at numerous colleges and universities and is now using her extensive knowledge and experience to develop an 18-month certificate programme for nurses and allied health professionals who desire training as trauma recovery specialists.