ART healing therapy with Angela Larmer

All the roots are about the people, places, and events that make us proud to call our community our home.

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With more than 25 years of experience as a Registered Nurse, Angela Larmer has dedicated her career to helping individuals and families navigate health and wellness.

Her commitment to psychotherapy stems from her experience as a registered nurse, “I saw a disconnect between patients and their true selves. The medical system often lacked time and support to solve problems “As a nurse, I wanted to provide more holistic care, which led me to psychotherapy.”

She recounted her journey, “I sought out a psychiatrist at a difficult time in my life and felt incredibly supported. This prompted me to pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology. I realized that understanding and dealing with the emotional and mental aspects of health are important for overall health.”

Larmer, who runs her own practice at Therapy Heart The Rooted in North Bay, describes herself as a person-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive psychologist. Larmer says he uses a technique called Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) to help his clients. He is the first ART training doctor in northern Ontario and has just completed his advanced ART training with Colleen Clark of Calgary which will allow him to further his skills in this increasingly important field. his desires.

He says, “ART is a form of psychotherapy designed to deal with traumatic thoughts for a few moments. It reduces the symptoms associated with depression, trauma and traumatic events by changing the way images are processed. rather they affect daily life with it.”

Explaining ART, Larmer added, “ART uses bilateral stimulation, similar to REM sleep, to deal with stressful thoughts. It helps clients replace negative images with positive ones. Clients often ask if they need art for ART, but it’s not about art itself. It’s about eye movements and body sensations. Bilateral stimulation can help reduce negative symptoms , images and emotions, and can help the body shift from fight-or-flight to a rest-and-digest mode, reducing anxiety, PTSD and other stress-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. social anxiety. This process can also make a person feel comfortable and connected to you.”

Larmer shared that clients often find great solutions within one to five sessions. “Consumers lose emotional connection with traumatic memories, although they retain the original memory. One of the clients said, ‘I have been in treatment for five years, and in just a few sessions of ART, I felt a resolution that I had never imagined.’

Speaking about the therapeutic process, Larmer said, “ART involves bringing the thought to the fore and working on it with eye movements and body sensations. This helps clients free themselves from negative emotional influences.’ Bodies hold on to trauma, and by dealing with these emotions, we can help heal.”

“Even though he’s a practicing psychiatrist, he’s dealing with a lot of the same barriers that a lot of people have when it comes to social relationships,” Larmer said. it shines, but my insecurities and my connection to myself play out every day.”

Larmer added: “It’s important to know about social anxiety. Knowing what the triggers are allows us to act on it. It’s about recognizing symptoms, like sweaty hands or a racing heart. , and understanding that these are symptoms of a sympathetic response. This awareness helps us to manage these situations better. What happens to us in a way is that there is something going on in our time, something One of the past brought us to the present. There is something embedded in it. And if you take the time to explore that, which can be difficult to do, you should. try not to judge it, but just pay attention.”

Larmer emphasized the importance of understanding these coping mechanisms, saying, “It’s a matter of learning what motivates us and examining its origins. Often, our coping mechanisms are adaptations we make to survive difficult situations. By understanding these, we can begin to transform into our true selves. ”

Larmer also noted the influence of family teachings, “Sometimes our parents taught us what they knew. It is learning who we are without coping mechanisms. We carry beliefs from childhood that affect our responses to our environment. ART and CI therapy can help change these beliefs to allow clients to find their true self. ”

“For example, when I was young, I used to sing all the time, but my parents or my siblings would tell me to stop singing – because it would be boring to hear a young child he sang aloud as he continued. But the way I explained it was ‘I’m a bad singer.’ When we’re young the left and right brains don’t really communicate until after the age of 12. So, we don’t really understand in some ways because, we think it’s about us, but and if something goes wrong, we understand. think there is something wrong with us,” explained Larmer.

“So, we carry like for example, I’m in high school and I’m like, I’m not trying to sing even though I like to sing but what I believe, it’s one of those groups.”

Larmer says that it is a small sample and there are people who have very great suffering such as the death of loved ones, or people who are first responders who have pictures that they will not see.

“The biggest concerns that are stuck in our minds, that’s what I try to help clients with ART,” says Larmer.

Beyond ART, Larmer also studies the Question of Compassion with Dr. Gabor Maté, a popular Canadian speaker, and best-selling author, whose expertise focuses on a wide range of topics including addiction, depression, and early childhood development. “Empathetic inquiry is about getting to the root of issues and allowing stored, unexpressed emotions to surface. It’s about understanding the body’s responses and the emotions associated with them,” says Larmer.

Larmer’s method is designed for each customer, “We follow the customer where he is. If they need a solution, we focus on it. Whether it’s trauma-informed CBT or solution-focused therapy, the goal is to meet the client’s needs.

His ability to connect with people goes beyond his usual, “People naturally want to talk to me and spoil things for me. It’s not heavy; it’s about giving a perspective.” Sometimes, looking at a problem from the other side can make a big difference.”

For those interested in exploring ART or alternative therapies, Angela Larmer is currently accepting new clients, offering a compassionate and effective path to healing. “I’m here to help people connect deeply with themselves, heal past traumas, and live authentic lives,” Larmer concluded.

Recently, Larmer appeared on the podcast “To North Bay with Love” hosted by Lisa Bovin. He discussed his work at ART and shared information about his career journey.

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