Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1120507
40 For those who are navigating rough waters in life, Julie Long has created a safe haven to seek solace from the storm. Safe Harbour Therapy launched in January and is already making waves with its holistic approach. In a serene atmosphere, independent clinicians offer a range of cutting-edge healing solutions that address different dimensions of wellness — all under one roof. The founder of Safe Harbour, Long specializes in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, which facilitates the processing of unresolved information from adverse life experiences to a healthier resolution. She discovered the method while pursuing a master's degree in educational psychology. "I originally started off as a high school teacher, but then my eldest brother died by suicide. That shifted my focus towards helping people manage and move through their distress," Long says. "After working as a school counsellor, I found that I was only skimming the surface and I wanted to go deeper to help people find long-lasting change in their lives." She transitioned to private practice but still wanted to dive to greater depths, to create a space to house the many healing modalities she found along the way — a Safe Harbour to provide a circle of care for those who need healing at a time when they are the most lost. Long says all the practitioners are women who have been on their own journeys and, like her, they have pursued knowledge in the service of helping others, collaboratively, as a "Superstore for trauma." Along with naturopathic medicine, dietetics and massage, Safe Harbour offers less traditional modes of therapy, based on recent research on how trauma affects the body and how certain modalities can enhance our ability to heal, using the power within and around us. The cutting-edge modalities harness the brain's ability to rewire and change itself, known as neuroplasticity. These include acoustic brain mirroring neurotechnology, which balances the brain so it can relax and reorganize itself; somatic experiencing, which releases excess energy trapped in the body after trauma; and reflexology, which circle of care CREATING A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR RESOLVING DISTRESS By Jennifer McFee stimulates reflex points to encourage the body to self-regulate its energy towards balance, and more. The spa-like atmosphere is specially designed to soften the experience and minimize sensory exposure for people experiencing physical, emotional and spiritual stress. Drawing on her own experiences, Long understands how difficult it can be to seek, and find, help. "When my brother was struggling with his mental health, I had no idea how to help him or where to direct him to receive the help he so desperately needed. Then dealing with my own mental health after his death was a long, bumpy road," she says. "It was frustrating trying to find a therapeutic approach that would alleviate my symptoms. Talk therapy and medication were helpful, but not enough. I searched and found alternative therapeutic approaches and was grateful that I felt better but exasperated that I hadn't known about them sooner. If I had, then my brother's and my life could have been different." Driving all over the city to access different services seemed like half the battle, and Long wanted to offer a wide range of solutions in one caring place, so people in the same situation don't have to research the options that could help them, or log a lot of miles to access them. "I'm also motivated knowing that anyone who walks through the doors at Safe Harbour could be someone's brother, like mine, and we can help them change their life," she says. "It's a Safe Harbour to dock while you access the services you need to feel better." ❚ PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY JULIE LONG Founder, Safe Harbour Therapy Safe Harbour Therapy is located at Unit 1-161 Stafford St. To learn more, visit www.safeharbourtherapy.com.