Rooted is all about the people, places, and events, that make us proud to call our community home.
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With over 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 model often lacked the time and support to address the root issues. As a nurse, I wanted to provide more holistic care, which led me to psychotherapy.”
She recounted her journey, “I sought out a psychotherapist during a challenging time in my life and felt supported in a unique way. This inspired me to pursue a master’s in counselling psychology. I realized that understanding and addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of health are crucial for overall well-being.”
Larmer who runs her practice at The Rooted Heart Therapy Centre in North Bay describes herself as, a person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally responsive psychotherapist. Larmer says she uses a technique called Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) to help her clients. She is the first ART trained therapist in northern Ontario and she has just completed her advanced training in ART with Colleen Clark in Calgary which will allow her to continue her competence in this work that has become one of her passions.
She says, “ART is a psychotherapy modality designed to process traumatic memories in just a few sessions. It reduces symptoms related to stress, trauma, and distressing events by changing how negative images affect daily life.”
Explaining ART, Larmer added, “ART uses bilateral stimulation, similar to REM sleep, to process traumatic memories. It helps clients replace negative images with positive ones. Clients often ask if they need to be artistic for ART, but it has nothing to do with art itself. It’s about eye movements and body sensations. Bilateral stimulation can help reduce negative symptoms, images, and emotions and can assist the body in shifting from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest mode, alleviating anxiety, PTSD, and other stress-related conditions such as social anxiety disorder and phobias. This process can also foster a general sense of relaxation and connection to self.”
Larmer shared that clients often find significant resolution within one to five sessions. “Clients lose the emotional attachment to traumatic memories, although they retain the factual memory. One client said, ‘I’ve been in therapy for five years, and in just a few ART sessions, I felt a sense of resolution I never thought possible.’”
Discussing the therapeutic process, Larmer said, “ART involves bringing the memory to the forefront and processing it through eye movements and body sensations. This helps clients detach from the negative emotional impact. The body holds onto trauma, and by addressing these sensations, we can facilitate healing.”
Larmer said “Despite being a practicing psychotherapist, she still deals with a lot of the same roadblocks many people have when it comes to social interactions. “The confidence I have in certain areas shines through, but my insecurities and my connection to myself play out daily.”
Larmer added, “Awareness of social anxiety is crucial. Knowing what the triggers are, allows us to work on it. It's about recognizing the symptoms, like sweaty hands or a racing heart, and understanding that these are signs of a sympathetic response. This awareness helps us manage these situations better. What is happening to us in a way is that something down our timeline, something in our past has brought this into our present. Something is activated within. And if you can give yourself some space and explore that in that moment, which can be hard to do, you should try not to judge it, but just to recognize it.”
Larmer emphasized the importance of understanding these coping mechanisms, stating, “It's about learning what triggers us and exploring their origins. Often, our coping mechanisms are adaptations we make to survive difficult situations. By understanding these, we can begin to turn towards our true selves.”
Larmer also noted the influence of familial teachings, “Sometimes our parents taught us what they knew. It's about learning who we are without the coping mechanisms. We carry beliefs from childhood that shape our responses to our environment. ART and CI therapy can help reshape these beliefs to allow clients to find a more authentic version of themselves.”
“For example, when I was little, I sang all the time, but my parents or my siblings would say tell me to stop singing – because it can be annoying to hear a young kid singing out loud and just going on and on. But how I interpreted that was ‘I'm a bad singer.’ When we are younger the left and right brain doesn't really communicate with each other until after age 12. So, we don't really understand in some ways because, we think it's all about us, but also if something goes wrong, we think something's our fault,” explains Larmer.
“So, then we carry that with us for example, I'm in high school and I'm like, I'm not trying out to sing even though I love singing but It's what believe, it's one of those layers.”
Larmer says it’s a small example and there are people who have very big traumas such as the death of loved ones, or people who are first responders who have images they can’t unsee.
“The bigger traumas that stay really stuck in our minds, those are the ones I try to help clients with through ART,” says Larmer.
Beyond ART, Larmer is also studying Compassionate Inquiry with Dr. Gabor Maté, a renowned Canadian speaker, and bestselling author, whose expertise focuses on a range of topics including addiction, stress, and childhood development. “Compassionate 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 tied to them,” says Larmer.
Larmer’s approach is tailored to each client, “We follow the client where they are. If they need solutions, we focus on that. Whether it’s trauma-informed CBT or solution-focused therapy, the goal is to meet the client’s needs.”
Her ability to connect with people extends beyond her practice, “People naturally want to chat with me and bounce things off me. It’s not burdensome; it’s about offering a different perspective. Sometimes, just looking at a problem from a different angle can make a huge difference.”
For those interested in exploring ART or other therapeutic approaches, Angela Larmer is currently accepting new clients, providing a compassionate and effective path to healing. “I am here to help people connect more deeply with themselves, to heal from past traumas, and to live more authentic lives,” Larmer concluded.
Recently, Larmer appeared on the podcast “To North Bay with Love” hosted by Lisa Bovin. She discussed her work in ART and shared insights into her journey in the profession.
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