Trauma-Informed Counselling
Grounded in Nervous System Awareness
Welcome — I’m Amber Shanahan. I’m a counsellor based in Vancouver, British Columbia, offering trauma-informed counselling online across Canada.
People often arrive here after a long period of trying to cope or make sense of things on their own — curious about counselling, but not always sure how to name what’s going on.
You may have been carrying something for a long time, managing on the outside while feeling unsettled on the inside.
How I Work
My work is relational, trauma-informed, and grounded in an understanding of the nervous system. I pay attention not only to thoughts and emotions, but also to how experiences are held in the body.
Sessions are collaborative and guided by what feels most present. Rather than pushing for insight or change, we focus on creating enough steadiness for new awareness to unfold in its own time.
Many of the patterns people bring into counselling developed for important reasons — often as ways of adapting to earlier environments or relationships. When we approach those patterns with curiosity instead of judgment, there is often more room for choice, flexibility, and self-trust.
Before becoming a counsellor, my education centred on physical and mental health, including nutrition, stress physiology, and integrative somatic therapies. That background continues to inform how I understand regulation, resilience, and the effects of long-term stress. It also shapes the way I think about capacity — how much a system can hold at any given time — and why change often happens gradually rather than all at once.
Why The Vagus Effect?
I chose the name The Vagus Effect because my work is grounded in how the nervous system shapes our emotional and relational lives — often long before we’re consciously aware of it.
The nervous system is the first system to develop in the womb. From the beginning, we learn about the world through our nervous system and through the nervous systems of our caregivers — how closeness feels, how stress is handled, and what it’s like to be met or not met. These early experiences begin forming neural pathways that influence attachment, emotional regulation, and our sense of safety in relationships.
When stress or trauma overwhelms our capacity to cope, the nervous system can remain organized around protection. Later on, this may show up as anxiety, shutdown, emotional reactivity, or a persistent sense of being on edge. These responses can be distressing and disruptive, and they often reflect a nervous system that adapted in response to overwhelming experiences.
The Vagus Effect reflects the understanding that healing isn’t only cognitive. Counselling that includes attention to the nervous system can support greater regulation, flexibility, and connection over time — not by forcing change, but by helping the body learn that safety is possible again.
If you’re looking for counselling that makes sense of your experiences without pathologising them, you’re welcome to reach out.
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