Serenne Romanycia, M.C., R.C.C.
Hello! I’m Serenne (she/her), a Relationship Therapist and Registered Clinical Counsellor.
I am honoured to help people create meaningful, positive changes in their relationships with themselves and their loved ones. Whether you are looking for guidance in resolving relationship issues with your partner and growing your bond together, or you are seeking individual support for healing developmental traumas from childhood, I can be of support.
In couples work: I offer support, guidance, skills and structure for couples who want to create more secure attachment - the neuroscience of safety and connection. My style is a blend of both therapy and coaching. I help couples address both past and current issues that are creating rupture or disconnect, and also support partners to hold a balanced future vision to move towards as a solid team.
These skills and processes include how to balance individuality with intimacy; how to negotiate differences and balance needs; how to repair relationship ruptures and broken trust; how to connect to needs and values; how to process emotion and share feelings in a vulnerable way; and how to deepen understanding and love. Learn more here.
In individual work: I specialize in helping people heal developmental childhood trauma and complex trauma. I support my clients in healing and reclaiming the integrated, whole Self - their minds, bodies, hearts, nervous systems, and spirit. With developmental trauma, core aspects of ourselves get compromised or remain undeveloped, such as self understanding, self compassion, self confidence and self worth. Crucial relational capacities also are compromised, such as the capacity to know what we feel and need; the ability to define who we are and what we want; the ability to define and uphold boundaries; and the ability to regulate our nervous system easily.
My work is to hold people in safe relationship as we look at the whole history of their lives together, find out what happened, and what the impacts were. In a nutshell, trauma is when things are either “too much” or “not enough.” We care for the impacts of intense and unsafe experiences and release them in the nervous system; and we find out what the missing pieces were and help to provide those in the here and now. Healing starts with bringing safety, care and attention to this internal world; to understanding all the parts of ourselves in a deeper way, and with looking at old patterns of thoughts, emotions, and survival responses, with compassion and curiosity. Together, we process old pain and fear, and orient towards new ways of being that encompass strength, groundedness and stability. I have a focus on the neuroscience of safety, and how our nervous systems interprets safety or danger. The somatic aspect of my work involves understanding survival responses in the body and mind and repatterning these responses from a safer foundation and a position of strength. Learn more here.
I have a Masters in Clinical Counselling Psychology, I’ve been a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BCACC for the past 10 years, and have over a decade of training and learning in various modalities, such as Internal Family Systems, Somatic Therapy, Trauma Informed Therapy, Mindful Self Compassion, Buddhist Psychology and meditation, Emotional Focused Therapy, Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy, and the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. I integrate my personal journey of healing complex trauma and intergenerational trauma into my work. My lived experience of family’s history of immigrant trauma has also strongly informed my therapeutic work.
I’m also a mom; a partner; a friend; a sister, and a daughter. Things that make my heart happy are connecting with my loved ones, adventuring in nature, curling up with a good book, deep conversations, and writing. You can read my latest writing blog post here.
I love accompanying my clients as we navigate the full spectrum of life’s experiences together. Being human is not easy, especially in a world that has prioritized the external. Too often our internal landscape - our hearts, our dreams, our vulnerabilities, the whispers of our soul - don’t get the time, space and attention they need to grow and flourish. When we heal and nurture both our inner world and our intimate relationships, our lives become much more stable, safe, and satisfying.
“Serenne is an incredible couples therapist. She is passionate, engaged, empathetic, and hands on. No awkward silences or moments with her. She is extremely knowledgeable about the nervous system and teaches couples how to communicate effectively. We are so grateful we got to work with her. HIGHLY recommend.” – A. Mitretodis, Google Reviews
“Absolute delight of a human being. So kind, compassionate, and thoughtful. Holds space so that you and your partner can work through your issues, but also provides guidance where appropriate. Provided lots of resources and ideas for us to grow our relationship.” K. Milland, Google Reviews