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About
Shannon Moroney
Shannon is a warm, positive and skilled therapist with over 20 years of experience helping children, youth and adults to allow traumatic experiences to shape their lives, but not control them. Through talk therapy, EMDR, restorative dialogue, land-based retreats, writing, play and art, she supports people and communities to achieve post-traumatic growth, explore forgiveness, and reclaim sovereignty over their lives. She has extensive experience providing group and individual therapy to survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking, as well as to Indigenous survivors of Canada’s residential school system and other systems of oppression. She also supports law enforcement and legal teams to practice trauma-informed justice, provides expert testimony in court, and offers psycho-educational guidance on victim-offender intersectionality in human trafficking cases.
Shannon holds an M.A. in Social Work from the University of East Anglia (UK), a B.Ed from the University of Toronto, a Counselling Specialist Certificate from Queens University and a B.A. in International Development from Trent University. She is registered social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and a certified restorative justice facilitator. She is also a sought-after public speaker and consultant on key issues in justice and mental health and has spoken worldwide on these topics. As the author of two national bestsellers, Through the Glass (her own memoir) and Out of the Shadows (memoir of human trafficking survivor Timea Nagy), and a New York Times “Women in the World” Recommended Writer, Shannon also offers manuscript coaching and editing, and assists clients to write victim impact, sentencing and support statements for court. Shannon is based in Toronto and offers services in English and Spanish.
Service Overview
If you’re not sure how therapy works or which therapy service you need, you can book a 90-minute consultation to establish your needs and your goals, and to make a plan. We’ll ask questions and listen deeply and compassionately to your responses. The results may include a BPSH (biological, psychological and social history) write-up; results of clinical measures and social work diagnosis; a recommended treatment plan with me or another practitioner; and a vision for your health and healing that helps you feel empowered, not overwhelmed. We will also discuss what other advocacy and resources you’ll need, and the changes you can make in your life right away.
Many people are afraid to try therapy because of social or cultural stigmas, because they’re afraid of how they’ll feel, because they believe that their trauma is too big to overcome, or that healing might dishonour past loss. But the truth is, therapy is about working through trauma so that you can stop reliving painful experiences and instead be able to remember what happened with reverence and respect. You will gain insight, find your voice, learn to communicate in new ways and take the reins of life. In other words, you'll learn to let your negative experiences shape your life without controlling it.
Many people are afraid to try therapy because of social or cultural stigmas, because they’re afraid of how they’ll feel, because they believe that their trauma is too big to overcome, or that healing might dishonour past loss. But the truth is, therapy is about working through trauma so that you can stop reliving painful experiences and instead be able to remember what happened with reverence and respect. You will gain insight, find your voice, learn to communicate in new ways and take the reins of life. In other words, you'll learn to let your negative experiences shape your life without controlling it.
Using EMDR, talk therapy, storytelling, self-compassion and forgiveness exploration among other interventions, I will help you to move from surviving to thriving by working together to define and achieve your mental health goals. We'll encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone in order to achieve results, but never outside your safety zone. You’ll move from post-traumatic stress to post-traumatic growth, giving you hope (and a plan!) for the future you deserve. No one is ever broken beyond repair.
Shannon Moroney is a Certified EMDR Practitioner. Our primary goal is to guide individuals through a transformative journey of healing and recovery. With this powerful approach, we help my clients find relief from the grip of traumatic memories and distressing experiences that have held them back. EMDR therapy isn't a quick fix, but rather a transformative process that honours your unique experiences and strengths. We're honoured to walk this path with you, helping you rewrite the narrative of your life and guiding you toward a future that's marked by healing, growth, and resilience.
Restorative justice is an alternative approach to conventional criminal justice, which often focuses on retribution and relegates victims and survivors to the outskirts of the process. Originating in First Nations in Canada and the USA and the Maori in New Zealand, RJ is an approach that aims to get people who have offended to take responsibility for their actions, understand the harm they have caused, build empathy, and seek to make amends. For victims, its goal is to give them an active role in the justice process, the chance to ask all of their questions and share the impact of the harm. This results in reduced feelings of anxiety & powerlessness. We take self-referrals as well as referrals from judges and lawyers.
Who can use this service:
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All ages, all genders, all backgrounds
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People with “big T” and “little T” trauma
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Survivors of crime, perpetrators of crime and families of both
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Professionals who come face-to-face with trauma in their work
My unique expertise:
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Human trafficking
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Recent and historic sexual assault and abuse
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Cult deprogramming and brainwashing/gaslighting recovery
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Justice system journeys
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Indigenous people and communities (residential school and intergenerational trauma healing)
No matter how you came to be on a justice system journey—whether you were hurt, someone you love was hurt, or you did the hurting—it is a roller-coaster. We know, because we’ve been there. Unable to find an agency or organization that would help us, we bushwhacked our way through a two-and-a-half year trial as both a victim and the family member of an offender, gaining knowledge, empathy and insight. Now we offer the advocacy and support that we needed to others.
In addition to mental health therapy, my services include counselling and education about criminal, civil and restorative justice processes, referrals to legal or other supports, preparation to make a police report or appear in court, drafting and reviewing court documents (i.e. victim impact statements, offender statements of accountability and apology), expert witness testimony, restorative justice facilitated dialogue, facilitated family dialogue, media relations, and any other assistance you may need to navigate this challenging time.
Who can use this service:
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Victims/survivors of crime and their loved ones
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People who have committed crimes who acknowledge their wrongdoing
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Lawyers requiring an expert witness for cases involving trafficking, sex trafficking, sexual assault, child sexual abuse and other forms of violence
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Police services, crown attorneys/prosecutors and law firms representing survivors or responsibility-taking offenders
What happens after trauma? It can (literally and figuratively) change the landscape of a community. If you think of your workplace, neighbourhood, family, school or even your country as a tree, trauma has a ripple effect that can influence everything from the roots to the outermost branches, impacting every aspect of a group’s identity, health, communication and connection. Work with me to reverse a that negative ripple effect and make it positive. This service can help after a specific traumatic event has occurred—such as a death, an incident of violence, a natural disaster—or when the undercurrent of the culture has made people feel unsafe, alienated or isolated through inequity, power and privilege imbalance, and more.
Who can use this service:
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Corporations, teams and communities in crisis and coping with major trauma
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Media teams and frontline responders to traumatic events
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Governments of countries and communities coping with violence and disaster
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Organizations and companies in transition post-pandemic
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Schools (elementary to post-secondary) and School Boards
My unique expertise:
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Indigenous Residential School survivors
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Major sexual assault and trafficking investigations (survivors, investigators and lawyers)
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Communities affected by high-profile crime
