Learn more about Danik Bernier, MSW, RSW.

You already have what it takes to heal from what you are going through.

Let me be your guide.

I'm a bilingual therapist specialized in helping moms and I'm also a mom to two toddlers. I also work with women who went through sexual abuse and childhood trauma.

I get what you're going through. Becoming a mother has been the most difficult life transition I’ve been through yet. The journey to becoming a first time mom hit me like a ton of bricks.

Birth Trauma Therapy Ottawa

I realized I had stuff from my childhood I thought I buried forever coming to haunt me in moments I least expected it.

This lead me to feeling confused, unsure, and stressed about the image of the ideal mother I strived to be. I realized I put way too much pressure on myself.

I will never forget the tightness in my chest, rapid breathing, and intrusive thoughts I had while I was home alone with my newborn. I would tell myself “I can’t f**k this up, I need to be the best mom” until I was paralyzed by fear.

I was able to get to a place of healing, and my purpose is to help you get there too.

Birth Trauma Therapy Ottawa

As a therapist, I’m really great when it comes to…

  • Getting rid of or getting symptom relief from postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety.

  • Healing from birth trauma (if the birth didn’t go as planned and you are stuck with the nightmares, thinking how the birth went down over and over again, and feeling like your body failed).

  • Healing from childhood trauma and sexual abuse so that you can freely become the woman and mother that you want to be.

  • Letting go of intense fears around your baby’s wellbeing and your doubts around your competence as a new mom (catching yourself spying on the baby just to make sure you can see the little tummy go up and down).

  • Healing from PTSD, C-PTSD, and phobias.

This is the CV type of info you might want to know about me:

  • I’ve been working in the field of social work since 2012.

  • I went to University of Ottawa for both my undergrad (Major in Criminology and Minor in Women’s Studies - Cum Laude, 2015) and grad school (Master of Social Work, 2017).

  • I have been a Registered Social Worker in the province of Ontario since 2017.

  • I worked in different settings, including: group homes, women’s shelter, stabilization centre, academia, community resource centres, in elementary and high schools, in a children’s hospital, and in private practice.

  • Since going into private practice full time in 2022, I have focused my work on perinatal mental health and childhood trauma.

  • I have been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Sandtray Therapy, and Solutions Focused Therapy.

  • I received additional training from Postpartum Support International in order to understand perinatal mood and anxiety disorders at a deeper level and received training from the Canadian Association for Play Therapy in order to understand and help those with childhood trauma.

  • I seek clinical consultation from experts in the field on a regular basis to ensure that the psychotherapy I provide is of the highest quality. My EMDR Certification will be completed in the next few months (after having received 20+ hours of clinical consultation after the basic training, 12 hours of extra training in the field of trauma and EMDR, and letters of recommendation).

Birth Trauma Therapy Ottawa

I recognize I am living and working on the unceded lands of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, Kanien'kehäka, Omàmiwininiwag, and Wendake-Nionwentsio.

My privileges include being white (descendant of white European settlers with few Indigenous ancestors), cis-gendered (I was designated as female at birth and never questioned the identity that was given to me), in a heterosexual relationship, able-bodied, and in the middle-class. I have experienced oppression because I'm a woman, because my first language is French, and for being neurodivergent.