Connection, community, that true sense of common humanity, that is were we heal.

One of the areas that you will see the Reproductive and Perinatal Trauma Centre involved in is community engagement. If you want to keep up to date with how we build connections through this work this is the page to visit!

The Parson’s Animal Rescue Foundation is close to RPTC’s heart for many reasons. We got involved with it when Megan, a Registered Psychologist on our team, shared about her love of their work and her own involvement. Megan, like many of us on the team, has an immense love of animals and has found a way to incorporate this passion into her other love, therapy. Megan has been learning how to support teens and adults with Equine Therapy.

Equine-assisted therapy offers individuals the unique opportunity to learn and heal while connecting with horses. In equine-assisted treatment, you may spend time grooming and caring for the horses or leading them through different activities such as obstacle courses. Equine-assisted therapy provides both the person and horse opportunities to learn about trust, safety, and communication.

This type of therapy can be healing for all ages, especially children and teens! It offers individuals with a safe space to process emotions and gain a sense of personal strength. Many of the horses, like people, have faced their own traumas and seem to connect with those who are struggling.

Members of the team have been able to visit the farm to see the incredible work that Dayna, the founder, does every day. The love, care, and concern she pours into these animals is incredible, Some of the team recently took part in their fundraiser and were also able to donate over $400 to this initiative. We look forward to continuing to support Dayna, PARF and the beautiful souls that live there. If you are interested in learning more about this form of therapy, take a look at Megan’s profile and reach out. And if you would like to get involved with PARF through donations, support, or to meet the horses, reach out below.

Parsons’ Animal Rescue Foundation

Logo for The Parsons Animal Rescue Foundation featuring a silhouette of a pregnant woman with long hair, surrounded by the foundation's name and a cursive tagline.
A young girl in a pink jacket and boots holds a piece of paper while a woman in a yellow jacket and brown hat leans over a light-colored horse in an outdoor farm setting with a red barn and blue sky in the background.
Three women smiling and posing for a selfie in a decorated indoor setting with Christmas ornaments.
A woman smiling and standing next to a banner for the Parson's Animal Rescue Foundation, with a brick wall and a table with a laptop in the background. She is wearing a black sweatshirt with the words 'Choose Kind' and tan boots.
A woman with dark hair wearing a gray beanie and black coat feeding a brown horse through a fence in an outdoor farm setting.
A woman in a black coat and beige boots standing near a fence, feeding a brown horse with a white stripe on its face. The setting appears to be a farm or paddock with some snow on the ground.
Girl in pink heart-patterned jacket and hat feeding a black horse through a wooden fence at a farm on a clear day.
Get involved with PARF

Flora’s Walk is named about Canadian mother, Flora, who after years of struggling with fertility finally had her dreams come true when she became pregnant with her daughter. Just 2 months after her daughter arrived in this world, Flora tragically lost her life in 2022 to undetected and undiagnosed and untreated postpartum psychosis. We honour Flora and all those who have lost their lives to perinatal mental illness and fight for those struggling to receive help.

Flora’s Walk is Canada’s largest perinatal mental health fundraiser taking place in over 50 cities across Canada. The event culminates in May, World Maternal Mental Health Month, where, after months of fundraising and planning, walks and events are held in cities across Canada throughout the month of May to call attention to the need for improved perinatal mental health care.

The Reproductive and Perinatal Trauma Centre supports individuals struggling with peri-postpartum mental health issues, and Flora's story is near to the centre's heart, as we have personally, as clinicians working in the field, walked alongside people struggling with postpartum psychosis. And we have watched them come out on the other side of this. We know it is possible. We also know that it requires all hands on deck, and a large part of that is raising our voices about the many obstacles and barriers that mothers and families face. Let's join in Amplifying Silenced Experiences and getting loud about maternal mental health. Click the link below to donate to our team as we raise awareness and funds for Flora’s Walk. All proceeds go to CPMHC who disperses the funds to maternal mental health programs across Canada.

Flora’s Walk

A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair smiling and holding a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket.
Group of people jumping and smiling in front of a colorful mural with trees and mountains, in an outdoor setting.

Balance after Birth Trauma Wellness Retreat (2023)

Two women smiling and walking together outdoors surrounded by green bushes, one with blonde hair wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, and the other with dark hair wearing a gray sweatshirt.
People participating in a yoga or meditation class indoors, lying on their mats on a patterned carpet.

Last year, an idea came to me about starting a wellness retreat for birth trauma survivors. I did not know how it would look or where it would be. All I knew was that I wanted a place where survivors could come together to relax, reflect and connect with one another. And do it without the demands of parenthood. Birth trauma can be such an isolating experience; we often feel so alone in it, and I wanted people to know that that they weren’t, that, in fact, they had people around them who truly understood what they were up against.

One of my goals when creating the retreat was to make it as financially accessible as possible. Therapy and other forms of trauma support can be quite costly and create several barriers to survivors seeking help.

I decided to try to fundraise through donations and sponsorships to see how low I could get the cost for them. I am new to this province, so reaching out to strangers was quite the adventure, but each step of the way, I let my passion for this community drive me.

As I continued to gain sponsorships, it still was not sitting well with me. I wanted these people to have a carefree weekend financially, where the last thing on their mind was money, where they could focus on healing. I decided to take all the money I had raised, switch to a local location that was not as extravagant as my first and make it FREE!

I reached out back out to all of the sponsors to share this new idea and was so grateful that they were on board with this big change. I crunched all of the numbers and stretched every penny, and I was so happy to see that it could send 15 birth trauma survivors for FREE!

The retreat spaces were first come, first served, and sold out in just under 2 minutes, with a waitlist of almost 200 survivors!

What took place at the retreat and the amazing sponsors that were involved. Because of the following sponsors, 15 birth trauma survivors attended the Balance after Birth Trauma Wellness Retreat for FREE! Their stay included; a night stay at the Matrix Hotel in Edmonton, all of their food for the two days, a workshop run by myself on “Reclaiming your Story after Birth Trauma”, a a sound healing bath by Kailee Smith, a pelvic floor workshop by Dr. Calista Powell, and the following day a yoga workshop that incorporated self-forgiveness work by Angie Clark, a gift bag, and professional photos.

The two days were brimming with laughter, sharing, tears, healing, and so much connection. It was evident within just hours of the retreat that this group of survivors was meant to come together. Right before the end of the retreat, the survivors had professional photos taken by Christy Wells, who donated her talent to ensure that these survivors felt special and beautiful. This was followed by all of them receiving a gift bag that was filled with local goodies that had been donated. As well as a sweater that was purchased for them through ZenLion Designs.

We ended our time at together with a sharing circle where each survivor shared what they were taking with them from the experience. It was in that moment, that for myself personally, I had to work hard to keep the tears in. To listen to them share and recall how aspects of their time “healed me”, “changed my life forever”, “finally feel less alone”, “for the first time since the birth trauma I felt seen and understood”, and more. It was all that I had hoped and dreamed of. It had exceeded all of that.

A huge thank you to the sponsors listed below; thank you for taking a chance on me and for seeing how much value there is to talking about birth trauma and supporting those who have been through it.

A special thank you to Dr Shenaigh Newman, a chiropractor extraordinaire, who was also my right-hand woman and truly like a sister to me throughout planning all of this.

And the warmest thank you to the survivors, who took a risk and chance on their healing; it was through your sharing and vulnerability that these connections were made.

Stay tuned for the next retreat, and if you would like to be involved as a sponsor, please reach out!

SPONSORS:

Lavender & Lace, Pine Integrated Health Centre, Blush Artistry & Empowerfit Sherwood Park, The Fourth, Flow Functional Health Centre, Mother Nurture Massage Doula Services, Concrete Blonde Hair, Yomama Maternity, and Bellamaas Boutique.

Sponsors for Gift Bags:

Filament Hair, Prairie Soap Shack, Popcorn Company, Under this Moon, Solaire Soul Collective, Nourish and Nurture Postpartum, Kristy Prodorutti.

Writen by: Teela Tomassetti, Registered Provisional Psychologist

** Participants gave written and verbal consent for pictures to be shared**

Group of women taking a selfie together in a conference room, some wearing gray sweatshirts and red pants, smiling and laughing.
A group of women seated around a round dining table in a conference room. One woman stands, wearing a pink dress, talking to the seated women. The table has glasses, a pitcher, and papers. The room has wood-paneled walls and a patterned carpet.
A woman standing in front of a conference room giving a presentation to a group of women seated at round tables. A projector screen displays a presentation titled "Reclaiming Your Story After Birth Trauma." The room has tiled ceiling and patterned carpet.
Yoga class taking place in a dimly lit studio with participants sitting on yoga mats, all facing a instructor seated on a chair. The room has a contemporary interior with a patterned carpet, assorted personal items on the floor, and a backdrop of large circular panels against the wall at the front.