“Loving ourselves through the process of owning our story is the bravest thing we will ever do”

-Brene Brown

  • Savana Antonation

    MSW, RSW

Savana’s goal is to make therapy feel personable and relatable, and she receives frequent feedback that she is very easy to open up to. If you’ve had a hard time finding a therapist that you feel an automatic connection with, Savana may be a good fit for you!

Savana has experience helping clients with the following:

anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, nervous system dysregulation, relationships with food (binge eating, emotional eating, chronic dieting), body image, recovery from burnout/compassion fatigue, navigating life transitions, boundary setting, self-compassion, relationship/couples counselling

Savana’s approach to counselling

  • Connection

    When working with clients, Savana’s priority is to create a safe and trusting space, where your experiences and feelings are honoured without judgement. Savana naturally practices from an approach of relationship and connection, and this is common feedback she gets from her clients. Savana's practice approach is informed by Attachment Theory.

  • Trauma Informed

    Savana has extensive knowledge of trauma and how it can alter the way we think, feel, behave, how our nervous system & brain functions, and development through childhood. Savana is aware of the needed felt safety in the therapeutic relationship when healing from trauma, and always keeps this at the forefront of her practice. Savana practices from a "bottom up" approach, where she engages the body (nervous system) in the healing experience from trauma.

  • Awareness

    Therapy is the deepest personal development journey you could ever go on, and Savana recognizes that it is both an honour and privilege to walk alongside clients in this journey. Throughout therapy Savana focuses on building awareness with her clients — awareness of thoughts, feelings, our environment, and patterns or cycles (past or current) in our life. Building awareness supports us in taking our power back so we can grow.

  • Nervous System Regulation

    In your work with Savana, you’ll become the expert of your nervous system. Savana’s clients have an in-depth understanding of their triggers, thought/feeling/behaviour patterns (and where they originate from) and subconscious beliefs that drive their life. Savana help clients retrain and calm their nervous system while removing themselves from cycles that are keeping the stuck. Savana is also trained in level 1 & 2 of Attachment Focused EMDR (Eye Movement decensitization and Reprocessing)

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

    Savana draws upon various practice approaches — one of the most common ones being CBT. Savana uses CBT techniques to support clients in gaining control over their thoughts or in other words, supporting them to quiet their mind, which then has an impact on feelings and behaviours.

  • Mindfulness Techniques

    Savana draws upon several mindfulness techniques in her practice, which include breath and body-based exercises (grounding techniques), self-compassion, and practicing non-judgment towards ourselves and our thoughts and feelings.

  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    Unlike with CBT where the focus is to shift thought patterns, ACT allows you to turn down the volume on your thoughts and learn how to be a bystander to them, rather than giving energy to them. While using this modality, Savana supports clients to change their relationship to their thoughts.

Education & Training

  • Bachelor’s of Social Work — University of Calgary

  • Master’s of Social Work: Clinical Specialization with a focus on Trauma — University of Calgary

  • Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate — in progress

  • Applied Polyvagal Theory in Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery with Arielle Schwartz & Deb Dana — in progress

  • Level 1 & 2 Attachment Focused Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) — Parnell Institute

  • Intuitive Eating PRO Skills Training — Evelyn Tribole

  • ACT for Eating and Body Image Concerns: Help Clients Drop the Rope in their Tug of War with

    Food and Weight — Diana Hill

  • 2 Day Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certification Training — Dr. Patricia Miller & Kirsten Nelson

  • Evidence-Based Treatment for Anxiety and Related Disorders — Martin M. Antony

  • Trauma Sensitive Yoga Training, 20 hours: Trauma Center—Nicola Mosley

  • Infants, Children and Youth Through the Lens of Loss and Grief — Government of Alberta

  • Childhood Trauma, Stress and the Developing Brain — Government of Alberta

  • Core Story Brain Development — Alberta Family Wellness Initiative

  • Strategies for Self-Regulation — Stuart Shanker

  • First Responder to Sexual Assault and Abuse — Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse