Therapy Approaches

As eloquently described by Kathy Steele, 2020 “The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does.”

EMDR is a powerful therapy designed to help people heal from traumatic experiences. It involves focusing on a specific memory while simultaneously following a moving object with your eyes or listening to alternating sounds. This process helps reprocess the traumatic memory, reducing its emotional impact. EMDR can benefit those suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and other trauma-related issues by enabling them to integrate and move past distressing memories.

DBT is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment that emphasizes the psychosocial aspects of therapy. It combines individual therapy with group skills training sessions to help individuals learn and apply skills in four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT is particularly useful for people with borderline personality disorder, but it also benefits those struggling with severe emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and suicidal behaviors. By fostering acceptance and change, DBT helps individuals build a balanced and meaningful life.

Neurofeedback is like a window into your brain's electrical activity. It allows you to see how your brain waves are functioning and then train your brain to do its job better! Depending on what you're doing, your brain produces different types of waves - slow, calm waves when you're relaxed, and faster, more active waves when you're focused and engaged. Neurofeedback is a tool that lets you monitor these waves in real time and gradually learn how to adjust them, so you can be more focused when you need to be, and more relaxed when it's time to unwind. This self-regulation can be transformative for conditions like Anxiety, OCD and PTSD where people experience more fast waves and in ADHD were there is excessive slow waves. But neurofeedback is also being used for peak performance with athletes, executives and high performers, due to its amazing positive effects and little to no side effects.

CBT is a structured, time-limited therapy that focuses on the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It aims to identify and challenge negative thought patterns and beliefs that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors. Through various techniques, such as cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation, CBT helps individuals develop healthier thinking patterns and coping strategies. CBT is effective for a wide range of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, OCD, and eating disorders, empowering individuals to take control of their mental health and improve their quality of life.

Schema therapy integrates elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoanalytic therapy, and attachment theory to address long-standing, deep-rooted emotional patterns known as schemas. These schemas, often developed in childhood, influence how individuals perceive and react to their experiences. Schema therapy helps individuals identify these maladaptive schemas and replace them with healthier patterns of thinking and behavior. This therapy is particularly effective for individuals with chronic psychological issues, personality disorders, and relationship problems, offering a comprehensive and enduring approach to emotional healing.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) builds on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach to help individuals change their thoughts and behaviors in order to improve their lives. ACT incorporates a variety of mindfulness skills, practice of acceptance, value-driven action and behavioral exercises to supports clients to create change within their lives.

ACT generally focuses on two main goals:

1) Developing acceptance of unwanted/painful/difficult internal experiences which are out of one’s control

2) Committed action toward living a valued based life.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy specifically designed to help individuals confront and process traumatic memories. The therapy involves gradually exposing individuals to thoughts, feelings, and situations that they have been avoiding due to the trauma. This can be done through imagined exposure, where the person vividly recalls the traumatic event, or in vivo exposure, where they confront real-life situations related to the trauma in a safe and controlled manner. The goal of PE is to reduce the power of traumatic memories and decrease symptoms of PTSD by helping individuals process these memories in a way that diminishes their emotional impact. This therapy is beneficial for those suffering from PTSD and other anxiety disorders, as it can help them regain control over their lives by reducing fear and avoidance.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is another effective cognitive-behavioral treatment for PTSD. CPT helps individuals reframe and challenge unhelpful thoughts related to their trauma. The therapy involves writing about the traumatic event and discussing it in detail with a therapist to identify and modify negative beliefs and assumptions. CPT aims to help individuals understand how their trauma has affected their thoughts and beliefs, leading to emotional distress and behavioral issues. By changing these maladaptive thoughts, individuals can reduce their PTSD symptoms and improve their overall mental health. CPT is particularly beneficial for those who struggle with guilt, shame, or distorted thinking patterns as a result of their traumatic experiences.

Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) integrates principles from cognitive-behavioral therapy with concepts of compassion and mindfulness. CFT is designed to help individuals develop self-compassion and reduce self-criticism, which can contribute to various mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The therapy involves exercises and techniques to cultivate feelings of warmth, safety, and kindness towards oneself and others. CFT helps individuals understand the evolutionary basis of their emotional responses and teaches them to respond to distress with compassion rather than self-criticism. This approach is particularly beneficial for those who have high levels of shame and self-criticism, as it promotes emotional healing and psychological resilience.