CLIENT FOCUS

TREATMENT APPROACH

Body-Mind PsychotherapyBody-mind psychotherapy is an integrative approach to psychological treatment that draws from both psychotherapeutic and somatic/body-based approaches. It emphasizes the interconnection between physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual aspects of being. This approach seeks to help individuals explore how physical sensations, emotions, thoughts and beliefs influence their behavior and well-being. Through this exploration, individuals can gain insight into how the body and mind interact to create patterns of behavior, and how those patterns can be changed to promote healing and wellness.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on how one's thoughts, feelings and behaviors are connected and can be changed. It is based on the idea that how we think (cognition) and how we feel (emotion) can influence how we behave. CBT helps people identify and challenge distorted thinking and replace it with more balanced thinking, leading to improved mood and behavior. ‘Homework’, usually containing practical writing exercises, is often completed by the client between sessions to reinforce the therapy. Examples of tools that practitioners often use are journaling, challenging beliefs, and mindfulness.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy developed by Marsha Linehan to help people learn to better manage and cope with emotions and stress. It focuses on developing skills and strategies to help regulate emotions, improve relationships and communication, and reduce self-destructive behaviors. Through DBT, people learn to identify and modify unhealthy thoughts and behaviors, while also learning to accept and validate their own feelings. DBT teaches skills to help individuals become aware of and accept and regulate their emotions, tolerate distress, and improve interpersonal relationships.

Expressive Arts TherapyExpressive Arts Therapy is particularly beneficial for clients who struggle with describing what they are feeling verbally. Through imagination and creation of different art forms, clients are able to interpret and communicate their inner world and catalyze healing. Expressive arts therapy can involve the use of multiple modalities, such as visual arts, music, movement, drama, storytelling, poetry, and play. It is used to help individuals of all ages, including children and adults, to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, and solve problems.

Family Systems TherapyFamily Systems Therapy is an approach to psychotherapy that emphasizes the importance of understanding how the family functions as a whole, and how individual family members interact and affect one another. It focuses on how family dynamics, such as communication patterns, roles, and power dynamics, shape behavior, and how changing these dynamics can lead to positive change. Family Systems Therapy is a collaborative approach, where the therapist works with the family as a whole to identify and address areas of conflict and distress.

Gestalt TherapyGestalt therapy is an experiential, humanistic approach to psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, and that focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment. It explores an individual's emotions, behaviors, and thoughts, and how they may be influencing one another. It is rooted in the belief that people are responsible for their own experience, and that they can make conscious choices to improve their lives. The goal of gestalt therapy is to help individuals gain insight into their current experiences and to become aware of how their behaviors and thoughts shape their present reality.

Gottman MethodThe Gottman Method is an evidence-based approach to couples therapy that is designed to help couples strengthen their relationships and resolve conflicts. This method is based upon decades of research on thousands of couples and utilizes an approach that is both structured and collaborative. The method is designed to help couples increase respect, affection, and closeness, break through and resolve conflict, generate greater understanding, and to keep conflict discussions calm. It emphasizes the importance of self-regulation, constructive communication, and creating a safe environment for couples to talk and work through their issues. During sessions, couples work on skills such as active listening and expressing needs and feelings effectively. Couples are also given tools to identify and work through conflicts by using problem-solving techniques and developing strategies to manage emotions and reduce stress.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that uses the metaphor of an internal family of parts to help people gain awareness of how different parts of themselves can interact in healthy and unhealthy ways. IFS encourages people to become curious about their different parts, with the goal of helping them gain access to their true Self or core. Through this process, people can learn to recognize and care for the different parts of themselves, as well as develop compassionate understanding for the origins of their parts. A key principle of IFS is that each part within the person has its own positive intention and is trying to protect the person in some way. By understanding the positive intention of each part, the practitioner and client can work together to help the parts feel heard and understood, and to find more adaptive ways of meeting their needs. IFS has been found to be an effective treatment for a variety of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and relationship issues.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a form of therapy that combines cognitive behavioral therapy with mindfulness practices. It is based on the idea that our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations can affect our mental health. MBCT helps individuals become aware of their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in order to gain insight and control over them. MBCT helps clients learn how to recognize their sense of being and see themselves as separate from their thoughts and moods. This separation can free the client from thought patterns in which the repeated negative messages may be dominating the client’s focus. After developing an awareness of the separation between thoughts, emotions, and the self, people in treatment may find that while the self and the emotions may exist simultaneously, they do not have to exist within the same dimension. The healing can take place when one learns how to interject positive thoughts into negative moods and thereby create a shift in mood.

Play TherapyPlay therapy is an evidence-based, developmentally appropriate form of intervention used to facilitate emotional, cognitive, and social growth in children. Play therapy is based on the premise that play is the child's natural medium of self-expression and can be used to assess and help a child work through difficult emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The goal of play therapy is to help children develop the skills and abilities to navigate life stressors, and build self-esteem. During treatment, the therapist creates a comfortable, safe environment (a playroom) for the child to play with as few limits as possible. The toys in the playroom are intended to encourage the child to express his or her feelings and develop healthier behaviors. The child’s “play” with these toys serve as the child’s symbolic words, which may be difficult to express otherwise.

Systems Theory / TherapySystems therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on understanding how people's behavior is affected by their relationships with others. This form of therapy is based on the idea that the individual is embedded within a larger system, such as a family unit or work environment, and that changes to that system can cause changes in an individual's behavior. Systems therapy emphasizes the importance of understanding how these systems interact and how they can be changed to improve the individual's mental health. The therapist works to identify patterns of behavior in the system, identify areas of conflict or stress, and help the individuals develop strategies to make changes within the system that will lead to healthier outcomes.

Radical Compassion: Practice of RAIN (Recognize, Allow, Investigate and Nurture)

SERVICES OFFERED

Individual Therapy
Couples Therapy
Family Therapy
Consultation
Coaching
Workshops/Educating