Highly effective trauma treatment developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003 that borrows from the healing powers of Somatic Experiencing and EMDR.

Allows clients to access traumatic memories that are “stuck” in the brain and reprocess on a deeper level than talk therapy. Please see next page that elaborates in depth.

A popular approach today that was first developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s. Foundational belief is our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. When we have maladaptive thought patterns, we view situations negatively (distorted). The idea is by changing our dysfunctional thinking patterns, we can modify our negative emotions and actions.

You may be thinking, “If it were that easy I would’ve already done that.” I hear you — that’s why I integrate this directly with clients to learn their cognitive distortions. By actively practicing self-awareness when you’re thinking is distorted & naming your distortions, the easier it will become in changing automatically.

Developed by Marsha Linehan that focuses on four main topics: mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, & interpersonal effectiveness.

I describe this approach as a set of skills aimed to help people regulate intense emotions and view co-existing beliefs. Several techniques in DBT are acronyms or short phrases that help us easily reference a skill set in those four topics.

An approach that deeply reflects on the meaning of life & introspection to the self. While we cannot always control what happens to us, we can begin to choose what we will do with what has already happened and help face helping them face the realities of being human—so they can live with more honesty, purpose, and freedom.

The greater our self-awareness, the greater possibilities for our freedom. This emphasizes the power of choice and voice.

Created by Fritz & Laura Perls —helps individuals become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, & behaviors in the present moment. Integrating all parts of the self and resolving any ‘unfinished business’ (grief & loss, inner child, etc).

It’s an existential, phenomenological, and process-based approach. Phenomenological because it focuses on the client’s perceptions of reality and existential because it is grounded in the notion that people are always in the process of evolving — remaking & rediscovering themselves.

Carl Rogers emphasized the importance of creating a supportive and therapeutic space where clients feel valued, understood, and respected. This is a more hands off approach that emphasizes unconditional positive regard — acceptance and support to the client accompanied by deep empathy from the therapist to cultivate a non-judgmental free environment. One that encourages true authenticity from the individual.

We don’t always realize the unconscious, but when we do, we exercise choice — our free will.

Unconscious processes are at the root of a lot of distress & dysfunction we experience. In examining the psyche and how it relates to your Family of Origin, we can help to decrease the severity of our symptoms, causes of behavior, & the repressed emotions/memories that interferes with our daily functioning.

Intellectual insight alone does not resolve the distress. An individual must be willing to confront dysfunctional patterns, be proactive in working through them, and prevent destructive cycles for the future.

Evolved from Psychoanalysis, Psychodrama is a role-based approach that helps individuals “remove emotional scar tissue” from their inner world. When trauma happens, the body can shut down the thinking & processing part of our brains – activating our fight-or-flight nervous system. This is why trauma is often remembered hazily – our processing brain (prefrontal cortex) was shutting down & our reactive emotional brain (subcortical, limbic system) was igniting.

Due to neurons firing this way, our bodies likely record the feelings that accompany trauma without the narrative — it’s trying to help us understand these complex experiences. The purpose of implementing psychodynamic practices in session is to help you recover those emotional wounds associated with unresolved traumas to your inner world. While re-visiting psychological pain is not ideal, it is vital to healing – “by processing the experience, you are able to assist the body in releasing the painful feelings associated with it.”