Therapy Approaches
In-person and telehealth
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidenced-based treatment approach to address trauma, anxiety, depression, and other life distressing events.
EMDR uses techniques that stimulate the bilateral movement of the left and right brain (similar to REM sleep processing) to help individuals process information from different parts of the brain. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion). By accessing different parts of the brain that regular talk therapy doesn’t use, this treatment helps resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain leading to long term changes and healing.
EDMR Therapy
Brainspotting
Brainspotting is a treatment method that uses points in someone’s visual field to identify, process and release the neurological source of emotional and physical pain, trauma, anxiety, depression, dissociation, or other difficult to treat psychological symptoms.
Many people have been in therapy for a long time. They may have addressed symptoms and learn how to manage them, but never get to the root of the issue. Brainspotting is a tool that accesses the automatic and limbic system within the central nervous system. This allows individuals to get to the heart of the problems they’re struggling with and make positive, long-term changes.
Traditional talk therapy accesses the neo-cortex “conscious thinking brain.” Brainspotting is a brain and body treatment that targets the subcortex. It bypasses the conscious neo-cortical thinking (neo-cortex) to access deep subcortical emotional and body-based parts of the brain where much subconscious and unconscious connections occur.
Inner Child Work
Every childhood has its own adverse experiences, and some may have had more severe than others. Regardless of the number of adverse experiences you may have had, most people have learned some dysfunctional beliefs and behaviors that stem from childhood. We work with adults to explore how current dysfunctional thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors may be related to our “Inner Wounded Child.” By using the Inner Child, clients learn how to see these dysfunctions through a more compassionate, kind lens, leading to new insight and learning skills to elicit real long-term change.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is an evidence-based therapy that uses eye movements and body scanning while the individual visualizes a distressing memory. This process helps the brain reprocess the memory in a away that reduces the emotional distress associated with the memory, similar to EMDR. However, ART also uses voluntary image replacement, where the individual is guided by the therapist to replace distressing images with more positive or neural ones. The client remains fully aware and in control throughout the process.
This therapy typically offers fast relief within 1-4 sessions and can be used to treat PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, shame and much more.