Approach

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy that is helpful in reducing symptoms resulting from distressing life experiences. Often times individuals experience blocks in life due to past experiences, which prevent them from living a fulfilling life. EMDR helps to flush out those blocks, so that you can live free of those blocks. EMDR was initially designed to treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.  Many studies have found this to be an effective treatment for PTSD.  However, EMDR may be useful for individuals who do not meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD.  EMDR can also be helpful with anxiety, depression, phobias, developmental trauma, attachment or relationship issues, etc. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha Linehan for those struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder and others struggling with self-harm and suicidality. However, it is also beneficial to anyone who struggles with regulating intense emotions. Typically people who struggle with dysregulated emotions have found unhealthy ways of coping which might include: addiction, self-harm, eating disorders, sex addiction, relationship addiction, etc. Each of these can be used as a way to cope with difficult emotions that feel too overwhelming to tolerate. However these issues tend to help short-term, but have many negative consequences in the long-run, therefore it’s helpful to develop coping tools to replace old ineffective ways of managing emotions.

Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) is a heart-centered model of trauma therapy that was developed by Lisa Schwarz, M.Ed., a licensed psychologist. It is a model of trauma therapy that uses brain- and body-based safety as the basis of healing. Lisa developed this model for the most complex and traumatized clients, including those with Dissociative Identity Disorder and Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder, Complex PTSD, attachment issues, and gestational trauma. Lisa developed this model after seeing clients with complex symptoms and histories going into states of overwhelm, flooding, severe abreaction, or dissociation that prevented them from processing deeply traumatic experiences and experiencing long-term change. CRM provides neurobiological scaffolding that enables your brain to connect to a sense of safety to override automatic fear responses.

Hypnosis is a state of highly focused attention where there is deep inner absorption. In this state, individuals are more open to suggestions that facilitate change, even with behaviors that have become quite fixed. Clinicians trained in Clinical Hypnosis facilitate your natural capacity to go into this state. You remain in control of the process the whole time. Often when hypnosis is introduced, clients say, "I don't like to feel out of control." Being out of control while in trance is actually a frequent misconception about hypnosis. As a clinician facilitates your state of focused attention, he or she is unable to make you do anything that you do not want to do. In fact, we often bring up the idea of stage hypnosis, which is typically the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the word hypnosis. Even with stage hypnosis, it is very difficult to be made to do anything that you would not normally do. 

Individuals with histories of trauma are often disconnected from their bodies. You may feel that being in your body feels unsafe. Many fear the painful and/or distressing sensations that arise when being fully embodied.  This can arise when doing focused breathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, etc. Yoga, along with other somatic techniques can teach you to befriend your body.

Trauma Stage Processing is an experiential approach to processing trauma. It looks at trauma as occurring in various stages. It uses art to represent different stages of the traumatic event.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP)

Although talk therapy has many benefits, for some clients in therapy, words fail to heal deeply traumatic wounds or relational injury. Our bodies have inherent wisdom that we can learn from. Many clients have talked and talked about their trauma experiences, but have failed to experience true healing and relief from their symptoms of trauma. 

Ego State Therapy is a model that approaches distressing symptoms as a result of inner conflict between parts of self, or “ego states.” Ego states are neural networks that hold consistent patterns of information, behavior, attention, and emotion. Everyone has different ego states; a common example might be a person’s “work mode,” which is very different from their “playful parent mode” or their “romantic partner mode.”  Ego states can be associated with different developmental stages as well; think “inner child” or “inner adolescent”.