approaches to therapy

Our approaches to therapy and counselling integrates several modalities: Trauma-informed approaches, i.e. EMDR and somatic approaches, Parts-work, Self-Compassion, Psychodynamic approaches, Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and addiction recovery. 

By inviting a sense of curiosity toward what it means to be fully human, we can dissolve the bonds of shame and self-criticism that keep us locked in cycles of emotional distress and destructive behaviours.

Trauma-informed approaches, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/)

Using a trauma-informed approach, we understand dysregulation in mood, perception and behaviour as stemming from past traumatic events. We understand how trauma has impacted our nervous system and can lead to coping behaviours that may have helped us to survive the traumatic events, but continue to interrupt our lives. We practice grounding tools to bring a sense of safety in the here and now. We learn how to calm our nervous system when hyper-aroused, and bring movement and mobilization when frozen or numb. We cultivate adaptive beliefs about ourselves in the face of uncertainty, and we cultivate healthy emotional boundaries and responsibility, because relational trauma intrudes on our boundaries and distorts our sense of responsibility. 

EMDR helps to reprocess traumatic experiences, lowering the intensity of distress and increasing one’s feeling of safety and agency related to their experiences. Using dual awareness - processing past trauma in the context of the safe therapeutic relationship while simultaneously engaging other parts of the brain through bilateral eye movements, tones, or taps, EMDR promotes healing, emotional stability and symptom reduction.

A parts-work perspective helps us to understand and work with the various opposing and overwhelming feelings, impulses and needs that can pull us in many directions, leading us to feel stuck or caught in unhelpful cycles of behaviour. 

Somatic Approaches

Traumatic experiences are mainly held in the body. When triggered, we may not consciously associate the past with the present, however our body may re-experience those memories in the form of nervous-system activation, and so we may re-experience fear, hypervigilance, numbness, confusion or overwhelm in the present. Bottom-up approaches to soothe and calm our nervous system when in a state of panic, or mobilize our body when in a state of frozenness is an important part of our approach to psychotherapy and to assist you with building resilience in your life.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Integrating CBT into psychotherapy means being curious about how we make meaning of ourselves, others and our experiences and how those meanings impact how we feel, our body sensations, and how we behave or cope. We can get stuck in patterned unhelpful ways of perceiving things - sometimes called “distorted thinking”, and this can drive cycles of anxiety, depression or anger. Some examples of distorted thoughts, “I’m a failure; I’m an imposter; I’m unloveable; it’s never going to be OK; I’m defective; I’m powerless”.  Unhelpful ways of coping or behaving, such as avoidance, withdrawal or shutting down, can perpetuate these distressing thoughts and feelings as well. Using a CBT approach, we start to bring awareness to these unhelpful cycles and start to cultivate healthier, more adaptive meanings of ourselves and others, as well as take risks to face our fears, instead of avoid. 

Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn describes mindfulness as our awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom. Mindfulness can be practiced through meditative practices, such as breath practices, body scans, and progressive muscle relaxation. It is also a foundation in psychotherapy as we bring non-judgemental awareness to our moment-by-moment experience in therapy as well as invite this awareness into our lives. This way, we can cultivate a more accurate appraisal of what is actually happening within us at each successive moment of our experience. When we let-go of judgements, we create space for compassion and acceptance which can lead to healthier choices and habits.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Our senses are constantly bombarded with a variety of stimuli, however we can only consciously attend to a few things at a time. Life events have been impactful in shaping our sense of self, nervous system, our trust in ourselves and others. Much of this content lies behind the scenes in what we call the unconscious. Our lifetime of experiences along with unspoken values from our family and culture, influence us in ways we may not be consciously aware of. It's the things we often forget about, whether intentionally or not, that remain in our unconscious that drive our conscious experiences, thoughts and feelings. Our past experiences are held in our unconscious mind and affect what we attend to and how we make meaning of ourselves, others, and our experiences.

When you notice yourself overreacting to a present-day experience, you may not be overreacting to what is happening right now, as you may be partly responding to a past unprocessed distressing experience that is unresolved. You can’t cut yourself off from your experiences, memories or associations, no matter how long ago they happened - they shape who you are and how you relate to yourself and others. A safe, non-judgemental relationship with a therapist will foster curiosity and compassion towards the impact of past experiences on your present life, facilitating healing and integration of past and present. When we put the past in the past, it loses its grip on our present day self, allowing you to make different meanings and choices in the present moment.

Addictions

“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it’s connection” (Yohan Hari).

Addictive behaviours often start out as a solution to a problem: using pleasure or numbing to escape overwhelming emotional, mental or physical pain. As the addiction progresses, what started out as a solution becomes a frightening problem. Shame and isolation fuel the engine of addictive living, leaving the suffering individual completely devoid of self-compassion and insight to the true nature of their predicament.

Within the safety of the therapeutic relationship, you can be supported to look at the cycles of thought, feelings, and behaviour keeping you stuck in addictive living, as well as bring curiosity and compassion towards those experiences that have led you down the path of addiction. Identifying and working with triggers and old patterns, you can begin to integrate healthier ways of coping and connecting with others, building your resilience and freeing you up to live your desired life.