Here you will find information about the therapy styles that we use most often. Please note this list is not comprehensive.
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
MI is a great starting place. MI helps us explore what gets in the way of you making healthier choices in your life. MI respects that you (or your kids) often know what is good for you and choose something different anyway. This is true for children and adults. This therapy is a good starting place and helps to create a foundation that can be built upon. For more information see below:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/motivational-interviewing
Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
CPP is a treatment that focuses on the caregiver and the child together. In this model of therapy, the therapist spends a significant amount of time gathering history to be able to understand how the caregiver’s experience is having an impact on the child. The therapist and caregiver work together to create a narrative, or story, for the child. This treatment style is based on attachment theory and incorporates psycho-dynamic, developmental, social learning, cognitive behavioral and trauma theories as well. This treatment is comprehensive and extremely helpful especially for children ages 0-5. The training is an intensive 18-month long process. More information about CPP follows: http://childparentpsychotherapy.com/about/
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a way of processing traumatic memories. Often your traumatic memories can end up getting “stuck.” I describe this as putting on sunglasses and everything you see from that point forward you see through a “trauma lens.” EMDR is a way of getting the right and left sides of your brain talking to each other so the traumatic memory can be stored properly. In effect, taking off those sunglasses. This therapy is good for kids, teens, and adults. One of the benefits is that EMDR can be effective with little talking. This can be helpful because some memories are too intense for words or you are unable to describe them. The following article has more information about how it works:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
CBT is a therapy that focuses on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT says that you can make changes in any one of those areas that will impact the others. For example, if you change your thoughts then your behaviors and feelings will change also. TF-CBT is a trauma-focused way of looking at CBT. This type of therapy focuses on self-regulation and/or coping skills and making a trauma narrative.
“When we own our own story we avoid being trapped as characters in stories someone else is telling.”
RISING STRONG BY BRENE BROWN
In making this narrative you (or your kids) can gain power over your trauma and own your story. TF-CBT help us to own our own stories.
You can find more information about CBT* and TF-CBT* by following these links:
https://tfcbt.org/about-tfcbt/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296579.php#what-is-cbt
*(please note CBT & TF-CBT are incorporated with other types of therapy)
Life Span Integration Therapy
Lifespan Integration (LI) is an innovative form of psychotherapy that acknowledges the intricate connection between the mind and body, and how our experiences influence our daily interactions, perspectives, and emotions. Our extensive neural networks can be likened to spider webs – the denser and more interconnected these webs are, the more integrated we become. This integration can lead to positive attributes such as an internal sense of safety, self-compassion, emotional regulation, the ability to establish and maintain boundaries, a more meaningful and present connection to life, a sense of closure in the mind, and profound change. All of this is achieved through the creation of one’s timeline (a list of explicit memories), which is used repeatedly in various LI protocols during sessions.
OR