Types of Therapy

Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents impacted by trauma and their parents or caregivers. TF-CBT successfully resolves a broad array of emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with single, multiple, and complex trauma experiences.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an effective approach developed for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, but many therapists use elements of DBT for a variety of other issues, as the principle focus is on mindfulness, distress tolerance, and the development of coping skills. There is a strong emphasis on the building of personal skills and of empowerment. DBT skills training specifically focuses on the development of mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, management of distress, and better regulation of emotions. It assists the individual in developing a deeper understanding of themselves and how they function in the world. Generalization of skills learned and implementation into everyday life is achieved through coaching.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a unique, empirically based psychological intervention that is effective with multiple psychological disorders. ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies together with commitment and behavior change strategies to increase psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility means contacting the present moment fully as a conscious human being and changing or persisting in behavior in the service of chosen values. ACT illuminates the ways that language entangles clients into futile attempts to wage war against their own inner lives. Through metaphor, paradox, and experiential exercises clients learn how to make healthy contact with thoughts, feelings, memories, and physical sensations that have been feared and avoided. Clients gain the skills to re-contextualize and accept these thoughts, feelings, and memories, develop greater clarity about personal values, and commit to needed behavior change.

Narrative Therapy is a collaborative approach to therapy. It focuses on the stories of people’s lives and is based on the idea that problems are manufactured in social, cultural and political contexts. Often by the time a person has come to therapy the stories they have for themselves and their lives become completely dominated by problems that work to oppress them. These narratives are sometimes called ‘problem-saturated’ stories. Problem-saturated stories can also become identities (example: seeing someone as a victim, rather than someone who has survived a trauma). These kinds of stories can invite a powerful negative influence into the way people see their lives and capabilities (e.g. I’m hopeless). Counselors and therapists interested in narrative ideas and practices collaborate with people in stepping away from problem-saturated and oppressive stories to discovering the ‘untold’ story which includes the preferred accounts of people’s lives (their intentions, hopes, commitments, values, desires, and dreams).

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a very effective trauma-focused psychotherapy. Trauma can change the way you think about yourself and the world. CPT teaches you how to evaluate and change the upsetting thoughts you have had since your trauma. By changing your thoughts, you can change how you feel. You may believe you are to blame for what happened or that the world is a dangerous place. These kinds of thoughts keep you stuck in your PTSD and cause you to miss out on things you used to enjoy. CPT teaches you a new way to handle these upsetting thoughts. In CPT, you will learn skills that can help you decide whether there are more helpful ways to think about your trauma. You will learn how to examine whether the facts support your thought or do not support your thought. And ultimately, you can decide whether or not it makes sense to take a new perspective.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal; however, repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can, in fact, heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. EMDR clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes. EMDR therapy involves attention to three time periods: the past, present, and future. The focus is given to past disturbing memories and related events. Also, it is given to current situations that cause distress, and to developing the skills and attitudes needed for positive future actions.

As the name suggests, SFBT is future-focused, goal-directed, and focuses on solutions, rather than on the problems that brought clients to seek therapy. Described as a practical, goal-driven model, a hallmark of SFBT is its emphasis on clear, concise, realistic goal negotiations. The SFBT approach assumes that all clients have some knowledge of what would make their life better, even though they may need some (at times, considerable) help describing the details of their better life and that everyone who seeks help already possesses at least the minimal skills necessary to create solutions. All therapy is a form of specialized conversations. With SFBT, the conversation is directed toward developing and achieving the client’s vision of solutions.

Losing a loved one is often a deeply painful and disorienting experience. While loss is a normal part of life, sometimes people get stuck in grief and find themselves unable to move on with their lives. It can be helpful to give yourself the time and space to grieve in your own way. No two losses are the same, and there is no “right” way to grieve. In some cases, part of making space for grieving involves setting aside time to speak with a professional counselor or therapist who can help you gain perspective and adapt to the changes you are facing. If you find yourself stuck in grief, unable to put your life back together, or thinking over and over about a loved one for many months after you lost them, this might be a time to seek out therapy.

Relationships can be one of the most rewarding aspects of life but are also complex and challenging at times. Couples counseling or marital therapy is a chance to learn skills, resolve conflict, and become powerful allies with your partner. You and your partner identify the common triggers that derail conversation and understanding, so conflict becomes an opportunity to grow closer and an enduring friendship can emerge. We aim to bring stability to relationships and empower you with the tools to deepen intimacy. Some concerns that people address in couples therapy include the following: conflict resolution, developing more effective ways to communicate with each other, work on rebuilding a relationship after infidelity, and work on separating from each other in a respectful way when a relationship is ending.

When an adult encounters a challenging situation, we often analyze it, think about it from different angles, talk to others we trust and get advice. But children are different. When they encounter a tough problem, they don’t always have the ability to problem solve, let alone communicate what’s going on to someone they trust. That’s where Play Therapy comes in. Play Therapy is a developmentally sensitive model that acknowledges that children naturally communicate through the language of play and many children do not developmentally have the cognitive ability to express themselves in words. It creates a safe atmosphere where children can express themselves through play, experientially “play” out new roles, learn social skills, and work through their problems. Play Therapy gives children expressive freedom and an opportunity to learn to solve problems, explore different ways of reacting and change maladaptive behaviors. Play Therapy can be a successful medium for many children. Children that benefit from this approach are children that struggle with trust or opening up to adults and/or other children, or appear withdrawn or introverted. Play Therapy can also be a successful medium for the more reactive, attention seeking and aggressive child. Play Therapy is also a good fit for children with language challenges such as learning disabilities or selective mutism because a play therapist understands that children can communicate their feelings without talking about them, and instead use play as a technique to better communicate.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET) is a form of psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After a traumatic event, some people experience unwanted thoughts, disturbing nightmares, feelings of hopelessness, depression, and hyper-vigilance. If you have these symptoms, you understandably want to avoid thoughts, feelings, and things that remind you of the trauma. The goal of PET is to gradually help you reengage with life, especially with things you have been avoiding. By doing so, you will strengthen your ability to distinguish safety from danger and decrease your PTSD symptoms. PET is conducted by a single clinician through one-on-one therapy. Sessions typically last 90 minutes and occur once a week for approximately three months, though treatment can be shorter at two months or longer at 15 weeks. PE treatment involves Imaginal Exposure and In Vivo Exposure.