Therapeutic Approaches
Research shows that a positive therapeutic alliance is the most significant factor in client success in therapy, however, the types of interventions offered play a large role as well. If you are looking for a specific intervention or approach, you will find useful information below.
Internal Family Systems
“When you say, “A Part of me feels that...” you have already embraced the basic idea of internal family systems, whether you are aware of it or not.” -Jon Schwartz, IFS.
The therapist collaborates with the client to identify different aspects of the self and establish connections among them. Each session incorporates talk therapy to delve into an individual's inner world. It's important for individuals to concentrate on their inner selves, which may occasionally lead to feelings of discomfort, fear, shame, or anger. Rest assured, the therapist will assist you in managing these emotions and developing healthier ways to cope with them.
Acceptance / Committment Therapy
Happiness doesn’t have to mean feeling good. Happiness can mean cultivating a rich and meaningful life. When you act on your values daily, you can stop pursuing happiness in some ideal future state. The basic premise behind Acceptance Commitment Therapy is learning to unhook from irrelevant thoughts and pay attention to the ones that will help you move toward your meaningful existence.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapists strive to work collaboratively with clients to help them make sense of their experiences and revise their life stories to be more empowering – challenging unhelpful interpretations and assumptions and changing narrow, self-defeating views of self, others, and the world.
Exposure / Response Therapy
Exposure and response therapy can help people manage obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior. Individuals are exposed to stimuli that evoke distress, obsessive thoughts, or compulsive, ritualistic behavior. They learn therapeutic techniques to help prevent their usual maladaptive response, and they get accustomed to experiencing a trigger but not giving in to the compulsion.
Neurocounseling
Neural pathways are formed when people frequently engage in thoughts or behaviors. The stronger the neural pathways, the easier that thought or behavior becomes. Neuroplasticity can change all of that. People can strengthen neural pathways that serve them and lessen those that don’t. They can change the pathways of existing neurons and grow new ones. Without exception, when people learn more about the brain and body connections, they learn how to pay attention to the deep connections that influence the brain from the body (bottom-up processing) and the brain to the body (top-down processing).
Somatic Trauma Therapy
“No recovery from trauma is possible without attending to issues of safety, care for the self, reparative connections to other human beings, and a renewed faith in the universe. The therapist’s job is to witness this process and teach the client how.”
-Janina Fisher, The Living Legacy of Trauma.
Feminist Based Therapy
Feminist therapy includes couples, families, people of all ages, and any gender, exploring the role gender plays in their emotional lives and relationships. Clients can expect to explore their identities, consider their strengths, and learn to use them to feel greater societal power. Clients learn how to build up their identity and self-esteem to the extent that they can behave freely rather than conform to cultural expectations that others have deemed appropriate.
Religious Trauma Syndrome Therapy
Religious Trauma Syndrome is the condition experienced by people struggling with leaving an authoritarian, dogmatic religion and coping with the damage of indoctrination. They may be going through the shattering of a personally meaningful faith and/or breaking away from a controlling community and lifestyle. RTS is a function of both the chronic abuses of harmful religion and the impact of severing one’s connection with one’s faith. It can be compared to a combination of PTSD and Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).
Mindfulness Therapy
We all have an innate ability to be present, composed, and thoughtful as we face the challenges of our busy lives. There is no question that mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom are more important than ever before. Mindfulness practices are generally thought to work by changing your brain’s responses to stress. The idea is that by reminding yourself to view the world with curiosity rather than judgment, you can strengthen the part of your brain that manages your emotions.