EMDR Therapy
“For the mind can self-heal, if we just get out of its way.”
What Is EMDR Therapy? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a therapy for treatment of emotional difficulties linked to stressful events and memories. EMDR therapy is based on the philosophy that we can access the brain’s innate “immune system response” for healing psychological pain. In a nutshell, when we feel overwhelmed due to stress or trauma, our brain can’t effectively process and digest events… simply because these experiences are too big of an emotional bite! As a result, our mind’s natural healing mechanisms get blocked and we are left with the side effects of those events such as hypervigilence, anxiety and numbness or lethargy.
What To Expect In Session? During an EMDR session, we deliberately activate a network of traumatic memory while stimulating the right and the left hemisphere in the brain (through eye movement or sound manipulation). To put it bluntly, we short circuit the nervous system by pairing something soothing with a distressing memory which helps the brain release and neutralize the emotional reactivity attached to past events.
What Does EMDR Therapy Most Help With? PTSD & Upsetting Memories, Phobia, Stuck Grief, Fear Responses, Relational Trauma
Somatic Therapy
“For the body always remembers.”
What Is Somatic Therapy? Somatic psychotherapy (also known as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy) is a body-oriented talk therapy that addresses painful memories stored non-verbally and subconsciously within our body and brain stem (the lower reptilian brain). For instance, many people who develop emotional difficulties after a traumatic event carry a belief that the world is not safe; consequently, their body shows this belief in symptoms such as restlessness or feeling on the lookout for something. This is a simple example of how our body hangs onto an upsetting event and continues to carry residual responses long after the event is over. Somatic therapy works to calm the nervous system and release stuck pain trapped in the body.
What To Expect In Session? In therapy session, we access and process non-verbal psychological information such as the felt sensations, urges, emotions and beliefs evoked in the body to help release emotional pain. Research is increasingly recognizing that long lasting and holistic recovery is dependent on integrating psychological messages of both the body and the mind in psychotherapy.
What Does Somatic Therapy Most Help With? Somatic Symptoms, Chronic Pain, Hyperarousal Symptoms, Implicit & Nonverbal Trauma, Not Feeling Embodied
Internal Family Systems Therapy
“For there’s a disowned place inside each of us.”
What Is Internal Family Systems Therapy? IFS is a form of Ego State Therapy that draws on well-established therapeutic modalities of Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy, Psychodynamic Therapy and the Structural Dissociation model. Our mind is made up of multiple parts… many ego states! Some parts serve to protect and shield, other parts are fearful in nature; some parts live in shame tucked away just below our consciousness and other parts only peak out to criticize in moments of failure! IFS aims to resolve the inner conflict we experience and integrate our dis-associated and exiled pain.
What To Expect In Session? We use props, mindfulness and visualization in session to identify the many parts of our mind that come online and take charge. Then, we work to negotiate, resolve and reprocess their conflicts, roles and emotional pain. It’s like bite sizing our inner experience, so that we can better understand, address and digest our patterns of emotions and behaviors.
What Does Internal Family Systems Therapy Most Help With? Dissociation, Complex PTSD, Relationship Issues, OCD, Addictive Behaviors, Attachment Injuries
LENS Neurofeedback Therapy
“For the brain CAN change.”
What Is LENS Neurofeedback? The brain’s natural response to stress is to suppress its own non-essential neural activity so that it can expend energy to cope and recover; this neurobiological alteration after difficult experiences leads to post traumatic symptoms, anxiety and emotional dysregulation. LENS is a high performance neurofeedback therapy that focuses on disentrainment of frozen and stuck neuropathways in the brain, using principles of neuroplasticity. It gently nudges the brain to become more flexible, self-regulate and achieve mental balance in a short amount of time.
What To Expect In Session? About 15 minutes of the session is used to gently stimulate (via special LENS technology sensors) parts of the brain that are dysfunctional. The remaining 45 minutes of the session involve use of psychotherapy modalities of IFS, EMDR and Somatic Therapy to regulate the mind and the body in moving through trauma memories and stuck procedural patterns.
What Does LENS Neurofeedback Most Help With? Anxiety, Dissociation, PTSD, Central Nervous System Symptoms (e.g., difficulty with focus, low motivation, lack of energy)
Trauma-Informed Exposure Response Prevention Therapy
“For there’s always a root cause.”
What Is Trauma-Informed Exposure Response Prevention Therapy? Exposure Response Prevention Therapy is a form of Behavioral Therapy that aims to reduce repetitive thoughts and actions. We take a gradual, non-pathological and trauma-informed approach in therapy to avoid emotional flooding and hijacking of the nervous system while targeting the root causes of “obsessions” and “compulsions”!
What To Expect In Session? We begin by mapping the different parts of the mind that reinforce obsessive thoughts and compulsive patterns using Internal Family Systems Therapy. Then, we build a structured and achievable ladder of behavioral experiments that gently push you outside of your comfort zone without causing overwhelm. Finally, we bring in EMDR Therapy to help desensitize fears connected to OCD symptoms.
What Does Trauma-Informed Exposure Response Prevention Therapy Most Help With? OCD Symptoms & Phobias
Art in Therapy | Music Therapy
“For image & sound whisper to our subconscious.”
We live in a world that cannot be merely expressed in words! We are sensory beings: image, sound and movement are embedded in our daily life and deeply tied into our experience of trauma and relationships. It is not uncommon for both pain and hope to be expressed through a melody, a gesture or a work of art. Whether a trigger to the past or a cue to empowerment, image and sound are with us along this journey.
Why Use Art And Music In Therapy? Research shows that emotional pain is held beyond words in the right brain and stored at the heart and gut level. We use art and music therapy principles to intentionally access, process and release difficult inner experiences.
What To Expect In Session? We use image, visual drawings, sound, melody and movement in psychotherapy to bring up nonverbal emotions. We then use EMDR and Somatic Therapy to help process these experiences. Sara has a background in integrating art into trauma work; Laura is a trained trauma and accredited music therapist; and Carly uses art to help access disowned emotional experiences.
What Does Art And Music In Therapy Most Help With? Numbness, Difficulties Accessing Emotions, Difficulties with Visualization, Integration of Nonverbal Experiences
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
“For it’s not a one-size-fits-all.”
What Is Mindfulness-Based Therapy? Mindfulness is like physiotherapy training for the brain. Our brain is constantly scanning the environment for risks and threats, instead of searching for pleasure and calm. This automatic habit has been a survival mechanism to respond quickly, efficiently and to prevent harm. On the flip side, this tendency can also hijack our whole system and cause considerable distress, anxiety and depression. Mindfulness trains the muscles in the brain to slow down this hijacking and tolerate difficult emotions, physical sensations and thoughts. For instance, we can’t stop thinking, but we can train the brain to pay attention to our immediate environment instead of being trapped in negativity. And just like physiotherapy, repetition of mindfulness skill builds new neural networks and synapses in the brain that can respond adaptively to psychological distress.
What To Expect In Session? We pepper principles of mindfulness in every method of therapy we offer. This may look like visualization, bringing your attention to body sensations or offering compassion to parts of your inner self that have been traditionally judged.
What Does Mindfulness-Based Therapy Most Help With? Symptoms of Hyperarousal, Shame, Self-Criticism, Emotional Processing