Let’s talk what to expect during a therapy session.
My intent for therapy is that it is not rigid in nature. The most important part of therapy is that you, the client, feels comfortable. There is an art and a science that we want to balance and that changes with every session. With that being said, I am a big believer in evidence based therapeutic approaches. Here are a couple different models of care I like to incorporate into sessions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT works by the principle that our thoughts affect our emotions which affects our behaviors and the decision we make. Once we think or are told something long enough it becomes automatic. These automatic thoughts become core beliefs that absolutely shape the way we see ourselves. When we start to question the reality of these intrusive automatic thoughts that are no longer serving us we can begin to create new ones that help us grow into a more positive and healthy person.
Mindfulness/ Mind Body Connection
The central theme of this approach is using our physical feelings to get in tune with how we are feeling in the present moment. When we can slow down the stress response in our brain this helps us make more logical and informed decisions. When was the last time you took notice of how tense your shoulders are or focused on your breathing pattern? It may seem irrelevant to the problems you are experiencing, but we are swimming against the current if we don’t learn the skills needed to use our body as a tool and get in tune with the moment we are in in order to solve problems more effectively. I love the saying “you can’t fix a problem if you are in the problem.” The best way to get outside of a problem is to slow down the stress response in order to use your own executive functioning skills. Mindfulness does just that.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
also known as ACT is an empirically based therapy that integrates mindfulness into the traditional behavioral approach. I love using ACT because it reframes the way we look at emotions. Have you ever gotten upset over something you swore you wouldn’t let get to you again and then got even more upset that you were upset in the first place? One principle of ACT is that we are not judging emotions as good or bad, but tools to inform us on what is happening inside. The behavioral part of ACT is the commitment we make to continue to promote healthy change even as we continue to experience the wide continuum of emotions that simply comes with being human. What this means is even if we feel anxious about something that we need not stop ourselves from self growth until we no longer feel anxious. Emotions, like anxiety, may be a normal response to a situation. ACT helps us learn how to coexist with those feelings instead of attempting to repress them.
EMDR- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy
EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach designed to help people heal from trauma and other distressing life experiences. EMDR helps the brain reprocess painful memories that may feel “stuck,” reducing their emotional intensity and negative impact. During EMDR sessions, I guide clients to briefly focus on a distressing memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation—such as guided eye movements, tapping, or sounds—which supports the brain’s natural healing processes. EMDR is widely used to treat post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and other trauma-related concerns, and is recognized as an effective treatment by organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the World Health Organization. EMDR has been studied to be just as effective in telehealth platforms as it is in person.