Therapeutic Approaches

Simply put, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on the interconnection of one’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotional experiences. Change can happen when goals are set to modify any part of the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions link. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, individuals learn that their perceptions directly influence how they respond to specific situations by increasing awareness of negative and irrational self-talk and unhealthy behaviors and teaching tools to help overcome those self-limiting beliefs and behaviors.

Attachment-based therapy looks at the connection between an infant’s early experiences with primary caregivers, and the infant’s ability to develop and form healthy emotional and physical relationships as an adult. It focuses on thoughts, feelings, communications, behavioral patterns, and interpersonal exchanges that individuals have learned through those early experiences to either suppress and avoid or to amplify and overemphasize. Attachment-based therapy focuses on building emotional bonds, trust and empathic, enjoyable relationships with others.

Mindfulness simply means maintaining a nonjudgmental, moment-to-moment awareness. It means bringing one's attention to the here and now and to not judge, rather to let go, of any judgements and expectations one may have about whatever is happening in the moment. 

Key Principles of Mindfulness:

- Non-judgment

- Patience

- Beginners Mind

- Trust

- Non-striving

- Acceptance

- Letting go

Positive Psychology puts emphasis on the positive factors and influences in one’s life. It focuses on moving away from what is ‘wrong’ or the negative aspects of an individual, and instead moves towards what is good, positive and healthy in the individual, their life and their relationships. Positive Psychology considers and works towards developing an individual’s happiness, well-being, and quality of life, It focuses on their character strengths, optimistic emotions, engagement in life, healthy relationships, meaning in life and reaching goals. Positive Psychology helps individuals to identify happiness from moment to moment while finding appreciation in these moments.

Solution Focused Therapy puts focus on a clients present and future situations and goals. It is goal-oriented, which means that a therapist provides the support and encouragement a client needs in order to reach their goals, while taking into consideration and exploring the skills, strengths, resources and abilities needed in order to reach the desired outcome successfully. 

Key Principles of Solution Focused Therapy: 

- If it is not broken, we don’t fix it. 

- Once you know that something works, then do more of it. 

- If something is not working, then do something differently. 

Brainspotting is a therapeutic technique, developed by psychologist Dr. David Grand, that aims to help individuals access and process traumatic or emotionally charged experiences that may be stuck in the brain and body. 

The technique involves focusing on a specific "spot" in the visual field that corresponds to the area of the brain where the trauma or emotional experience is believed to be stored. This spot is identified through the client's eye position and the therapist's guidance. By maintaining eye contact with the spot while recalling the traumatic experience, the individual can access and process the stored emotions and experiences.

Brainspotting is based on the idea that trauma and other emotional experiences can become "locked" in the brain and body, leading to symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and physical pain. By accessing and processing these experiences through the use of specific eye positions and guided mindfulness, the technique aims to help individuals release the stored emotions and achieve greater emotional regulation and well-being.

Brainspotting is often used in combination with other therapeutic approaches, such as talk therapy, and is particularly effective for treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, 

Resources: 

What is a Brainspot? on Vimeo

As a client, why choose Brainspotting? on Vimeo

Who does Brainspotting work with? on Vimeo