Treatment Approach
What treatment methods and tools are utilized?
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: helps one develop change by observing and reframing negative thoughts that could be impacting one's mood and behaviors. This approach also encourages one to engage in activities that would boost mood and in turn influence thoughts positively. Lastly, this approach instills that idea of building tolerance towards uncomfortable thoughts or emotions by sitting in, monitoring the intensity, and recognizing one's resilience.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy: consists of skills including mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. This approach can help one manage their big feelings, reduce self-harming behaviors and suicidal ideation, and have improved relationships. Originally created for people with borderline personality disorder but is now highly effective for various types of diagnoses.
Cognitive Processing Therapy is a manualized treatment for PTSD and trauma-related concerns, which helps one develop healthy thinking patterns about the effects of their trauma(s) without requiring a detailed trauma account. It is another form of CBT with a specific focus on trauma.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: This approach can help one develop psychological flexibility by recognizing areas of rigidity in their thoughts and behaviors. It also helps people become more in touch with their values by creating and accomplishing committed actions that align with those values.
Internal Family Systems: An approach that helps one speak to their parts. Imagine the kids movie "Inside Out" where it was important to recognize that all emotions are welcome and therefore ok to express. The idea is to "unburden" oneself from all the weight of one's past, emotions and thoughts. Of note: I'm not certified in this approach and I only use it to help patient become more internally aware.
I integrate mindfulness to help tap into areas not often accessed such as bodily sensations, emotions and thoughts, which I called internal check-in's or awareness.
I also integrate attachment theory to recognize impacts of early life experiences with your caregiver(s), which may impact your capacity for connection, and to develop healthy, flexible ways of relating with others.
A niche area is disordered eating and body image concerns, which I treat with using the philosophies from Health At Every Size and The Body Positive Institute.