Treatment Approach
Our team believes in an integrative approach to treatment and utilizes various treatment methods based on individual needs. We collaborate with each client to develop an individualized treatment plan that focuses on acceptance of one’s emotional and life experiences, symptom reduction, and improvement in quality of life. We primarily draw on evidenced based approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and mindfulness techniques to help clients become more aware of the link between their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. With much sincerity and compassion, we aim to implement these strategies to increase clients ability to effectively cope with emotions and change negative thought and behavioral patterns in their lives.
Treatment Techniques
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT is a collaborative and goal oriented approach that focuses on the interaction of one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and how these interactions impact one’s daily functioning and mood. It is a time-limited and structured therapy that offers practical solutions and coping strategies to manage the difficulties in one’s life. CBT is backed by a myriad of research that demonstrates the efficacy of various CBT treatment protocols.
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DIalectical Behavior Therapy
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DBT, developed by Marsha Linehan, is a unique, specialized form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that is currently utilized for the treatment of adolescents and adults who exhibit difficulties with impulsive/destructive behaviors, emotional dysregulation, interpersonal relationships, and managing anxiety and mood disorders. It is a skills-based treatment that focuses on the acceptance of one’s experiences and on creating desired change in one’s life. As a comprehensive treatment, DBT offers weekly individual therapy, weekly skills group, help with the generalization of skills to daily life and treatment by a DBT consultation team. DBT has the following goals: to decrease life threatening behaviors, decrease therapy-interfering behaviors, and increase the use of effective coping skills (i.e., learning to deal with conflict, learning to cope with painful emotions, improving positive self-care) in order to create a life worth living.
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Mindfulness and Acceptance Based Strategies
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We often move through our lives quickly, as if on auto-pilot, being less aware of our experiences than we would like. Mindfulness teaches us to slow down, pause, and be fully aware of our emotions, thoughts, body, and actions. Mindfulness improves ability to pay attention to the moment we are in, rather than to those of the past or those yet to come. It also helps us to refocus our attention when needed and to be less judgmental of our experiences. With the use of mindfulness and other acceptance strategies, we are not pushing our experiences away, but embracing them without immediate reactions. Mindfulness techniques have been shown to improve emotion regulation, impulse control, attention, performance in academic and work settings, and overall health.
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