Many different types of therapy have been developed over the past century. Each different therapy model, in my opinion, has something to offer. I have studied and trained in a number of different methodologies over the years, and I try to offer each person therapeutic interventions which fit that person’s unique needs and expectations. The major types of therapy I draw from include:
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing is a highly regarded trauma treatment. Best known for its effectiveness in treating PTSD; it has also been used to help process the traumatic effects of childhood abuse and neglect, debilitating grief, extreme anxiety, dissociation, and more.
IFS
Internal Family Systems Therapy is perhaps the best method I have found, to address internal barriers – fears, hesitation and resistance – to engaging in therapy and making progress. Enormously respectful of all parts of a person, IFS helps to develop greater trust for oneself, as well as the therapist.
CBT
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has long been the standard for the treatment of clinical anxiety and depression.
I have attended multiple CBT trainings over the years, and have worked for an organization which a community of practice model to help staff develop knowledge and skill.
EFT
Emotion Focused Therapy, as the name suggests, focuses on feelings. EFT treats emotions not as problems, but as adaptive sources of strength, guidance and wisdom.
My “how to do counselling” professor in graduate school was (and is) one of the leaders in both EFT and Experiential Psychotherapy; Dr. Jeanne Watson. I still remember Dr. W prowling around the room to observe and make corrections, as we practised empathy skills. If you think it is easy to “do” empathy well, you haven’t met Jeanne and her colleagues.
Experiential Therapy
Closely related to EFT (probably because like-minded people who hung out and influenced each other developed them, including Dr. Watson mentioned above), Experiential Therapy facilitates expression of a person’s experience, not just talking about it from a distance.
CPS
Collaborative and Proactive Solutions is not a method of psychotherapy, per se. It is, however, and excellent methodology for parents, struggling to deal with a child who engages in highly disruptive behaviour. Also listed among my Resources.
Narrative and Solution-Focused Therapy
Narrative and Solution-Focused are two of the most prominent postmodern therapies. Postmodern therapists question old assumptions about problems and pathology. You can often make progress by focusing on strengths, knowledge and skills, rather than illness and problems.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is – rather obviously – about working with multiple members of a family, rather than one individual person. We all come from families originally, and individual therapy almost always deals with the person’s family relationships to some extent. Sometimes bringing part or all of a family into sessions can be much more effective than only meeting individually.
DBT
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy blends mindfulness with behaviour therapy. It helps people with great difficulty in the regulation of emotions. It also has a cool philosophical term in its name: dialectical. You don’t hear that one every day!