Therapeutic Methodologies I Use:
Many different types of therapy have been developed over the past century. Some therapists are quite focused on a particular model, and might describe themselves as a “CBT Therapist” or a “Trauma Focused Therapist.” I do not consider myself exclusively one particular kind of therapist (except maybe a “Chris Lindsay Therapist”).
Each different therapy model, in my opinion, has something to offer. I have studied and trained in a number of different types of therapy 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.
I have completed EMDR Basic Training, and am working toward Certification.
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 Therapy:
Emotion Focused Therapy, as the name suggests, focuses on feelings. Emotions are seen 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 the two most prominent postmodern therapies. Postmodern therapist question the old assumptions about problems and pathologies. They provide therapeutic methods which view people not as broken or ill; but as having strengths, knowledge and skills which can be effectively harnessed for growth and change.
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 it is either really needed, or simply more effective than just working with an individual, to bring one or more of those family members in, for one or more therapy sessions.
DBT:
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy blends mindfulness with behaviour therapy. It was developed to help 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!