FAQs & Terms
-
EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a treatment used to address trauma in both the brain and body. By using bilateral stimulation (in the form of back and forth eye movements, tapping, or audio) while remembering a traumatic experience, clients are able to process their traumatic memories in a more efficient and complete way.
Sometimes we think we are “over” something that has happened to us, yet we still have unexplained trauma responses, like overly emotional reactions, anxiety, hypervigilance, and distrust. This often means that while the logical part of us realizes we are safe, our nervous system has not caught up. I believe in using EMDR with my clients because it helps integrate these parts so they can heal fully – mind, body, and spirit.
I also find EMDR to be helpful for complex trauma and attachment wounds. Sometimes our trauma responses do not come from one “big” event, but the collection of ongoing trauma over time.
-
INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS
“A part of me feels this, but another part of me feels that…” – If you’ve ever experienced this, you are not alone!
“IFS is a transformative tool that conceives every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts lead by a core Self. We believe the mind is naturally multiple and that is a good thing. Just like members of a family, inner parts are forced from their valuable states into extreme roles within us. Self is in everyone. It can’t be damaged. It knows how to heal.” -IFS Institute
Our parts usually form during experiences (sometimes traumatic ones) that build our view of the world and how we exist in it. I use internal family systems (IFS) in my sessions because I find that it helps my clients better understand the origins of their core beliefs, while also helping them be more attuned to their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and body sensations. This awareness creates more room for the Self to take the lead.
I often use EMDR and IFS together in my sessions because many of the memories being processed with EMDR are associated with a part. In turn, sometimes clients’ parts inform them of memories that may have been more harmful or traumatizing than they realized.
-
RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY
Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is a form of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) that aims to help the client dispute their unhelpful thoughts and beliefs in order to reduce negative emotions and behaviors.
In my experience, I have come to understand that we cannot expect to function in the present without first recognizing and healing the past issues that have created our current way of operating. While REBT is a therapeutic modality focused on present-related issues, it acknowledges that past events and experiences have caused the current disturbances. This is why I prefer REBT to other CBT methods. The REBT framework offers techniques used to dispute and reframe unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving, which is the main component of this modality that I utilize.