Support for today, hope for tomorrow.
Therapies
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. The therapist assists the client in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. The therapist then helps the client modify those thoughts and the behaviors that flow from them. CBT is a structured collaboration between therapist and client and often calls for homework assignments. CBT has been clinically proven to help clients in a relatively short amount of time with a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety.
Integrative
Integrative therapy refers to therapy in which elements from different types of therapy may be used. Therapists 'integrate' two or more therapeutic styles (e.g. Cognitive and Family Systems) to bring about a personalized and practical approach to healing.
Integrative therapy (with a small 'i') may also refer to the process of 'integrating' the personality by taking disowned or unresolved aspects of the self and making them part of a cohesive personality whole. It reduces the use of defense mechanisms that inhibit spontaneity and allows flexibility in solving emotional problems.
Family Systems
Family Systems therapists view problems within the family as the result not of particular members' behaviors, but of the family's group dynamic. The family is seen as a complex system having its own language, roles, rules, beliefs, needs and patterns. The therapist helps each individual member understand how their childhood family operated, their role in that system, and how that experience has shaped their role in the current family.
Mindfulness-Based (MBCT)
For clients with chronic pain, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and other health issues such as anxiety and depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT, is a two-part therapy that aims to reduce stress, manage pain, and embrace the freedom to respond to situations by choice. MBCT blends two disciplines--cognitive therapy and mindfulness. Mindfulness helps by reflecting on moments and thoughts without passing judgment. MBCT clients pay close attention to their feelings to reach an objective mindset, thus viewing and combating life's unpleasant occurrences.
Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, evolved from Freudian psychoanalysis. Like adherents of psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapists believe that bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness promotes insight and resolves conflict. But psychodynamic therapy is briefer and less intensive than psychoanalysis and also focuses on the relationship between the therapist and the client, as a way to learn about how the client relates to everyone in their life.
Strength-Based
Strength-based therapy is a type of positive psychotherapy and counseling that focuses more on your internal strengths and resourcefulness, and less on weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. This focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on your best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience and change worldview to one that is more positive. A positive attitude, in turn, can help your expectations of yourself and others become more reasonable.
Solution Focused Brief (SFBT)
Solution-focused therapy, sometimes called "brief therapy," focuses on what clients would like to achieve through therapy rather than on their troubles or mental health issues. The therapist will help the client envision a desirable future, and then map out the small and large changes necessary for the client to undergo to realize their vision. The therapist will seize on any successes the client experiences, to encourage them to build on their strengths rather than dwell on their problems or limitations.
Relational
Relational therapy is a therapeutic approach based on the belief that one must have stable and fulfilling relationships in order to thrive emotionally and mentally. It is commonly used to treat those struggling with anxiety, stress or depression. It can also help those experiencing relationship or family issues, workplace challenges, difficulty adjusting to new life situations and problems with intimacy. The main goal of this type of therapy is to help the client form healthy and meaningful relationships with others.
Narrative
Narrative therapy is a psychological approach which views individuals as being separate from their problems. It considers people the experts on their own lives, thus empowering individuals to “rewrite” their life stories. Narrative therapy can involve self-reflective writing, or speaking, to externalize the problems, separating them from the individual. This type of therapy does not blame individuals for their problems, but encourages them to rely on their own skills in order to bring about positive change and better mental health.
“If everything around you seems dark. Look again. You may be the light.”
— Rumi