Approaches & Techniques

Children's Play Therapy

Play therapy provides children with a safe psychological distance from their problems, and builds on the natural way children learn about themselves and their relationships in the world. Through play therapy children learn to communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and learn new ways of relating. Research supports the effectiveness of play therapy with children whose problems are related to life stressors such as:
  • divorce
  • death
  • relocation
  • hospitalization
  • physical and sexual abuse
  • domestic violence
  • and others...
*Source information from the Association for Play Therapy, www.a4pt.org

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a powerful psychotherapy approach that has shown to be effective in treating and managing symptoms resulting from:
  • PTSD
  • sexual and/or physical abuse
  • panic attacks
  • disturbing memories
  • grief
  • addiction
  • and others...
EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way. You still remember what happened during a traumatic event, but the memories are less upsetting.

​EMDR is designated as an effective treatment by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and more.
*source information from the EMDR International Association, www.emdria.org

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on exploring relationships among a person's thoughts, feelings and behaviors. During CBT a therapist will actively work with a person to uncover unhealthy patterns of thought and how they may be causing self-destructive behaviors and beliefs.
*source information from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

NLP is a method of influencing brain behavior (neuro) through the use of language (linguistic) and other types of communication to allow a person to “recode” the way the brain responds to stimuli and thus manifest new and better behaviors.
*source information from NLP Life, www.nlplifetraining.com

Hakomi Method

The Hakomi method combines Western psychology and body-centered techniques with certain principles of Eastern philosophy. It is grounded in 5 principles:
  1. mindfulness
  2. nonviolence
  3. organicity
  4. unity
  5. body-mind holism
*source information from the Hakomi Institute, www.hakomiinstitute.com