In a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or go to the nearest emergency room. For other emergencies, call 911.
Therapies I Use
These are the primary types of therapy I use. There’s no need for you to decide in advance which one(s) you want to try. We’ll work together to figure out what might be most helpful for you, and of course you can always say no if there’s something you don’t want to do.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
The brain naturally processes new information and experiences in ways that support wellness. However, when something traumatic or overwhelming overloads the system, the memory doesn’t fully process or gets stored in a problematic way. We may also interpret things from a child’s perspective or with incomplete information, and that perspective then sticks even if we learn more over time. Later, the memory gets retriggered (whether or not we’re aware that’s happening) and can cause a variety of problems, including mental health or physical symptoms, emotional or behavioral responses and relationship or life patterns. EMDR lets us process those memories again, desensitize them and update our understanding of what happened so that they can stop getting retriggered.
While it was originally developed to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), EMDR is now also used for many other things. To give just some examples, we can use it for anxiety, relationship issues, traumatic or prolonged grief, stress management or general personal growth. In addition to processing big past traumas, we can also use EMDR for more recent or more minor incidents, for issues that are not as obviously trauma-related, to help with making a difficult decision or getting through a life transition or to prepare for future events. Sometimes EMDR therapy can be quick, and sometimes it can take a while, especially if there has been attachment trauma or extensive trauma, but the results are generally powerful and lasting.
Flash Technique (FT)
When a memory is hard, scary or overwhelming, FT can decrease that distress without having to think much about the memory. FT is based on taxing the working memory. We just briefly mention the memory to bring it into the “working memory” part of the brain, and we then get the brain to focus on other things while the memory processes in the background. For example, you might tell me about a recent vacation or stories about your family or pets or follow my prompts to do neutral tasks, after which the memory becomes less distressing.
People are often surprised by how well FT works because it can feel like all you’re doing is distracting yourself. If you’re used to distracting yourself from thinking about upsetting things, you know that it doesn’t necessarily lead to those things feeling less distressing later. But the protocol for FT is different than this kind of routine distraction and is designed based on brain science to help the memory actually process, not just to avoid thinking about it. We can also use FT to decrease intense emotion, not just to process memories.
FT was originally developed to help prepare clients to do EMDR processing work, but further research has shown that it can often be used as a stand-alone technique. Sometimes we might use FT and then move into EMDR, and other times we might use FT by itself. FT is especially helpful if you don’t want to have to think too much about your trauma memories, and many clients even report it’s fun.
Parts Work
“Parts work” therapies work with parts of self (also called ego states). We all have parts of ourselves that have different feelings, cause us to do different things and help us in various ways. For example, a part of you might want ice cream for dinner, and another might want a healthy meal. A part of you might feel sad about something that’s ending, and another might feel excited about what’s coming next. Getting to know different parts of yourself, understanding them better and nurturing younger parts that didn’t get what they needed in the past can all be very therapeutic.
There are several types of parts work therapies, with some of the most well-known being Ego-State Therapy, Structural Dissociation Therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS). I use techniques from all of these, depending on what each client needs. I primarily incorporate parts work into the EMDR work that I do, and I also use some specific EMDR protocols that are geared towards working with parts of self. I have found parts work to be a helpful complement to EMDR, and I sometimes also use parts work on its own, as needed.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
DBR was developed using brain imagining of what happens in a part of the brain called the midbrain when there’s a trauma or overwhelming or adverse event. The midbrain is deeper in the brain than where we think many other therapies work, and it’s an older, more primal part of the brain. When the event happens, there’s a sequence of responses in the midbrain, and the sequence gets stuck in the nervous system and replays when that memory gets retriggered (even subconsciously). This can lead to a range of problematic emotional, behavioral and physiological responses. DBR lets us access that sequence of responses and let it unfold more slowly, which helps what was stuck in the nervous system to be released so that it stops getting retriggered.
One part of this sequence is called preaffective shock. This is a subconscious shock in the midbrain that occurs before we realize what’s happening or feel any emotions (including the emotion we call shock). The theory in DBR is that other therapies may clear the emotions associated with an event, but they may not be able to clear this preaffective shock. As long as the preaffective shock remains stuck in the nervous system, the memory can continue to get retriggered, even if you’ve processed it well in other therapies. The connection to the event may not be conscious, but the shock from it is still living in the nervous system.
DBR is very somatic, which means it is primarily experienced as sensations in the body. Occasionally memories, thoughts or images may come up, but we don’t stay focused on them, which can be helpful for clients who do not want to have to think too much about their traumas. Some of the things that occur in the body can be intense, but we do a particular kind of exercise first to help you get into a very grounded state. This allows you to witness and sit with the experiences without feeling overwhelmed by them, and most people tolerate DBR very well. We also have tools to use if something does start to feel like too much.
Additional Techniques
I also use techniques and strategies from a variety of other types of therapies and practices, including somatic (body-based) therapies, yoga and meditation, breathing techniques and creative arts, as appropriate for each client.