Our Specialties

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy entails focusing on the here, now, and present rather than the possibilities of the future or judging events of the present based on situations that occurred in past. Although history has a way of repeating itself, ACT supports clients in understanding, accepting, and engaging in what they know to be true and happening in the moment. ACT challeneges clients to ask "what, how, who" devoid of asking "why" while learning the irrelevence as well as negative impact of questioning the "why" as it can lead to self-blame, shame, and guilt. This modality is excellent for treating adjustment issues related to life changes/transitions, stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD and any other mental health issue.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a modality to support clients with processing traumatic or distressing experiences when they become "stuck" in the brain, unprocessed. This can lead to the individual re-experiencing the event through flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and intense emotional and physical reactions. EMDR aims to help the brain process these memories in a healthier way, reducing their emotional impact and allowing the individual to develop functional ways of coping with traumatic events. When engaging in EDMR the client is desensitized to traumatic experiences. Through skilled guidance by the therapist, the client focuses on the target memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation (e.g., eye movements). Brief sets of bilateral stimulation are followed by the therapist asking the client to notice what comes up (thoughts, feelings, images, sensations) without judgment. This process is repeated until the distress level associated with the memory significantly decreases. EDMR is typically used to treat clients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a modality that focuses on identifying and challenging thoughts that lead to negative emotions and experiences. In CBT you learn to change the way you think leading to changing the way you feel, which in turn changes the way you behave. Additionally, in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, clients will learn how to recreate their experience of people and the world outside of them by questioining the evidence of perspectives that limit them to negative experiences. Lastly, clients gain an understanding of the power of their inner world and how to focus their attention on things they can change rather than focus their attention on the outerworld which they cannot change.

Radically-Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy focuses on supporting clients with rigid, compulsive, or ritualistic behaviors by introducing them to concepts of challenging their own beliefs and values while becoming more flexible with beliefs or values that differ from their own. Oftentimes people who engage in overcontrolled behaviors benefit from this modality because it entails disengaging in hyper-detailed, rule-governed behaviors and engaging in authentic emotional expression, taking reasonable risks, and adapting to change. RO-DBT supports clients with increasing distress tolerance while slowly decreasing restrictive behaviors and increasing flexible behaviors. This modality is often paired with CBT and works well with individuals dealing with disordered eating, body image issues, OCPD, & personality disorders. 

Exposure Response Prevention Therapy is about increasing client's distress tolerance to anxiety producing stimuli that triggers core fears. Core fears are deeply rooted fears related to feelings of being out of control or dealing with the unknown. Through ERP clients gain tools to increase functional coping skills such as emotional expression while slowly reducing compulsions or rituals. Over time the client will learn to habituate or decrease discomfort by doing nothing and allowing the feelings of discomfort to pass on their own. Additionally, clients learn to shape (decrease over time) compulsions and rituals by delaying engagement or slowly decreasing the frequency of engagement. Through habituation & shaping (CBT), clients gain tangible evidence that they can refrain from engaging in compulsions and sit with the unknown and the worst case scenario they are avoiding may not occur or may not lead to danger or harm. Exposure exercises build the client's confidence in their ability to manage their anxiety without compulsions. This modality is ideal for clients with Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, OCD, & Excoriation or Skin-Picking Disorders, Body Focused-Repeptitive Behaviors, & Restrictive Food Intake or Disordered Eating.

When utilizing Person-Centered Therapy, the client is considered the expert on their own life, experiences, and problems. The therapist does not direct the client or interpret their issues but rather helps them explore their own understanding and solutions. Instead, the therapist strives to understand the client's perspective, feelings, and experiences from the client's point of view. This can be done with simple reflections in which the therapist listens to the client and communicates this understanding back to the client. Through reflection, the client can gain a better  understanding of their own perceptions and build self-awareness around their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This modality can be used to treat any symptom or mental health issues. It is especially effective with clients who lack insight or who are resistent to change. 

Unlike Cognitive Behavioral Therapy TF-CBT starts with building a client's confidence through cognitive coping. Cognitive coping consists of psychoeducation, self-awareness, emotional expression, and examining thoughts that are the source of maintaining distress. Once the client gains confidence with their tools for coping, the therapist will work closely with the client to decrease stress distolorance through strategically planned exposures. Although this modality is typically used to treat PTSD & trauma, it is suitable for a range of issues including: anxiety, depression, OCD, OCPD, and self-esteem related issues. This is in part due to several issues overlapping, originating from, or being related to a trauma event(s).