Treatments

Neurotherapy uses a stimulus (i.e., electrical, visual, magnetic, tactile, or auditory stimulation) to change brain function. Neuromodulation may use real time information from the brain (Neurofeedback or Biofeedback) during the activity to inform the brain of its current state. With Neuromodulation, the brain directly responds to the stimulus, which can promote strength and stabilization in neural activity, resulting in greater self-regulation.

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the psychological roots of emotional suffering. This approach is based on psychoanalysis and self-psychology where the relationship between patient and therapist is a primary focus. The therapeutic alliance, transference, countertransference, resistance, intersubjectivity and enactments are key processes utilized towards mental healing.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, MBCT, is a modified form of cognitive therapy that incorporates mindfulness practices that include present moment awareness, meditation, and breathing exercises. This therapy was formulated to address depression. Using these tools, the mindfulness-based therapist teaches a client to be in the here and now as well as break away from negative thought patterns that can cause a decline into a mood-disordered state; this therapy can help a person fight off a difficult frame of mind before it takes hold.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of problems including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, marital problems, eating disorders, and severe mental illness. CBT is based on several core principles, including:

• Psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.

• Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.

• People suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them, thereby relieving their symptoms and becoming more effective in their lives.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding, clients begin to accept their hardships and commit to making necessary changes in their behavior, regardless of what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it.

Interpersonal psychotherapy is a time-limited, focused, and evidence-based approach to treat mood disorders. The main goal of IPT is to improve the quality of a client’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning, it aims to help reduce overall distress. IPT provides strategies to resolve problems within four key areas:

• It addresses interpersonal deficits, including social isolation or involvement in unfulfilling relationships.

• It can help patients manage unresolved grief—if the onset of distress is linked to the death of a loved one, either recent or past.

• IPT can help with difficult life transitions like retirement, divorce, or a move.

• IPT is recommended for dealing with interpersonal disputes that emerge from conflicting expectations between partners, family members, close friends, or coworkers.

Emotionally Focused Therapy aims to improve couple and individual relationships by rekindling the physical and emotional bond that can get sacrificed to disappointment in a partner and alienation from them, a common dynamic in distressed couples and individuals. Drawing on research supporting attachment theory, the therapy regards the security of partner connection as the best lever for change in a dysfunctional relationship and a necessary source of both couple and individual growth.

EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Ongoing research supports positive clinical outcomes showing EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an approach to psychotherapy that identifies and addresses multiple sub-personalities or families within each person’s mental system. These sub-personalities consist of wounded parts and painful emotions such as anger and shame, and parts that try to control and protect the person from the pain of the wounded parts. The sub-personalities are often in conflict with each other and with one’s core Self, a concept that describes the confident, compassionate, whole person that is at the core of every individual. IFS focuses on healing the wounded parts and restoring mental balance and harmony by changing the dynamics that create discord among the sub-personalities and the Self.

Expressive arts therapy combines psychology and the creative process to promote emotional growth and healing. This multi-arts, or intermodal, approach to psychotherapy and counseling uses our inborn desire to create; such a therapeutic tool can help initiate change. For some people who have a hard time articulating what they are feeling, self-expression through art can be useful. Expressive arts therapy draws from a variety of art forms, and this integration of methods can help patients access their emotions.

Virtual reality, or VR, allows patients to experience a sense of presence in a computer-generated three-dimensional environment. Sensory information is delivered through a head mounted display and specialized interface devices. These devices track head movements so that the movements and images change in a natural way with head motion, allowing for a sense of immersion. VR allows for controlled delivery of sensory stimulation via the therapist and is a convenient and cost-effective treatment. This therapy has demonstrated through research and clinical outcomes to be effective in helping treat anxiety disorders, specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction, acute and chronic pain, functional autism, and some eating disorders.

Family systems therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps individuals resolve their problems in the context of their family units, where many problems are likely to begin. Each family member works together with the others to better understand their group dynamic and how their individual actions affect each other and the family unit. One of the most important premises of family systems therapy is that what happens to one member of a family happens to everyone in the family.

Motivational interviewing is a person-centered method that helps people resolve ambivalent feelings and insecurities to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior. It is a practical, empathetic, and short-term process that takes into consideration how difficult it is to make life changes.