Evidence-Informed Therapy

Our Therapeutic Approaches

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy | CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-informed approach that focuses on the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. In counselling, CBT-informed strategies may be used to explore patterns, perspectives, and responses to everyday experiences. Research suggests that CBT can significantly enhance functioning and quality of life.

CBT’s effectiveness is supported by both scientific research and clinical practice, making it a well-validated therapeutic approach.

It also involves efforts to shift behaviour patterns, which might include:

Identifying and reevaluating distorted thinking.
Understanding the behaviours and motivations of others.
Developing problem-solving skills for handling challenging situations.
Building self-confidence in one’s abilities.
Facing fears rather than avoiding them.
Using role-playing to prepare for challenging social interactions.
Learning relaxation techniques to calm the mind and body.

Not all CBT interventions use every strategy; rather, the therapist and client work together to understand the specific problem and tailor a treatment plan. CBT emphasizes empowering individuals by teaching them skills to shift their own thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. This is often supported through exercises during sessions and homework assignments.

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy | DBT

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

What is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-informed approach that emphasizes balance, mindfulness, and acceptance. DBT-informed counselling may support exploration of emotional responses, distress tolerance, and interpersonal patterns. It blends strategies from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with additional techniques focused on Acceptance and Mindfulness.

In DBT, the “D” stands for “dialectical,” which means finding a balance between opposing ideas. This approach supports the individual with avoiding extreme viewpoints to work towards a more stable, effective therapy process. By combining acceptance of the individual’s current situation with a focus on making positive changes, DBT aims to achieve a balanced and holistic approach to therapy.

The “B” in DBT stands for “behavioural,” indicating a focus on specific behaviours that affect a client’s goals and well-being. DBT can assess these behaviours and target them to help clients solve problems and make meaningful changes in their lives.

Core Skills in DBT

DBT teaches four essential skills to help clients handle difficult situations and emotions more effectively:

Mindfulness: The practice of being fully aware and present in the moment.
Distress Tolerance: Learning to endure and cope with pain without trying to change it.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: Communicating in a way that meets your needs while maintaining respect for yourself and your relationships.
Emotion Regulation: Managing and changing emotions that are overwhelming or disruptive.

DBT is evidence-informed, meaning it is supported by scientific research and therapeutic practice.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing | EMDR

EMDR is an evidence-informed counselling approach that may be used when working with distressing memories or difficult life experiences. Sessions focus on guided exploration within a structured therapeutic framework. EMDR therapy aims to help individuals process and integrate these distressing experiences, potentially reducing their emotional impact.

The core of EMDR therapy involves the use of bilateral stimulation, which often includes guided eye movements, but can also involve other forms of rhythmic stimulation such as tapping or auditory tones. This process may help the brain to reprocess traumatic memories, allowing the individual to see them in a less distressing way and integrate them more adaptively.

EMDR therapy is based on several key principles:

Distressing experiences can become “frozen” in the brain, preventing natural healing processes.
These unprocessed memories and associated stimuli can trigger distressing emotions and reactions in the present.
EMDR may facilitate the reprocessing of these memories, helping to alleviate their negative emotional charge and impact.

A typical EMDR session involves several phases

1. History and Treatment Planning

The therapist gathers detailed information about the client’s history and current issues to develop a treatment plan.

2. Preparation

The therapist explains the EMDR process and helps the client develop resources for managing emotional distress, such as relaxation techniques.

3. Assessment

The client identifies a specific distressing memory to work on and describes the associated visual image, negative beliefs, and physical sensations.

4. Desensitization

The therapist guides the client through sets of bilateral stimulation while they focus on the distressing memory.

5. Installation

The therapist helps the client replace negative beliefs associated with the memory with positive beliefs.

6. Body Scan

The therapist checks if any physical discomfort remains related to the memory and addresses it if necessary.

7. Closure

The therapist ensures the client feels stable and safe at the end of the session.

8. Reevaluation

The therapist reviews the client’s progress in subsequent sessions and determines if further processing is needed.

EMDR

EMDR is distinctive because it does not require clients to talk in detail about their distressing experiences or do homework between sessions. The therapy focuses on rapidly processing and resolving the disturbing memories that are still influencing the client. This method is supported by extensive research and is considered a best practice for processing difficult life experiences by numerous mental health organizations worldwide.

When used in a structured therapeutic framework, EMDR can support individuals with processing their past experiences and help them move forward with a healthier, more adaptive perspective.

Self-Compassion

“Being cut off from our own natural self-compassion is one of the greatest impairments we can suffer. Along with our ability to feel our own pain go our best hopes for healing, dignity and love. What seems nonadapative and self-harming in the present was, at some point in our lives, an adaptation to help us endure what we then had to go through. If people are addicted to self-soothing behaviours, it’s only because in their formative years they did not receive the soothing they needed. Such understanding helps delete toxic self-judgment on the past and supports responsibility for the now. Hence the need for compassionate self-inquiry.”

– Gabor Mate

Embrace Self-Compassion

In today’s fast-paced world, we often overlook the importance of treating ourselves with the same care and understanding that we offer to others. As Gabor Maté emphasizes, self-compassion is crucial for healing and personal growth, and it involves recognizing our own needs and vulnerabilities without judgment. By embracing this approach, we can better manage stress, build emotional resilience, and foster a more compassionate relationship with ourselves.

When individuals see the therapeutic relationship as a safe and supportive space, compassion and curiosity enable them to confront and explore past traumas, uncover internalized beliefs, and process suppressed emotions. This approach is essential to the healing journey.

Through “Compassionate Inquiry”, individuals may uncover their underlying consciousness, mental patterns, hidden assumptions, implicit memories, and bodily states that shape and sometimes obscure their true messages. As we release these old narratives, a new way of being emerges, leading to spontaneity, choice, and freedom.

Somatic Expression

"I believe not only that trauma is curable, but that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening." - Peter Levine.

Somatic-informed approaches explore the connection between physical sensations, emotions, and lived experience. These approaches may be incorporated into counselling to support awareness of how experiences are held and understood. Evolution has equipped humans with natural mechanisms to handle distress as it occurs, but societal conditioning often suppresses these instinctual responses. Consequently, this energy can be stored in the body, manifesting as unexplained physical ailments, emotional challenges, and psychological barriers. The effects of emotional neglect can leave deep-seated impacts on the body.

By identifying how unresolved distress is stored, becoming more aware of the body’s physiological responses to danger, and practicing specific techniques to release, individuals can address unexplained symptoms at their root. This process can help restore the body’s innate wisdom, foster a sense of strength, and reconnect individuals to their inherent vitality.