dbt

Dialietical Behavior Therapy (DBT), developed by Marsha Linehan, is similar to DBT in that treatment involves understanding the relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and actions. The difference is that the focus is on how this affects our relationships. Emotional regulation is an important aspect of this modality and I have found that it is very helpful when recovering from abuse. The dialectic part means understanding that we often have competing and opposite thoughts or feelings about things or people that need to be resolved. This conflict can create distress, and we will focus on how to best resolve the dialectic. The interpersonal aspect of this treatment is what I find to be most helpful for survivors of domestic violence. You can find out more about DBT here.

Values work

I practice ACT with almost all of my clients. This modality integrates your values in order to develop goals for your life. I have many activities to use that can help you understand what your values are. Many clients lose sight of their values while they are in an abusive relationship, so most people are unaware of what their values are at the moment. This is okay and requires self-compassion. We will use these values to direct the counseling process and to ensure that you continue living by and developing these values even after you are finished with counseling.

self-compassion

Self-compassion is one of my favorite parts of the counseling process. We can be so quick to shame ourselves and put ourselves down. In a way, this is an aspect of the abuse we often direct towards ourselves. Leaving an abusive relationship brings with it many hardships and negative feelings about ourselves. Self-compassion is an incredibly powerful skills we will build so you can defend against these negative messages and focus on your goals. Furthermore, self-compassion is linked to higher self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy, most of which are severely affected by domestic violence.

Social justice

I had the pleasure to take an immensely helpful Human Diversity class when I was in grad school. There I learned about the systems that have been set in place to disenfranchise and disempower minority groups (e.g. women, people of color, LGBTQ+, etc.). This lit a fire in me to become and advocate for social justice and use my privilege to assist those who have been affected by systems of oppression. I utilize social justice in my practice to help clients understand what systems of oppression might be affecting them. This is an important part of counseling as we develop strategies to live your life in the way you want and to accomplish your goals. Many people are unaware of the systems that oppress them (this is intentional), so I ensure that I keep this in mind when working with all of my clients.

Psychoeducation

I gained a lot of experience and learned many important and useful skills during my Masters program. However, this does not mean that I keep this information solely to myself. Counseling is a collaborative process and I make it a point to educate my clients using the education that I received, which is based on evidence-based practices. I enjoy informing my clients about psychological processes and functions so they can integrate that into their lives the best way they know how. I can give you facts and information all day long but in the end it is up to you to figure out how those best apply to your life. What better way than to give you that information directly? Remember, you are the expert on your experience.

ACT

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is similar to CBT and DBT, and includes an existential and psychodynamic component as well. What this means is that we will understand how the messages you’ve been told, and the messages you tell yourself, affect your psychological wellbeing. This modality is effective because we will work on developing more psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility is the ability to stay present and take note of the sensations and messages our bodies are telling us (including thoughts) and create space to choose what action to take. This is where values come in. We often hide what we are thinking and feeling to protect ourselves from shame or other negative effects, but this creates distress. Thus, we will develop strategies to assist in breaking away from the thoughts and feelings that one might attach to that are causing distress, and get “unstuck.” You can find out more information about ACT here.

grief

The grief process is an important aspect of recovering from domestic violence. People often lose loved ones, friends, coworkers, children, animals, etc. that are important for their support systems. One of the key aspects of domestic violence is isolation, and a lot can be lost when someone is isolated from the important parts of their lives. We will understand where you are in the grief process and develop skills and processes to help you through that. This is a particularly important aspect of therapy as you begin to transition into living by your values.

Domestic violence

Domestic violence can happen to anyone. It does not discriminate. All kinds of people can experience domestic violence, and the effects of it can be life-changing. We will develop an understanding of how domestic violence has affected your life, and how we can develop skills and self-compassion so you can live life by your values and goals. Many of my clients have told me that their lives completely changed because of the abuse they experienced. This can seem like a daunting feat, and it truly can be, however, the amount of strength and empowerment that results from taking back your life far outweighs the negative. Feel free to look at the blog post I recently created about what domestic violence looks like.

empowerment

Don’t get me wrong, I am a professional counselor but that does not mean that I am the one creating the change. In fact, that would be more of a hindrance than a benefit to you. Change comes from within and only you can set that into action. I have the education and experience to offer you the tools to help you along the way. This process is empowering because you are the one creating this change and recovering from the trauma. I find that this empowerment often spills out into other areas of life to increase self-efficacy and confidence. Empowerment is an essential part of the healing process and I make it one of my top priorities to make sure that you feel empowered in everything that you do.

EMDR

I am trained in EMDR and have received advanced training in utilizing EMDR Therapy with Transgender and Gender Diverse Clients. You can learn more about EMDR here.

AEDP

Developed by Dr. Diana Fosha, AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) is an ever-emergent model, ever-growing through the ongoing contributions of the AEDP faculty and the members of the AEDP community.

Crisis and suffering provide opportunities to awaken extraordinary capacities that otherwise might lie dormant, unknown and untapped. AEDP is about experientially making the most of these opportunities for both healing and transformation. Key to its therapeutic action is the undoing of aloneness and thus, the co-creation of a therapeutic relationship experienced as both safe haven and secure base. Once that’s established, we work with emotional experience, working experientially toward healing trauma and suffering, and toward expanding emergent positive transformational experiences.

AEDP seeks to clinically make neuroplasticity happen. Championing our innate healing capacities, AEDP has roots in and resonances with many disciplines — among them interpersonal neurobiology, attachment theory, emotion theory and affective neuroscience, body-focused approaches, and last but not least, transformational studies.

Through undoing of aloneness, and through the in-depth processing of difficult emotional and relational experiences, as well as new transformational experiences, the AEDP clinician fosters the emergence of new and healing experiences for the client, and with them resources, resilience and a renewed zest for life.

Mindfulness

I use mindfulness and meditation to assist you in tapping into your inner self and understand processes that are difficult to verbalize. I have many scripts and activities that we will use to connect with your breath and ground you into the here and now. Many clients feel like their lives have been turned upside down and I find that mindfulness is a uniquely beneficial tool that can help with this. There have been many mixed messages about mindfulness going around, but I assure you that it isn’t just woo woo magic. The stress and trauma that results from domestic violence can affect your body, memory, interpersonal skills, and many more aspects of your life. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction has been proven to combat and even reverse these effects.

Trauma Work

“A traumatic event,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health is “a shocking, scary, or dangerous experience that affects someone emotionally.” As you can tell, trauma is extremely subjective, and traumatic events can be a natural event (e.g. tornado, earthquake) or caused by others (e.g. domestic violence). Trauma is often separated into “little t” and “big t” trauma. Big t trauma is what most people think of when they think of trauma. Someone in a war zone, who experiences a death of a loved one firsthand, etc. Little t traumas are all of the other experiences that happen day to day that leave a lasting emotional impact, as well as an impact on the body, that builds up over a person’s lifetime. Trauma work involves connecting with the body’s experiences as people often tend to dissociate and feel disconnected from their body. This is an essential part of the healing process because the mind and body must work together in order for us to live healthy lives. From this, I will also help you get out of the stress response (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) that many people who have experienced trauma are often stuck in for protective purposes. Our bodies and brains do an amazing job in protecting us from what they perceive as dangers. Distress occurs when normal day-to-day experiences begin to seem threatening, which causes people to no longer function in life like they want to. Only after people are able to manage their stress response can lasting change occur.