THERAPY FRAMEWORKS

---

ACCELERATED RESOLUTION THERAPY (ART):

ART is a neurocognitive therapy procedure that helps clients who struggle with different disorders including, but not limited to, PTSD, trauma, OCD, anxiety, low self-esteem, substance and process addictions, chronic pain and more. ART combines imaginal exposure (i.e. visualizing a challenge) and eye movement. Eye movement is an evidenced-based technique that helps clients process stuck experiences using their whole brain. It helps to connect what clients feel with what they know, achieving a more balanced and whole-minded perspective on difficult issues. ART may be suitable for clients who are less talkative, verbally expressive, strong visualizers, or experience considerable physical symptoms.   

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT):

CBT therapy helps clients who struggle with unhelpful thinking patterns become aware of maladaptive thinking and develop new, adaptive ways of understanding themselves, the world, other people and life as a whole. Challenging unhelpful thinking styles are supported to help in shaping adaptive behaviours, extinguish unhelpful behaviours and improve emotional well-being

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY ENHANCED (CBT-E):

CBT-E is a subtype of CBT that helps clients struggling with different types of disordered behaviours. It involves becoming mindfully aware of eating behaviours and their associated emotions, thoughts, urges, and behaviours. Greater insight into the process of disordered eating and necessary intervention skills allow clients to make changes sensitive to their individual needs. 

COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY:

CPT is a trauma processing therapy and a subtype of CBT. It postulates that people’s perceptions of themselves, the world, other people, and life as a whole are shaped by experiences. CPT also postulates that people have a natural drive to understand their environment in order to survive in it. Primary and secondary, or manufactured, emotions are also important concepts in CPT.  Primary emotions are the natural and immediate reactions we feel in response to an event. Typically, primary emotions are predictable because most people would feel similarly. For instance, when a pet dies, people usually feel sad. Secondary, or manufactured emotions, are the later feelings that arise after an event resulting from how we made sense of it. For instance, when a pet dies, a person feels sad (primary emotion), blames themselves for their pet’s death and then feels guilt and shame (secondary emotions). How we make sense of a traumatic event can keep us stuck in trauma and PTSD. CPT allows clients to experientially work through the impact and unhelpful thought patterns of trauma to relieve symptoms of PTSD and related conditions such as anxiety and depression. 

DIALETICAL BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (DBT): 

DBT-Informed therapy is a subtype of CBT that helps clients build practical life skills respective to being present, being aware and literate of their emotions and needs, regulating and processing emotions, asserting boundaries, practicing interpersonal flexibility, social skills and conflict resolution skills, tolerating stress and extinguishing problematic behaviours .

EMOTION-FOCUSED THERAPY (EFT): 

EFT  addresses emotions and attachment patterns, making it an ideal choice for couples and individuals facing challenges in their relationships. It guides clients toward developing emotional awareness.

EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION (ERP):

ERP is also informed by CBT. It is suitable for clients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Agoraphobia, Specific Phobia, Panic Disorder and Social Anxiety. ERP involves different kinds of exposure (imaginal, interceptive, in-vivo, etc.) and challenges clients to change their relationship with fear and anxiety. Typically, clients who complete ERP can expect varying levels of anxiety reduction. In rare instances, an estimated 4% of clients may not experience a reduction in anxiety but can still benefit from improved ways of tolerating and managing distress. 

GOTTMAN COUPLES THERAPY: 

 Gottman couples therapy is based on Sound House Relationship Theory. From a Gottman lens, conflict and negative emotionality are natural parts of interpersonal relationships, and how such matters are handled is what really matters. Couples first complete a comprehensive relationship assessment and then build tools to help manage the day-to-day chaos, obstacles and immediate crises that threaten the relationship’s safety and ability to move forward. Couples are then guided through building a foundation of friendship, learning how to manage conflict effectively, managing core difficulties and then creating shared goals and meaning for their future.  

Gottman Therapy is appropriate for many couples, including healing from infidelity. Gottman is not an appropriate choice for couples actively engaged in ongoing extramarital affairs, however. Additionally, the Gottman method values transparency, and the therapist is prohibited from keeping secrets from the other partner. Gottman is also not an appropriate therapy service for couples experiencing domestic violence. Instead, individual therapy is recommended. 

PAIN REPROCESSING THERAPY (PRT): 

PRT addresses the emotional and psychological root causes of chronic pain, retraining the brain’s response to pain, and providing relief through emotional processing.

PERSON CENTRED THERAPY: 

This approach focuses on creating a nonjudgmental, empathetic environment in which clients feel safe to explore their emotions, ultimately fostering personal growth and self-acceptance.

STRENGTHS-BASED & SOLUTION FOCUSED: 

By focusing on a client’s existing strengths and resources, this therapy empowers individuals to build resilience and overcome challenges using their inherent abilities.