Therapeutic Methods
My treatment methodology is integrative in that I have studied a number of different treatment methods and combine what I have learned with my own personality style to create a unique psycho-social therapy practice. My holistic approach deals with the health of a person's body, mind and spirit together as one integrated whole. The person-in-environment and systems models are always forefront in my mind, focusing on the individual's interaction with her/his multiple membership groups such as family, work, school and neighborhood. I have 11 years of experience with energy work and guided imagery. I may suggest "homework" between sessions to facilitate growth and learning experiences.
Below is a description of my primary treatment methods.
Brainspotting is effective for a wide variety of emotional and somatic conditions. Brainspotting is particularly effective with trauma-based situations, helping to identify and heal underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioral conditions. It can also be used with performance and creativity enhancement. Brainspotting gives the therapist access to both brain and body processes. Its goal is to bypass the conscious, neocortical thinking to access the deeper, subcortical emotional and body-based parts of the brain. (From the Brainspotting web site.)
Rogerian Person-Centered Therapy
I am a Person-Centered therapist who understands that the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client is the most important factor in successful growth, change and healing. Clients usually see me as being genuine, empathetic and having unconditional positive regard for them. I focus on the particular needs and issues that clients bring to me and from that base we design together a unique treatment approach that is suited to their situation, issues, age, personality, and preferences.
Hakomi Mindfulness-based Body Psychotherapy
Hakomi works with experiences (rather than memories) in present time, exploring in a gentle way, a person's spontaneous behavior, such as reactions, habits and impulses. These are the most true expression of a person's self. The therapist examines the client’s behavior and find's clues about the history and beliefs which created the need for that behavior. Then the client and therapist explore how the history and beliefs limit and control what the client can and cannot experience. Both client and therapist assume states of mindfulness when working together in this method, allowing the client's core beliefs to surface with ease and authenticity, as the therapist assists in supplying the client with missing experiences.
Sophie Cattier has been my Hakomi trainer and I would highly recommend her if you would like to try out the Hakomi method from her offices in Lausanne and Bex.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders. EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions. EMDR therapy, rather than focusing on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviours resulting from the distressing issue, allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain.
The Psychodynamic approach is effective when there are unresolved and unprocessed emotions connected to an experience in the client's past, which interfere in the client's present ability to be clear in responses and reactions. My assistance to a client may be to help them access and then express and release emotions which have been repressed for reasons which may no longer be valid in present time. A technique that I use to help clients clear these emotions from the memories is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), commonly called Tapping. I have had excellent results with this technique.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
In the Cognitive Behavior approach I help clients be aware of their own thoughts and the resulting emotions. Our negative self-talk can cause depression, anxiety and stress, especially when the self-talk is based on unchecked irrational thoughts. When someone is aware of their thought patterns, they can then challenge the veracity of those patterns and replace them with better-feeling thoughts.
The following methods are used upon request, when deemed appropriate by both myself and the client.
I am willing to move the therapeutic space into natural areas outside of the therapy room. The inclusion of the natural world adds a third dimension to the relationship between therapist and client. In contrast to the static, enclosed and personalized therapy room, natural areas are dynamic, open and personally nuetral, allowing for different types of connections to oneself, between therapist and client and to our natural environment. This way of practicing therapy works well for those who may be lacking a stabilizing sense of social or environmental connection. The Parc des Bastions is a short walk from the office and offers an adequate natural setting for working in relative anonymity.
Even though hypnosis is not my primary method of working with clients, I find it helpful in certain cases where the subconscious mind is not otherwise accessible, or where there is substantial and deeply entrenched psychological programming which may need to be revised to a more functional level. Smoking cessation, phobia reduction and past-life regression therapy are areas which respond well to hypnosis.
In 2012, I completed a five-day training with Dr. Brian Weiss in using hypnosis to access past lives in order to heal present-day afflictions. I have been using this method when requested by clients with good results. This method is helpful to persons who are suffering from issues with causes not known in the client's past.