TRADITIONAL TALK THERAPY

Though newer, experimental methods prove deeply successful, in any case, a therapeutic relationship via conversation and traditional methods is required to allow you to be comfortable and a practitioner to fully grasp the situation. In other words, we want to gain an accurate picture of a client’s life and background up to this point.  Utilizing an array of theories that mostly include your attachments in the world (or lack thereof), an assessment is made regarding your general emotional state, anxieties and fears, relationships, traumas and religious or spiritual beliefs. Why do we focus on attachments? We live in the world seeking love in order to survive. When people have a lack of love, histories of abuse, etc, we can often mirror habits of others around us, both present and past. A thorough look back at your past history, emotions, and habits allows for a more open, honest, and successful therapeutic relationship.

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)

This process, often referred to as EMDR, is a well-established and researched technique used to unlock traumas in the brain and help to process. Often other tools are utilized like hand pulsars, headphones, and small light beams in order to work with and activate both left and right brain hemispheres (called bilateral stimulation) in a non-intrusive, gentle manner to affect neural pathways. This technique can best be described as similar to dream processing in REM sleep. These strategies all have the same goal: to free you to live in the present.

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE/THOUGHT FIELD THERAPY

Emotional Freedom/Thought Field Therapy (EFT and TFT) is another way to discharge this stuck or stagnant energy. By utilizing acupuncture theories and non-intrusive practices on specific points of the body, energy space can be freed up and new ways of thinking and feeling may emerge. These “shifts” in energy make it possible to live in the present and to let go of long-held beliefs and/or feelings.

REIKI/Energy Psychology

In this practice, we use the energy in the body to create new ways of being. Energy is the life that flows through us, the air we breathe, our basic lifeforce. We live with our energy every day and it can, like anything in life, can become stagnant, stuck, lethargic and dull. By utilizing teachings like those found in Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Life-Force Yoga and traditional Psychology, new tools for daily living are discovered. Reiki, for example, is an energy practice that aids in healing the body, mind, emotions and spirit. A Reiki 1 practitioner receives attunement from a Reiki Master to begin using an energetic sense to do self healing, and then continues working to be able to receive the attunement to work with others. This can be done in person or from a distance. While this is done hands lightly on the body it can also be done via the energy of the practitioner in another city or state.  The outcome usually is based on the intention of the client in each session although sometimes additional information may arise during the session. These tools can be life-giving and a huge relief from anxiety, depression, trauma, and phobias. It is especially useful for the client that has difficulty in talking about what is difficult, as well as for those who have spent plenty of time talking, and have yet to feel relief in a manner they desire.

LIFE FORCE YOGA

Life-Force Yoga (LFY) is about being present to your feelings -- all feelings. It’s not about turning into a pretzel or doing a great handstand, rather, it seeks to unravel the chaos of your mind. It seeks to relieve some of the chains that bind -- anxiety, depression, stress, or trauma.  By utilizing a variety of gentle movements and breathing techniques, one is freed from the bondage of self. These techniques don’t just happen; one needs a daily practice that supports what you as an individual need most. An assessment of behaviors, mood, and patterns of living are provided thereby creating a daily plan of tools that offer a new way of living.  LFY focuses on “prana,” or “life energy” that flows through the body, helping or hindering mood and thoughts, while focusing on chakras (energy points on the body) and pranayama (energizing breath). Through these vehicles, a new state of being is born.

SPIRTUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

Spiritual psychotherapy is not rooted in a specific religion or religious values, therefore, in can be beneficial to all, regardless of denomination or lack thereof.  In this sense, spiritual psychotherapy focuses on a universal truth that you seek to find, regarding your understanding of yourself and the world you live in. Rather than focusing solely on concrete problems or skills needed, this practice seeks to directly address philosophical beliefs and the meanings one gives to life. This is not to say that traditional therapy does not get at these same issues, but it does involve a more direct focus on how you personally might spend your time on this planet in a way that makes sense for you.