Therapy Modalities
Animal Assisted Therapy
Animal Assisted Therapy is available for any individual who is interested. We currently have a therapy dog-in-training, Ripley, at the practice, who is present to join any session upon request. For individuals who are not comfortable with animals, we have a safe, comfortable location for the animals to relax unseen throughout sessions. We are still in our infancy regarding our understanding of the benefits of therapy animals, but studies indicate that just the presence of a dog significantly reduces cortisol (stress hormones) levels in individuals. Petting a cat, or watching fish swim, can have similar effects. Therapy animals have been shown to increase feelings of comfort and safety throughout therapy sessions, creating a neurobiological shift that enhances the therapeutic process. Paws2Heal is dedicated to assisting clients in establishing animal-related connections in various ways; ask your provider what options might be available for you!
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma Informed Care is a therapeutic method that emphasizes the human body's natural strengths and biological processes. Have you ever suffered from anxiety and depression? Perhaps you experience flashbacks, nightmares, or a feeling of being disconnected. Do you have difficulty focusing or experience extreme mood changes? These are just a few examples of how past experiences can impact our lives. Trauma-informed care explores symptoms from a biological and physiological lens, allowing an increased understanding of what your symptoms mean and why your body may be reacting a certain way. Whether you are struggling with past traumas, PTSD, or current stressors in your life, utilizing the Trauma Informed Care approach, we will work together to alleviate your symptoms and empower you to feel in control of your life once again.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Do you know what the most important component to successfully healing in therapy is? You. The human body is amazingly designed with all the tools needed to heal itself, but sometimes it needs a little assistance to access those tools. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the empirically supported techniques that can be used to help your brain do what it does best; heal. Incorporating eye movements, or other bi-lateral stimulation, combined with guided therapy, establishes a dual awareness that has been shown to create new, healthy neuropathways. EMDR combines our understanding of the body’s natural physiological and neurobiological responses to assist clients in healing past wounds, establishing new ways of thinking, overcoming phobias, and much more. Ask your clinician about EMDR and what techniques might be right for you.
Internal Family Systems
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a collaborative, non-threatening approach to exploring yourself from a unique lens. It is considered one of the leading treatments for working with trauma, and its unique structure allows you as the client to be fully in charge of the pace and direction of each therapy session. IFS is a fluid and flexible approach to therapy, which allows this therapy to be a stand-alone approach or to complement any other chosen modality, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Ask about this therapeutic approach and how it will help you get to know yourself from a unique and restorative perspective.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the first therapeutic approaches empirically supported to help reduce the intrusive symptoms associated with trauma and other mental health challenges. Effective and efficient, this approach will help you learn skills to control your own life and help you transition progress made in therapy from the session to your everyday life. Therapy is not beneficial if you cannot see the positive effects outside of the sessions and develop skills that will allow those positive effects to be sustainable. Collaboratively with your clinician, the CBT approach will complement other modalities and will help you develop the tools to sustain progress throughout your life.
