Treatment Tools (Modalities)
Transactional Analysis-Inner Child Work
TA is the original Inner Child work that spread throughout the psychology field. I have five years of supervision in TA and use it as my primary approach. The Inner Child is your memory of being a child and all the decisions you made that still operate today. We do not have to ‘dig up’ the past. It is operating in the present.
Research has proven that we remember highly emotional events, both positive and negative. These short, recorded movies are the basic software of previous decisions that we operate our daily lives from. Children are doing their best to survive. They have limited information and a lack of understanding of consequences. For example, a child may be promised repeatedly her father, “I will pick you on Friday night and we will go to the movies.” Friday afternoon comes and he calls saying, “Oh, I am sorry but I can’t go because…” After this occurring repeatedly, the child decided, “I will never trust men again.” Now, she is an adult who attracts men who have affairs on her, stand her up on dates, or betray her. This fulfills her belief system. As an adult, she can re-decide her past decisions to make more sense today.
We would first use cognitive therapy to look at the logic of her belief. Are all men untrustworthy or her father? She might decide that her father and some other men are untrustworthy.
We would look at how she may be discounting or making excuses for people who are untrustworthy and not actively seeking those who are trustworthy. We can use Alchemical Hypnotherapy to assist her in confronting her internal father, which reprograms the software.
Gestalt Therapy
The type of TA (Transactional Analysis) I was trained in is combined with Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt uses methods to play out any opposites so you can perceive them more clearly. A common one is, “I want to quit smoking, but I don’t want to quit smoking.” Both sides have good reasons that are useful for the client to know. The dialogue between the two sides allows the client to observe both sides and make a more useful decision that includes the information from both sides.
Cognitive Therapy
I use Cognitive Therapy by David Burns to work with self-criticism, criticism of others and as a method of realistic assessment. Exercises list the beliefs, then look at whether they are exaggerated, minimized, drop out part of the picture. The client makes a decision as to a more rational belief. This creates clarity, decisiveness and confidence.
Emotional Skills
Emotional Skills are more complicated than is often thought.
Different emotional skills are needed depending on the level of the brain that is being triggered. Therefore, I teach a range of emotional skills.
At a deeper level, there are emotions that are triggered by instinctual reactions. These are our emergency/alarm systems. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder resides in these areas. The emotions come first causing the thoughts. I use Thought Field Therapy and teach emotional skills to calm these triggers.
There are the early, less rational experiences before age 7. These previous ages are often the core of the problem and are untouched by cognitive therapy and talk therapy. These are worked with by using Focusing, Alchemical Hypnosis, Gestalt, art exploration and Inner Child dialogue.
Then, there are emotions produced by our thoughts. These emotions begin as a child is older. They are dealt with by cognitive therapy.
Lastly, there are emotions that are triggered by archetypal images. These appear in dreams. I use Dreamwork to explore these images.
Communication Training
Learning assertiveness skills, tact, communication of emotions, setting limits on others, listening skills, etc. are abilities that will determine the quality of business and personal relationships.
Active Listening is a method that shows the person you have heard what they said to you. It does not mean you agree with them.
NonViolent Communication by Rosenberg is taught because it assists the client in learning what they need and to state it clearly. NVC discourages codependence in all its forms.
Drug and Alcohol Work
I can assist you with an objective assessment of your use. We will look for your pattern of use, the triggers that cause overuse, and you decide what a healthier pattern of use would be.
If a family member has an addiction, it can be terrifying to worry about them, yet the family may be communicating in certain ways that increase the problem. Many families come to learn how to communicate effectively with the addicted individual. They learn to set boundaries and deal with the heartache that we cannot make decisions for other people.
Enneagram
The Enneagram is an amazing way of seeing the core wounding and original decisions about life, the self and other people. It shows clearly what the wound is, how to heal it and then all the gifts the person has when they are healthy. Don Richard Riso set out the spectrum from unhealthy to healthy that enables a client to track their healing progress. When the client wants to do deeper healing, they find the Enneagram invaluable.
Focusing
Focusing is a body-based method based on research by Eugene Gendlin, et al. This research showed that those who track the changes in their body change faster, deeper and more permanently. Focusing can be combined with other forms of therapy, so I combined it with emotional skills, visualization and Transactional Analysis. It is a great way to make beliefs and emotions conscious that are otherwise not easily shifted.
Alchemical Hypnosis and Trance Work
Alchemical Hypnosis by David Quigley is a great method to reprogram traumas from the past and empower the person. It is often visualization work. It is a light trance work that creates strong change. The client controls the depth and content of the experience. I also have training in general hyposis.
Trance Work by Stephen Wolinsky. Wolinsky calls it ‘dehypnotherapy.’ Trances are the glue that hold old decisions and trauma together. Working on that glue makes the triggered state possible to break up and re-decide.
Tapping
I have training in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and certifications in Thought Field Therapy for algorithms and Causal Diagnosis of the meridians. TFT has been found to be very effective on trauma. Research shows that it both shifts the trauma, sometimes in a very short time, and that the shifts hold over time. Tapping assists clients to work with intense emotions in between sessions.
Acupressure Points
I teach the points developed by Michael Reed Gach, PhD. It is useful to reduce emotional overwhelm.
Learning Styles
For students, finding out how you learn can make a big difference in the time spent studying. I do assessments and teach study skills.
Professionals may find that knowing their learning style can help them learn easier and faster. It assists them in teaching others when they understand that people may learn primarily through seeing, hearing or doing.
Parenting
I have taught many models of parenting over time, but the one that stands out is Nurtured Heart. It combines the clarity of disciple and the affirmation of the child’s core self that promotes a confident child with a strong identity.