My Approaches
01.
Attachment is a physiological, emotional, cognitive and social phenomenon. Cues or signals from the caregiver activate instinctual attachment behaviors in the baby. Thus, the attachment process is defined as a “mutual regulatory system,” in which the baby and the caregiver influence one another over time.
The principal developmental task of the first year of life is the establishment of a secure attachment between infant and primary caregiver. For this bond of emotional communication to develop, the caregiver must be psychologically and biologically attuned to the child’s needs, emotions and mental state.
Attachment therapy specifically addresses the sensations, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and interpersonal exchanges that people have learned either to suppress and avoid or to amplify and overemphasize because of early attachment experiences.
Attachment Based Therapy is a style of trauma informed therapy that is based on attachment theory, which focuses primarily on the role of early interactions between a child and their adult caregivers. With a focal point on building emotional security and repairing ruptures in key relationships. Attachment therapies benefit parents and children in building and co-creating secure attachments.
02.
Synergetic Play Therapy (SPT) is a researched-informed model of play therapy blending the therapeutic power of play with nervous system regulation, interpersonal neurobiology, physics, attachment, mindfulness, and therapist authenticity.
The Philosophy of Synergetic Play Therapy®
The Synergetic Play Therapist aims to replicate the delicate dance of attunement that occurs between a caregiver and an infant. Since over 60% of communication is non-verbal, it is important that the therapist’s verbalizations and non-verbal activity are congruent during the play therapy sessions in order to act as an external regulator for the client’s dysregulated states as they arise in the play therapy process.
The child’s symptoms are understood as symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system, and SPT believes that the toys themselves are not as important as the energy and emotions that arise as a result of how the child is playing with them. With repeated observation of the therapist’s willingness to stay authentic and move towards the challenging emotions and physical sensations aroused through the play, the child’s mirror neuron system is activated, and the child learns that it is ok to also move towards his/her/their own challenging internal states. Research shows that as clients begin to move towards their challenging internal states, new neural connections are created until a critical state is reached that results in a new neural organization. The result of SPT is that the child heals from the inside out and from the lowest parts of the brain up.
03.
EMDR, short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a highly structured therapy technique that facilitates clients to briefly focus on their traumatic memories while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, often in the form of eye movements. This unique approach has been found to reduce the intensity and emotional impact associated with traumatic memories. EMDR therapy is a well-researched evidence-based treatment that is used to help people heal from and move past trauma.
When you experience a traumatic or stressful event, your brain has a difficult time storing the memory “correctly” due to the high stress of the situation. Rather than the memory being able to be stored as an event that occurred in the past, your brain stores the memory in a way that makes you feel as though the danger is in the present—hence the likelihood of experiencing triggers, flashbacks, panic, and feeling “on guard” all the time. You may feel that it is difficult to not think about the traumatic memories and it could even feel like you re-live the memories frequently. EMDR therapy helps your brain process the memories and thoughts so they will be stored in the past completely, and it helps to decrease negative beliefs that may have been created through the traumatic experience.
What is a session like?
First, you and I will take time to prepare for the EMDR therapy sessions by talking about the present problems or symptoms you wish to address while also building resources to cope with the symptoms that arise in everyday life as well as for when we move into the processing phase.
During the EMDR processing sessions, I will briefly have you focus on the thoughts, feelings, images and sensations that surround the memory or issue. While you notice all this, we will be using bilateral stimulation (audio tones, eye movements, or tapping that goes back and forth from left to right). This is sort of like REM sleep and helps the brain to reprocess and store the event and everything associated with it in the “correct” part of the brain. It is also helpful in allowing for new ways of thinking about the memory and yourself. By the end of the EMDR therapy process, the emotional and physical charge that was initially there every time you thought about the memory, should be greatly diminished.
04.
Sandtray therapy is a hands-on and expressive approach that uses miniatures/figurines to build scenes and stories within a sand-filled tray. By selecting miniatures that resonate with them, clients can express complex emotions, safely confront painful memories, and gain new insights into their inner worlds. This process is particularly helpful for those who struggle to verbalize their thoughts and feelings, making it a valuable tool for children, teens, and those who have experienced trauma.
It offers a protected space and engages the mind-body connection to help a person or family face distress in a distanced, creative and nonverbal way. This integration is further supported through the sensory component of the sand because it works to help ground people and supports the management of things feeling very intense.
Other therapeutic values of Sandtray
Sensory tool: The experience of touching and manipulating the sand holds kinesthetic quality and a great way to provide sensory experiences for children. It provides children with hands-on materials to take in new information through their senses. Also, the heavy work of scooping, sifting and lifting builds their coordination can assist with calming down their bodies and can be very therapeutic.
Regulation tool: the sand provides a grounding context. Sand play is highly relaxing. While children sift and move the sand using sand toys I flow with and bring out the energy and rhythm they create with the movement of the sand. This connection of rhythm and energy fires mirror neurons in the brain and helps children become attuned to their inner experience. This type of heavy work can offer proprioceptive input and has a calming effect grounding the body.
I love that sandtray work also provides an opportunity for people of any age to create an adventure, share their strengths and dreams, or relive special memories with or without words, so that they get to share, and we can delight in the good!
05.
Expressive Arts uses all the arts (e.g. visual arts, writing, movement, music and sound, drama, and photography) to bring a bodily, emotional, imaginative, and creative relationship to all that we are navigating.
The expressive arts process ignites the right side of the brain which is the emotional brain. This provides therapist and client the ability to observe the client's creative process, and the sensations, feelings, impulses and patterns that come up along the way. By exploring and reflecting on these (including where they may come from or how they affect our lives and relationships), the client can be with what arises and develop insight, acceptance and understanding. That is where healing and transformation begin.
“Our art speaks back to us if we take the time to let in those messages.” Natalie Rogers