Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a "third wave" psychological treatment that integrates the key elements of many popular therapies that preceded it (e.g. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; Mindfulness Therapies). ACT begins by taking the power away from unhelpful thoughts by changing the relationship we have with them. It then explores ways to promote positive behavioural change in the face of strong emotions by having one be mindful of and work towards their goals (e.g. values and achievements). It promotes real life action that may, in turn, resolve strong emotions that previously had one moving away from what is truly important to them.
Click HERE for a video overview of ACT. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most widely used and researched form of psychotherapy for the treatment of mental illness and other difficulties. It can be used as a primary method of treatment, but also provides a foundation to many other treatments used by the FLEX team.
CBT is "problem-focused" and "action-oriented." This means it targets specific problems that one is facing and can be a quick way to target focused difficulties one wants to resolve. Treatment focuses on identifying maladaptive responses to one's environment due to "cognitive distortions." These distortions reflect misinterpretations or misunderstandings of our environment that ultimately lead to ineffective behaviours. The goals of CBT are to: identify those distortions, learn new ways to interpret one's environment and have a different outcome as a result. Click HERE for a video overview of CBT. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) is an eclectic treatment that borrows from CBT, mindfulness therapies, and other self-regulatory treatments. It focuses on practical training, exercises, and psychoeducation to promote increased emotional and cognitive regulation.
DBT assumes that clients are doing their best to manage strong emotions and reactive states, but that they can obtain greater success and wellness through skill building. Participants in DBT learn about emotional triggers that lead to reactive states, coping skills to apply at the right time and place, and other mechanisms to avoid undesired reactions. Click HERE for a video overview of DBT. Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) aims to increase one's connection and understanding of their emotional experience. By recognizing the adaptive functions of emotion, EFT increases one's ability to recognize how their emotional experience can guide their actions, facilitate individual growth, and shape future goals and directions.
EFT recognizes that emotions can be difficult to manage and process, but aims to increase tolerance for these emotions and the ability to use their emergence in a constructive manner. Click HERE for a video overview of EFT. Hypnosis/HypnotherapyHypnosis and hypnotherapy are treatment methods that can be integrated into several of the other treatment methods used by some members of the FLEX team. The aim of the treatment is to assist an individual to enter a deep state of focus and relaxation that permits one to work on goals without being countered by negative emotions or worries. It allows any place and time to be the "right" place and time to resolve difficulties and move forward in a positive manner. It has a high efficacy in: treating fears and phobias, the management of difficult situations (e.g. anxiety around medical procedures or other upcoming events), or providing momentary relief from high levels of stress.
Click HERE for a video overview of hypnotherapy. Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) identifies how our relationships and life events impact on our emotional state. It examines how negative relationships, our attachments, and our responses to events can have a negative impact on our mood. The goal is to identify or "map" out these relationships and events in order to find positive pathways that promote wellness and positive emotions.
Click HERE for a video overview of IPT. |
Motivational Interviewing (MI)Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a goal-oriented and directive treatment that focuses on breaking down "ambivalence" as a barrier to success and wellness. It aims to trigger the development and engagement of intrinsic motivation to have a client move forward and beyond areas where they have previously appeared stuck or disinterested in change.
MI is a non-judgemental approach that aims to increase a client's awareness of the potential consequences of action or inaction, providing alternative solutions to move forward into the future. Click HERE for a video overview of MI. Mindfulness TherapiesMindfulness-based therapies aim to provide increased "awareness" to what one is experiencing in the present moment. It is anchored in the idea that distress and distraction can be a consequence of one's attention being pulled into the future (i.e. worry), the past (i.e. sadness or rumination), or to unimportant distractions in our environment.
The treatment focuses on increasing the capacity to control attention in order to make the next action, moment, or thought a deliberate one (with "attention" comes "intention"). Variations on Mindfulness can assist with ADHD, empathy building, and relaxation. Mindfulness can form the foundation of a treatment or, more commonly, is complementary to other therapeutic approaches. Click HERE for a video overview of Mindfulness. Narrative TherapyNarrative therapies focus on better understanding a client’s "story" to determine how they have gotten to the place they are now and how they may move forward into the future. It examines your previous life experience to form a clearer story of how one has gotten to the here and now. It aims to identify and fill in gaps in order to better understand the full complexities of one's experience. By reliving these events in more detail, the client can better understand their experiences and how these experiences currently are shaping them. By reflecting and exploring new meaning, a new story emerges that is enriched and provides a therapeutic reconstruction of history and the future.
Click HERE for a video overview of Narrative therapy. Play TherapyPlay therapy refers to a variety of assessment and treatment techniques that make use of a child’s natural ability to play. Often children have difficulty understanding and expressing their thoughts and emotions, as they don’t have the language to make themselves heard. A trained therapist engages the child through fun, non-threatening activities, which help to decrease the child’s anxieties about their problems and worries, allowing them to express themselves more freely. The family is often involved in the process to help the therapist understand the family dynamic and assist in generalizing skills into the home.
The overall goal is to help the child express his/her thoughts and emotions, and support them in learning healthy coping skills and solutions. Play therapy provides children with a safe, encouraging environment to express their true thoughts and feelings, in a way that suits their developmental level. Click HERE for a video overview of Play Therapy. Psychodynamic TherapiesPsychodynamic therapies can incorporate a range of approaches that stem from the idea that individuals can experience internal conflicts that have resulted from previous life experiences. The therapy is "insight oriented" in that it attempts to help the client identify these conflicts, recognize the nature of the challenges they are experiencing, and how some of the "defenses" that they use to cope may be maladaptive. It attempts to facilitate the development of alternative coping mechanisms by increasing awareness of the conflicts and defenses, changing the meaning/understanding of contributing events, and fostering a positive relationship between the client and the clinician.
Click HERE for a video overview of Psychodynamic approaches. Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) shares many similarities with CBT, but tries to make the process as simple as ‘A B C’. The basis of REBT is that negative experiences (both internal and external) result from a life event (A - Activating Event), our interpretation of the factors or causes of that event (B - Belief), and the emotions or actions that result from that interpretation (C - Consequence).
REBT aims to identify alternative interpretations (B - Belief) and to determine whether this results in different experiences (C - Consequence) after the fact. It is a treatment that involves introspection and real life experimentation. Click HERE for a video overview of REBT. |