EMDR therapy is based on a crucial principle that there is a system inherent in all of us that is physiologically geared to process information to a state of mental health. This adaptive resolution means that negative emotions are relieved and that learning takes place, is appropriately integrated, and is available for future use. Desensitization, spontaneous insights, cognitive restructuring, and association to positive affects and resources are viewed as by-products of the adaptive reprocessing taking place on a neurophysiological level.

(Francine Shapiro: EMDR - Eye-movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, p.15)

Expressive therapies emphasize creative and nonverbal modalities (ex: art, role-playing, movement, focusing) to draw out a client’s creative problem solving potential and other resources. These techniques can be particularly helpful with blockages.

This is a branch of clinical psychology developed in France by Georges Devereux and Tobie Nathan. It is a methodology and clinical treatment approach that combines anthropology and clinical psychology. It promotes an in-depth exploration of how culture molds individual and collective psychology, psychopathology, relationships and family dynamics in order to develop innovative approaches to treatment.

Dr. Milton Erickson pioneered the concept of ‘indirect hypnosis’. Through the therapist’s use of special language skills, the client’s conscious mind can be bypassed and indirect suggestions made to the unconscious mind leading to a long-lasting and beneficial effect.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming and consists of bilateral ocular, auditory or tactile stimulation leading to rapid resolution of symptoms linked to past events. This is a highly effective means of addressing and resolving difficult experiences in the past which have limited a client’s capacity to realize life goals. It is particularly successful in reaching areas which have been avoided by providing a non-intrusive method of coming to peace with the issues. In France, this work has been popularized by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber in his book Guerir as well as his many television appearances.

Developed by Leslie Greenberg, EFT is an empirically based model that helps people recognize, understand and transform their emotions. EFT helps us not only identify the origin of psychological problems but also helps us understand how these problems persist, opening the way to change.

This research-validated, brief therapy approach based on attachment theory and the neurosciences has been developed by Dr Sue Johnson in Canada over the past 30 years. It views distressed couples as being trapped in a repetitive, negative dynamic that makes it very difficult—and often impossible—for partners to respond to each other’s needs for closeness, security, recognition, affection and desire. As a first step, EFT helps couples become aware of this toxic dynamic and of their respective positions and roles within it. The second phase of therapy aims at restructuring the bond between the partners and thereby changing negative behaviors. The title of the method reflects the focus on emotion as organizer of inner experiences and key interactions in love relationships. EFT transforms the emotions that underlie each partner’s behavior, thus fostering the creation of secure, deep and satisfying bonds in the couple.