What is Therapy?
When people think of therapy, they often envision sitting in a room crying their way through a box of tissues while the therapist writes notes and asks “How does that make you feel?” While yes, there are often tears, and yes, we may inquire about your emotions, this is not exactly what therapy should look like and certainly not every time.
Therapy at Ignite and Emerge Psychology can look very different depending on what your goals are and what stage of therapy we are in. First, you will notice that I use the terms “Therapy” and “Psychologist.” This is very important, and you can read more about the different services available out there on my blog.
Ignite and Emerge Psychology services are always provided by myself, Elicia Miller and I am a registered Psychologist. Your first session will include a clinical interview in which I gets to know who you are, your history, your family background, and your symptoms. This allows me to put together a case conceptualization – a picture of what is happening, why it is happening, and my plan for how to help you change it and reach your goals. After this first session, you will better understand yourself and what brought you to this point so that we can build a roadmap to get where you want to go. People rarely just suddenly develop a challenge or mental health concern, it is typically a result of the experiences they have had in their life blended with their particular constellation of genetics, personality and behavioral traits.
Some possible goals might include healing something from your past, moving through a traumatic event, changing current behaviors, or problem solving a relationship situation. It’s important to understand how your therapist sees people and what they think needs to change to bring about their goals to ensure you agree (See our blog posts on How to Choose Your Therapist and Our Theory on What Makes a Person).
After that first session your therapy with me can be very different every time. With each session, you should walk away with greater self awareness, a tool to cope, or feeling like something important has shifted in your life, perspective, or emotional world. Surprisingly, this can often involve very little talking, depending on the kind of therapy we are doing. There are three main approaches I use and each looks very different. Each one targets deep seated and long standing habits, emotions and behaviors so you can be your best self and live a vibrant, connected and joyful life.
I particularly enjoy helping people change things they never thought were possible and healing things that are blocking them from living their best, most fulfilled lives. Yes, I will give you tools to cope in the meantime, but I believes fundamentally that people can change permanently for the better so you don’t have to be stuck in a frustrating and repetitive cycle of coping and managing your emotional states, thoughts and behaviors. When we heal our past hurts and remove the blockages they make, we naturally move towards a state of well-being and our best selves. I am not afraid to go to hard places with you so you will never be alone or get a pat answer of “just think happy thoughts and all will be well.” We will go through it together with support and empathy and of course, laughter and tears. On the other side of those hard things, the beautiful, joyful, vibrant life you have always dreamed of emerges naturally.
Often, I see people who have done a lot of talk therapy and have not found that talking things out helps them. In the therapeutic world, we talk about “Top Down” and “Bottom Up” approaches to healing. Top Down approaches are traditional therapy styles and what people usually think of. This is where the stereotype of just talking to a listening empathetic person comes from, such as a therapist or possibly a close friend or neighbor. This can be powerful if you have not felt heard, if you process out loud and come up with new insights for yourself, or if you are struggling to gain new perspective on your concern. This is the beginning stage of therapy, especially if it is your first time.
I find that my clients are smart capable people who understand how they “should” think about things logically or how they “should” be behaving, but in real life situations, they are struggling to actually follow through or feel hijacked by old habits. Often for these individuals, being told exactly what they “should” have been doing brings on feelings of shame and failure. What we are increasingly learning from the study of how human beings work is that the majority of what we think and how we behave comes from our subconscious mind and body/emotional reactions. These come from our life experiences and create knee-jerk reactions rather than cognitive decisions - or in other words from the “bottom up.”
“Trauma comes back to us as a reaction, not a memory.”
Many leading therapists now talk about the majority of our beliefs, behaviors, emotions and relationship interactions emerging from automatic learned processes and the minority coming from the mind in a logical chosen way. So our therapeutic approaches need to be able to access the more automatic ways of existing in the world. This is why I focus primarily on Bottom Up approaches working with the body, emotional reactions, and healing our injury from past experiences. These include both EMDR and SP:
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EMDR has recently gained some awareness and popularity but many people do not understand how it works.
EMDR was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987 after she discovered a link between eye movements and reduced emotional reactions to past events. Since this initial discovery it has become one of the most widely researched treatments for PTSD with 35 Randomized Control Trials (RCT’s) demonstrating it’s effectiveness. It also has an extensive research base in treating various other presenting concerns and disorders.
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model which proposes that humans process new experiences by connecting and integrating them with related emotions and information in existing memory networks. This then informs and influences new learning, thoughts, behaviors and emotions. When traumatic experiences occur (whether Big T trauma like assaults or Small t trauma like being embarrassed publicly), the memories are stored in a dysfunctional way, and fragmented aspects of the memories (images, sensations, thoughts) are not integrated with other past memories. Rather, they remain isolated from the adaptive system and maintain the intense emotional and physical reactions of the experience creating persistent and repetitive negative thought patterns and behaviors. Dr. Shapiro emphasized the importance of Adverse Life Experiences which occur throughout the lifespan and are stored as dysfunctional memories. Essentially, the body and emotional systems become fixed in time and continue to experience these events currently, despite the passage of time and new contexts.
EMDR helps clients access these isolated/fragmented experiences and memories and then utilizes Bilateral Stimulation (BLS) to stimulate the brains’ ability to re-integrate these memories or “digest” the experience so it can reset the emotional and physical charge and become integrated with the rest of the long-term memories and experiences. This also allows the client to access more adaptive coping and resource memories to temper the traumatic ones. BLS can be created either visually, with eye movements, auditorily with sound, or somatically with tapping. Each type of stimulation produces different reactions and accesses unique parts of the brain and the therapist will use them strategically based on what the client presents with during processing.
There are 3 current theories about why BLS activates the processing of memories;
1. REM Sleep Process. BLS Eye movements are believed to replicate the process of experiential consolidation during Rapid Eye-Movement (REM) sleep. During this process the Limbic Centre of the brain is active and the Amygdala (fear regulation center) and Hippocampus (emotional memory center) work together to integrate daily memories into long term storage.
2. Working Memory Taxation. BLS is hypothesized to tax the working memory system thereby promoting brain activation and integration of the AIP system by accessing other information stored more adaptively in the memory. This allows the adaptive information to integrate with the maladaptively stored information.
3. Orienting Response. When trauma occurs, the sympathetic nervous system (Fight, Flight or Freeze) response is activated, and often is accompanied by a natural physiological behavior is to seek safety by engaging in an “orienting response.” During an orienting response the individual is visually scanning their environment for safety and danger cues. This activates brain activity that integrates experiences more effectively. BLS is believed to be naturally simulating this response and promoting memory integration. BLS also has a naturally soothing and relaxing effect on humans by activating the parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) nervous system.
While we cannot erase your memories or undo the impact of these experiences, we can use neuroscientific principles to change your relationship with your memories and past experiences. People most commonly report that these memories no longer come to mind unless they choose to think about them, and then they often find it difficult to bring them up and their bodies no longer react to them. They become just a difficult fact of your life but they no longer affect you here and now.
You are in control of what reactions and difficulties are explored in your session. Elicia will ask questions to draw your attention to your inner world of experiences, thoughts, reactions, emotions, and body sensations. You may end up working with;
strong emotions (that have been suppressed or are overwhelming)
limiting beliefs (such as “I will never be good enough”)
trauma symptoms and memories (like flashbacks, panic or nightmares)
physical symptoms (like physical pain or a racing heartbeat)
EMDR works very well for changing deep seated beliefs such as being Stupid, Not Good Enough or Unsafe. It is also fantastic for healing past trauma whether it is chronic/longstanding or one large event that triggered your reactions. You can choose either a short type of EMDR for key moments or a life changing, in-depth experience for broader reaching effects.
Ask me more about how EMDR can help you!
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Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a treatment developed by Dr. Pat Ogden in the 80’s that has continued to gather ongoing scientific evidence of its effectiveness as a treatment framework. We are increasingly understanding that the “effects of trauma, neglect, and abusive or emotionally painful relationships with childhood caregivers are held in our nervous systems, posture, and movement habits as well as in unresolved painful emotions and limiting beliefs.”
To change these long-lasting effects, clients must mindfully explore how their body continues to keep these reactions stored and better digest and integrate them with their mind and cognitive processes. This process of sitting with and exploring these physical memories and undigested experiences results in reintegration and healing of your reactions so you are free to live your most adaptive and expressive life. This prevents going into automatic habits and being hijacked by your reactions despite the desire and knowledge to do things differently.
Underlying Principles:
Key to a SP approach are the principles of;
Organicity - people naturally move toward wellness under the right conditions
Unity- we are hardwired for connection and awareness of each other
Holism - the human mind, body and spirit are all complexly interwoven, and you cannot separate them or only deal with parts
Non-violence - therapy should produce an environment without judgement that promotes curiosity and being with your Psychologist in a supportive way, all interventions are offered as suggestions not demands or requests and you can always disagree or withdraw consent
Mindfulness and Presence - throughout the session you are simultaneously very closely attuned to your body, emotions and reactions and engaged as an observer of the same which gives an element of distance and ability to engage your thinking-self alongside your feeling-self
Relational Alchemy - the positive relationship with your Psychologist itself promotes healing as it serves as a representation of interpersonal relationships and an opportunity to have a supportive and caring response which can require your body’s perceptions of and interactions with others
Through these principles, SP draws on the natural wisdom of the body (posture, movement, and the nervous system) to tap into the innate drive in all of us to heal, adapt, and develop new capacities.
What does an SP session look like in practice?
SP takes place in your Psychologists office. You are in control of what reactions and difficulties are explored in your session. Your Psychologist will ask questions to draw your attention to your inner world of experiences, thoughts, reactions, emotions, and body sensations. You may end up working with;
“strong emotions (that have been suppressed or are overwhelming)
limiting beliefs (such as “I will never be good enough”)
trauma symptoms (like panic or nightmares)
physical symptoms (like physical pain or a racing heartbeat).”
Through your Psychologists guidance you will explore and gain insight from your body’s reactions to help you resolve issues and meet your goals. Part of exploring and resolving these stuck reactions in your body is engaging in small thought, movement or relationship exercises or “experiments” to give your body new awareness or experiences that will be healing. This may include being respectfully touched by your Psychologist or engaging in physical exercise such as running on the spot or pushing on objects or noticing what happens when your Psychologist moves closer or further away. This is why this approach is often referred to as “body oriented” or “bottom up” therapy as it can unlock reactions that are deeply held, subconscious, and automatic that typical talk therapy cannot access or treat.
Experiments are always offered as suggestions prior to occurring and you can always decline or tell Elicia if something does not feel right or comfortable.
Come experience something new and empowering to unlock the ability to respond the way you want to rather than the way you always have.