Ariel Rhodus, ASW

These modalities build upon one another. CBT supports clients to catch negative thoughts in the act, check them against reality, and replace them with more balanced ones. If CBT is about changing your thoughts, ACT is about changing your relationship with them. It’s a mindful, action-based approach that argues we suffer more when we try to suppress our pain than when we simply acknowledge it. If CBT is “catching and balancing” and ACT is “accepting,” DBT is the bridge between the two. It’s based on a ‘dialectical’ idea: that you can accept yourself exactly as you are, while simultaneously working hard to change your behavior. It’s essentially a life-skills program.

I also utilize Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help clients process and move past traumatic experiences. EMDR is a specialized therapy designed to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they no longer cause emotional pain. When something upsetting happens, the brain can “freeze” that memory in its raw, distressing form. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation – like guided eye movements or taps to both sides of the body – to unlock those memories and help the brain file them away in a more healthy and manageable way, turning a traumatic memory into a neutral memory from the past.