Therapeutic Approaches
Talking about trauma is not the same thing as processing trauma.
Sarah draws from a wide variety of approaches in her work. Rest assured, however – you don’t need to know up front which ones you are interested in before working with her. Many of the following approaches or methods can be woven together in an integrative way in support of your goals. However, some people do feel drawn to certain approaches off the get-go and instinctively seem to know what will work for them. For a detailed list of Sarah’s education and training, click here for her CV.
Trauma Treatment Methods
Somatic Experiencing®
A body-oriented method developed by Dr. Peter Levine that can be done seated, standing/movement, or on a treatment table (with or without touch(1)). This method supports gradual body awareness; nervous system repatterining, renegotiation, regulation and resilience; boundary and relational repair; and the titrated resolution of bodily-held memory and survival states. SE™ can be done in response to specific events, life themes, and also with patterns and sensations that may be pre-verbal or for which there are no conscious memories available to work with.
Touch Skills Training for Trauma Therapists
A training developed by Dr. Kathy Kain, SEP, SE faculty member, to deepen tactile and touch skills and somatic awareness in the treatment of trauma that were taught in the SE training.
Somatic Resilience and Regulation Training
A training developed by Dr. Kathy Kain, SE faculty member, and Dr. Steve Terrell, SEP, focused on understanding the effects of developmental and pre-verbal trauma and disruptions on infants, children, and adults, and working on attachment ruptures and relational repair with and without touch.
Leading Edge Training
A training developed by Kate White, SEP, focusing on pre- and peri-natal psychology and adverse experiences in early life, including working with trauma imprints and restoring access to the blueprint, attachment, coherence, embryology, repairing interruptions in the sequence, supporting safe holding experiences, and the prevention of developmental trauma. This approach draws on the work of Ray Castellino and of Anna and John Chitty.
Parts Work
Parts work is a rich and varied category of practice, featuring many different approaches that have been developed over the last 100+ years. In spite of their differences, many parts work approaches have some values, goals, and even techniques in common. Everyone has parts, all parts either serve a function or represent an unmet need or a hurt that is waiting to be resolved, and all parts have value. The degree to which there are inner conflicts, fragmentation, and dissociation reflects the complexity of the adverse experiences and relational ruptures impacting an individual’s life. Sarah’s use of parts work reflects a nuanced integration of concepts and principles drawn from a variety of parts work approaches learned through a mix of formal courses and self-directed learning, including but not limited to:
- Psychosynthesis (Roberto Assagioli), inner child work (John Bradshaw), and Transactional Analysis (Eric Berne)
- Structural Dissociation Theory (Ellert Nijenhuis, Kathy Steele, and Onno Van Der Hart, via Kathy Martin)
- Ego State Therapy (John and Helen Watkins / Robin Shapiro)
- Internal Family Systems (Richard Schwartz)
- Progressive Approach (Dolores Mosquera)
- PartSpotting (David Grand)
EMDR
An information-processing approach developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This approach involves preparing for, identifying and working through specific traumatic memory targets so that they no longer carry charge or create distress. The approach is very structured and protocol-based, and can be used in combination with other approaches, such as Somatic Experiencing® or parts work.
- In addition to EMDR training for humans as clients, Sarah also completed Module 1 in France with the developer of EMDR for Animals, Fabienne Lannes-Gillibert, in France. This adaptation of EMDR for humans is specifically conceived for working with phobias and trauma experienced by other mammals, such as dogs, cats, and horses as clients.
- Sarah learned about Equine-Connected EMDR and Connected Riding (for humans as clients) at in-person Natural Lifemanship conferences.
Brainspotting
Developed by Dr. David Grand, BSP uses an adapted version of the bilateral stimulation found in EMDR (a specific series of audio tracks named BioLateral) in combination with locating “brain spots” through different eye positions associated with activating or resourcing experiences, in order to process residual charge that is left in the body in relation to various past or upcoming adverse experiences.
Deep Brain Reorienting
A training developed by Dr. Frank Corrigan, developed primarily to treat attachment shock by treating the sequence of responses that occurred when the deep brain had been altered due to relational disruptions.
NeuroAffective Touch
An approach developed by Dr. Aline LaPierre, SEP, focused on healing early emotional, relational, and developmental trauma and disruptions.
Body Memory Recall
BMR is a bodywork modality developed by Jonathan Tripodi involving the myofascial release pain and suppressed emotion. While Sarah does not use this approach in her work as a Registered Psychotherapist, her training in BMR informs her understanding of the body’s patterns of “unwinding” out of stress responses and holding patterns.
Integrative Equine-Facilitated Wellness
IEFW was developed by Deborah Marshall at Generation Farms. It is an experiential, somatic method that brings humans and horses together to support greater body awareness, boundary awareness, and self-regulation. A trauma- and mindfulness-focused approach based in interpersonal neurobiology, it incorporates the work of Dr. Peter Levine, Dr. Pat Ogden, Dr. Daniel Siegel, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Babette Rothschild.
Trauma-Focused Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy
TF-EAP was developed by Bettina Shultz-Jobe and Tim Jobe of Natural Lifemanship®, and focuses on building a secure attachment style, co-regulation, self-regulation, connection, and healthy relationships.
Indigenous Tools for Living
ITFL was created by Shirley Turcotte, featuring a selection of skills taught in Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy (IFOT), working with the bodily felt sense and Indigenous land-based healing techniques to work with complex trauma.
Other Approaches
Sarah has also been exposed to other approaches through various university courses, self-directed learning, conference seminars, practicum placements, supervision, and personal therapy. These feature less in her clinical work but she brings in aspects of these approaches where useful. These include but are not limited to:
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms that develop as a result of early adverse childhood experiences. These conflicts inevitably play out in the therapeutic relationship where they can be brought to light and addressed through directed conversation and insight.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is simply the act of paying attention in a particular way in the present moment, intentionally, without judgment, and with compassion. It is taught in a number of spiritual and secular traditions, and has been adopted in the West as a psychological method to help with stress, anxiety, depression, pain, and other challenges.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Developed by Dr. Aaron Beck, CBT focuses on the impact of negative core beliefs and distorted thinking patterns on one’s emotions, body sensations and behavioural reactions.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
A skills-based approach that is helpful for individuals who struggle with intense emotions, unstable relationships, addictions or other challenging behaviours, DBT looks at developing skills that support mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Non-Violent Communication
This approach offers a way to structure difficult feedback in relationships in a way that focuses on personal ownership, “I language”, needs identification, and voicing requests.
Art Therapy
Art can be another way to process emotions, sensations or relational dynamics (within self and with others) when words are not possible or when language does not adequately convey what is going on. In session, this typically involves using coloured pencils or markers, though processing through art can also be done at home using paint and collage. Artistic ability is not required to experience the benefits of art in therapy.
Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt is an experiential and existential approach that focuses on choice and personal responsibility in the present moment in the context of the therapeutic relationship, other relationships, and life as a whole. Change occurs through accepting what is and the options and choices that come from that acceptance, as opposed to striving for something (self, others) to be different.
Couples Therapy Approaches
Sarah uses certain concepts and principles from Dr. John Gottman’s approach to couples therapy and Stan Tatkin’s Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy.
Career and Employment Coaching
Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Sarah worked as an employment counsellor helping Canadians, immigrants, and refugees at various stages of education, work or career transitions. Where necessary, she draws on the following experience:
- Career Counselling: This involves helping individuals explore different career paths that might be a fit based on their interests, values, personality traits and other life factors, as well as researching labour market information, education and training programs, or evaluating continuing education options.
- Personality Assessment: Sarah was formally trained in using the MBTI® (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and is familiar with the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and True Colors/Personality Dimensions. While she no longer administers personality assessments, her knowledge of personality theory informs her current therapeutic work and career counselling.
- Life Skills Coaching: Sarah trained in the YMCA model of life skills coaching and group facilitation.
- Touch in psychotherapy is only done with your ongoing informed consent. Touch work or table work are not the same thing as body work modalities (like physiotherapy, massage therapy, myofascial release, etc), and do not involve any of the restricted acts outlined in the Regulated Health Professions Act.
