Thrive Psychological Services

Types of Therapeutic Treatments

AEDP - Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
CFT - Compassion Focussed Therapy
CBIT - Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for Tics
HRT - Habit Reversal Therapy
ST - Somatic Therapy
GRO - Group Radical Openness Therapy
NET - Narrative Exposure Therapy
BT - Behavioural Therapy
N/SFT - Narrative / Solution Focussed Therapy

AEDP - Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy

AEDP is a therapeutic approach that focuses on helping individuals process and transform emotional experiences through the integration of both experiential and attachment-based techniques. It’s grounded in the belief that deep emotional healing happens when individuals feel safe, supported, and understood, often by creating a secure and trusting therapeutic relationship.

AEDP therapists work with clients to access and process difficult emotions in a compassionate and nonjudgmental space, often using mindfulness and experiential techniques to facilitate emotional expression and regulation. The goal is to help clients shift from feelings of emotional pain and isolation to experiences of growth, connection, and self-compassion.

AEDP is particularly effective for individuals dealing with trauma, attachment wounds, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. By tapping into the healing power of emotional experiences, AEDP fosters a sense of vitality and emotional resilience, making it a powerful approach for deep emotional transformation and healing.

EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process and heal from traumatic memories and emotional distress. The therapy is based on the idea that unprocessed traumatic experiences can lead to negative emotional, cognitive, and behavioural patterns.

During EMDR, the therapist guides the client to recall distressing memories while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements or tapping. This process is thought to help the brain reprocess the memories, reducing their emotional charge and helping individuals gain new, healthier perspectives on their experiences.

EMDR is particularly effective for trauma, including PTSD, as well as anxiety, depression, phobias, and grief. The goal of EMDR is to help individuals reframe past traumas and integrate the memories in a way that promotes healing, emotional regulation, and a sense of empowerment.

It is a powerful, evidence-based approach for addressing deeply rooted emotional wounds and promoting long-term psychological recovery

CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, time-limited psychotherapy that focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It aims to help individuals identify and change negative or distorted thinking patterns, which can lead to emotional distress and unhelpful behaviours.

CBT works by teaching clients how to recognize harmful thoughts (such as catastrophizing or overgeneralizing), challenge these thoughts, and replace them with more realistic, balanced ones. By changing thought patterns, CBT helps improve emotional responses and behaviours.

It’s effective in treating a wide range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, panic disorders, PTSD, OCD, and phobias. CBT is goal-oriented and typically involves both in-session work and homework assignments, empowering individuals to apply learned skills in real-life situations. It is especially helpful for those seeking practical tools to cope with stress, manage negative emotions, and develop healthier thinking habits.

ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

ACT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on helping individuals develop psychological flexibility by encouraging them to accept difficult thoughts and emotions rather than trying to avoid or control them.

In ACT, clients learn to identify their values and commit to actions that align with those values, even in the presence of discomfort. The therapy combines mindfulness techniques, cognitive defusion (detaching from negative thoughts), and acceptance strategies to help individuals engage more fully in life. Rather than striving for symptom elimination, ACT helps people increase their ability to live in accordance with their values, despite challenges or emotional distress.

ACT is particularly effective for conditions like anxiety, depression, chronic pain, stress, and PTSD, as it helps individuals develop healthier relationships with their thoughts and emotions. The goal is to foster resilience, improve emotional well-being, and enhance overall quality of life by focusing on values-driven action and acceptance.

CFT - Compassion Focussed Therapy

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) is a type of psychotherapy developed to help individuals build self-compassion and reduce feelings of shame, self-criticism, and guilt. It combines elements of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) with techniques from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness.

The therapy is based on the idea that many mental health struggles arise from a lack of self-compassion or difficulty managing painful emotions. CFT encourages clients to develop a compassionate inner voice and offers practical exercises to foster kindness and understanding toward oneself, especially in moments of distress. It’s particularly helpful for individuals dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, and emotional regulation issues.

By cultivating self-compassion, clients can learn to respond to their difficulties with warmth, care and resilience rather than harsh judgment. CFT is especially beneficial for people who struggle with self-criticism and perfectionism, as it helps reframe negative self-beliefs and promote emotional healing.

CBIT - Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for Tics and
HRT - Habit Reversal Therapy

Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) and Habit Reversal Therapy (HRT) are related therapeutic approaches, but they have distinct differences in terms of their scope and application.

Habit Reversal Therapy:

Focus: Habit Reversal Therapy is a general behavioral treatment that targets habitual behaviors and compulsive actions, including tics, nail-biting, hair-pulling (trichotillomania), and other repetitive behaviors.
Techniques: The core of HRT involves habit reversal training, which helps individuals recognize the premonitory urges or sensations that occur before the behavior and replace the unwanted behavior with a more appropriate competing response. Additionally, it includes awareness training (noticing when the behavior is happening), and relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety or stress.
Application: While HRT is effective for a wide range of behavioral issues, it is often used as a treatment for tic disorders, body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), and other conditions involving habitual actions.

Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics:

Focus: CBIT is a specific application of HRT designed for individuals with tic disorders, particularly Tourette Syndrome and chronic tic disorders. It is a comprehensive, multi-component intervention that integrates HRT with additional behavioral strategies to better address tics and their impact on an individual’s life.
Techniques: CBIT includes all the core elements of HRT—such as habit reversal training and awareness training—but also incorporates functional intervention (i.e., understanding and addressing environmental triggers that might worsen tics) and relaxation techniques to help manage stress, which can exacerbate tics. A unique feature of CBIT is its emphasis on building a personalized treatment plan that specifically addresses the individual's tics and lifestyle.
Application: CBIT is a targeted treatment specifically designed for tic disorders and works to reduce both the frequency and severity of tics. It is evidence-based and has been shown to be particularly effective in treating Tourette Syndrome.

ST - Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to healing that focuses on the connection between the mind and body. It recognizes that trauma, stress, and emotional experiences are often stored in the body, manifesting as physical tension or pain. Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy helps individuals become aware of their bodily sensations, using techniques like breathwork, movement, and touch to release stored emotions and trauma.

By tuning into physical sensations, clients can process unresolved emotions and gain deeper self-awareness. This body-centered method helps release tension, reduce stress, and improve emotional regulation.

Somatic therapy is beneficial for individuals with trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic pain, and emotional blockages. It is especially helpful for those who struggle to express emotions or connect with them intellectually. Through this therapy, individuals can achieve emotional healing and resilience by engaging both their body and mind in the healing process.

GRO - Group Radical Openness Therapy

GRO is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals develop greater emotional flexibility, self-awareness, and interpersonal effectiveness by fostering openness and vulnerability in group settings. The therapy is grounded in the concept of Radical Openness, which encourages individuals to be open to feedback, challenge deeply ingrained patterns of thinking, and embrace vulnerability in their relationships with others. The approach is based on the idea that many psychological difficulties arise from emotional avoidance, rigid thinking, and an unwillingness to consider alternative perspectives.

In Group Radical Openness Therapy, participants engage in group discussions, activities, and exercises that promote honest communication, emotional expression, and feedback exchange in a safe, supportive environment. The therapist facilitates the group, helping participants confront their fears, biases, and defense mechanisms, and guiding them toward developing more flexible, adaptive ways of responding to themselves and others. One of the key elements is the practice of radical transparency, where individuals are encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings openly, even if it feels uncomfortable or vulnerable.

This therapy is particularly effective for individuals who struggle with personality disorders, particularly Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Avoidant Personality Disorder (AVPD), and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), as well as those who have difficulty with emotional regulation, interpersonal relationships, and self-criticism. By increasing openness to self-reflection and others' feedback, GROT can help individuals reduce maladaptive patterns and improve emotional resilience and relational skills. It aims to enhance individuals' ability to connect authentically with others, ultimately leading to improved mental health and quality of life.

NET - Narrative Exposure Therapy

NET is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process and heal from trauma by organizing and recontextualizing their life stories. It is particularly effective for those who have experienced complex trauma or multiple traumatic events, such as refugees or individuals with a history of abuse.

In NET, the therapist works with the client to create a detailed narrative of their life, focusing on significant traumatic events, and helps them to integrate these experiences into their broader life story. The therapy involves both recalling the trauma in a safe, supportive environment and making sense of it in a way that reduces its emotional intensity.

NET uses a structured approach to help clients process trauma by "exposing" them to the memory in a controlled way, which helps to reduce the distress associated with those memories.

It’s especially effective for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), trauma-related disorders, and for people with a fragmented or disorganized memory of their trauma. NET helps individuals gain a sense of coherence and meaning in their lives, promoting emotional healing and integration.

BT - Behavioural Therapy

BT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on changing undesirable behaviours through various learning techniques, primarily based on principles of classical and operant conditioning. The therapy works by identifying maladaptive behaviors—such as procrastination, addiction, or phobias—and replacing them with healthier, more adaptive behaviours.

Behavioural therapists use techniques like reinforcement (rewarding positive behavior), punishment (discouraging unwanted behaviour), and exposure therapy (gradually confronting fears) to help individuals develop new, more functional ways of thinking and acting.

BT is especially effective for treating issues such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, addictions, and behavioural problems in children. By focusing on observable behaviour, BT is a practical, action-oriented approach that helps individuals make tangible changes in their lives, improving their emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning

N/SFT - Narrative / Solution Focussed Therapy

Narrative therapy is a form of psychotherapy that centers on the stories we tell about ourselves and our lives. It posits that people are not defined by their problems, but rather by the narratives they construct. In narrative therapy, clients are encouraged to view their issues from a different perspective, recognizing that they can reframe their personal stories to bring about change and empowerment. The therapist helps clients identify and challenge negative or limiting narratives, replacing them with more constructive and hopeful ones.

Solution-focused therapy, often combined with narrative techniques, is future-oriented. It emphasizes finding practical solutions rather than dwelling on past problems. The therapist works with the client to explore their strengths, resources, and past successes to develop concrete steps toward achieving desired outcomes. The goal is to focus on solutions, rather than getting bogged down by the problem itself.

This approach is beneficial for individuals facing anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship issues, or those feeling stuck in negative patterns. It empowers clients to take control of their lives by shifting focus toward their strengths and potential.