Experienced and compassionate therapy for Anxiety, Trauma, Phobias and OCD.
Experienced and compassionate therapy for Anxiety, Trauma, Phobias and OCD.
How is the Awakened Heart Therapy different? Rather than just talking about problems, I use "experiential" forms of therapy to give you an experience that helps you to resolve and heal.
Maybe you worry a lot - and don't really feel ok a lot of the time. Something could go wrong at any moment. Rejection is lurking just around the corner. You feel restless, tense, and tired, even if you sleep. It's hard to focus with the thoughts spinning around in your head. Maybe you feel cranky or irritable, but try to hold it inside.
Maybe you feel afraid of a specific thing like flying, animals, bugs, heights, or throwing up. You do everything you can to avoid ever being in that situation. Just thinking about it makes your heart race and your palms sweat, your stomach turn. Maybe you've always been afraid of this, or something happened that kicked it off.
Oh no, it's that thought again! Why does your brain insist on showing you these terrible images? You don't want to be having these thoughts! Nothing seems to make it stop. It sends you into a panic every time. You try to do what you can to calm yourself down and to feel safe, but the thoughts just come back. It's the worst!
Ever since the terrible thing happened, you've been trying not to think about it. But your brain just won't get over it. You find yourself sweating, heart racing, thinking it's happening all over again. You can't put yourself back in any situation that reminds you of what happened. All you want to do is sleep, but your brain won't let you. You find yourself having a hair trigger and snapping at people. Loud sounds make you jump. You'd do anything to leave it in the past, and go back to how you were before.
Ok, so now that you've realized you don't want to be doing this thing anymore, you try to stop. But you find yourself doing it again, and it seems like you can't stop, no matter how bad you want to. You realize the problems it's causing, you know it's not healthy, you feel guilty and ashamed, but you just find yourself doing it almost without realizing it. You feel trapped. Maybe it's emotional eating, porn addiction, gambling, social media, alcohol or drugs, or shopping.
You go through life just going through the motions and feeling numb. Sometimes you erupt in rage, other times you crumple in depression and sadness. You have no idea why. What's the point? The world seems like a cold place, where you just can't get what you want, and you keep messing everything up. You feel like you aren't enough, like you're not normal. Why can't you have what everyone else has? There must be something wrong with you.
Basic EMDR was first developed in the 1980's by Francine Shapiro to relieve PTSD symptoms. EMDR is organized into 8 steps or "phases." Now evidence-based, EMDR therapy is a versatile, trauma-informed approach to process distressing memories and events as well as to treat anxiety, phobias, OCD, and addictive or compulsive behaviors. EMDR treats both the mind (thoughts) and the body (somatic reactions) to reduce or eliminate negative reactions, anxieties, and limiting beliefs.
When using Internal Family Systems Therapy, Ego-State Therapy, or working with the "parts" of the self, the goal is to heal the wounded parts of a person, and to restore balance and harmony by changing the dynamics between the parts and the person's core Self. The core Self is the confident, compassionate, whole person at the center of each individual.
Sensorimotor psychotherapy (SP) is a holistic approach to healing trauma or unhealthy attachment patterns formed in early childhood. Based in mindfulness, It integrates the body and physical awareness into therapy to address and heal ongoing psychological difficulties such as problems in relationships with others, and within the self.
Psychodrama is an "action" psychotherapy, in which clients (guided by the therapist) use spontaneous role playing, and self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Clients do this by giving voice to conflicts, speaking from each part of themselves, and switching roles. Psychodrama may help people work through painful emotions, understand another person’s perspective, and resolve trauma.
Anxiety
Insecurities
Fears and phobias
OCD
Low self-worth
Imposter syndrome
Co-dependency
Complex Trauma
PTSD
Depression
Single-incident Trauma
Car accidents
Compulsive behaviors
Substance use
Binge eating
Body image
May you dwell in the open heart. May you be healed in your suffering. May you be awake in this moment, just as it is. May the awakened heart be extended to all others. -Ezra Bayda