Therapy with Lori will initially involve information gathering of your current concerns. She will always meet you where you are at and honor your desired pace of treatment. If you are looking for short term therapy to deal with a particular concern you can share this with her. Some people come to Lori for a deeper dive into lifelong issues. Lori will then be assisting you in exploring your past experiences in childhood, relationships with others and the connections with current life events and relationships. She will gently assist you in discovering how the past has impacted your thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The modalities below will be used to assist with this process. While some of our past relationships and events have been beneficial, most of us have ones that were not. When deciding on whether Lori will be a good fit for you, doing some research into attachment theory can be helpful as well as reading about the methods of treatment Lori uses. See below on these methods and the resources tab for links to a few videos on attachment theory and attachment styles to get you started.
MODALITIES:
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing, was discovered in the late 1980s and used to treat trauma. It is now known to be helpful in treating many other mental and emotional health issues.
Eye movements, or other forms of BLS (bilateral stimulation), seem to activate our problem solving process, which is something that also happens during REM sleep.
By focusing on a specific problem, memory or issue, and both the positive and negative emotions, sensations, and beliefs associated with that, then adding the BLS, the brain is able to begin problem solving. The brain has a natural propensity to move toward healing and more adaptive positive beliefs, but sometimes needs a bump from BLS.
It's a free association process, driven by the client and contained and supported by the therapist. The theory is that the mind takes itself wherever it needs go to be healed. When we experience painful life events sometimes much of that content or memory is unprocessed and so it continues to impact us in our current day to day life. It's stuck. While we are doing the BLS we are doing the processing, digesting that piece of that painful life event that was never processed or could never have been processed at that time. EMDR therapists do this in a systematic and safe way so that the client can process the event or issue and put it in the past or adapt healthier positive views of the self with regard to whatever issue is being targeted.
Another way to describe it is to see it as bringing stuff up from long term memory to the present day so that it can be updated, based on what is true today. For more information take a look at this short video produced by the EMDR International Association, to learn about how EMDR therapy works, what it is like, and how widely it is recognized.
Lori received her EMDR training and supervision with Kenya Rocha, MS, LMHC.
EMDR & THE EARLY TRAUMA PROTOCOL (ETP) — A proven method of healing from childhood trauma
I am also trained in an EMDR protocol called the Early Trauma Protocol (ETP) which was developed by Katie Oshea M.S. and Sandra Paulsen Ph.D. This protocol is very helpful in my work with people who have experienced neglect and/or abuse between the ages of birth and three. Most of us cannot remember this time period however experiences are still stored in our subconscious mind and play a major role in our view of ourselves and our experiences in our current lives. The ETP process is very effective in releasing negative beliefs and healing from the traumas of the past so that we can live more happier and healthier lives. It is very effective in reducing anxiety, depressive symptoms and insecure attachment patterns with significant others.
INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS (IFS) & EGO STATE THERAPY
Lori received training in IFS with Frank Anderson, M.D, and Ego State Therapy with Sandra Paulsen Ph.D. These models are often referred to as "parts work."
Internal Family Systems
The Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model is a form of therapy that offers a dynamic and layered approach to understanding and healing the psyche. Developed by Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s, the IFS Model integrates systems thinking (family) with the notion that an individual's mind is made up of multiple subpersonalities, each with its own distinct attributes and functions.
At the heart of the internal family systems model are several core concepts that articulate the nature and function of the psyche's inner parts. The model recognizes that the mind contains myriad parts, often operating in harmony but sometimes in conflict. The internal family systems model is designed to foster understanding and harmony among these parts, with the ultimate goal of achieving self-leadership. This leads to the emotional healing and growth of the individual.
Ego State Therapy
Ego state therapy is based on the idea that a person's psyche is the amalgamation of several distinct people or egos, such as the wounded child or controlling personality. It developed from psychodynamic psychotherapy, and uses techniques similar to those used in family and group settings. Ego state therapy was originally developed by John G. Watkins.
Ego state therapists frequently refer to a "family of selves." They don't literally mean that a person has multiple personalities. Instead, each of us must navigate several discrete identities and roles. For example, a woman might adopt the role of protector toward her children but feel like a fearful or neglected child around her mother. Ego state therapy aims to identify these different roles and then integrate them into a coherent self.
Ego states are an adaptation to various life circumstances, rather than innate states of being. Sometimes a person becomes stuck in an ego state or finds that an ego state is no longer beneficial. A child abuse victim, for example, might get stuck in the role of frightened child. This could lead to anxiety, unhealthy relationships, and other behavioral patterns based on an ego state that's no longer functional.