Therapeutic Approaches

At Refine we follow a variety of different therapeutic modalities, dependent on clinician expertise and what will best suit your journey. 

Click each modality box below to learn more.

The Gottman Method is an approach to couples therapy that includes a thorough assessment of the couple’s relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory. The goals of Gottman Method Couples Therapy are to disarm conflicting verbal communication; increase intimacy, respect, and affection; remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy; and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.

(taken from the Gottman Institute website)

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a well-known humanistic approach to psychotherapy formulated in the 1980’s and developed in tandem with the science of adult attachment, a profound developmental theory of personality and intimate relationships.  This science has expanded our understanding of individual dysfunction and health as well as the nature of love relationships and family bonds.  Attachment views human beings as innately relational, social and wired for intimate bonding with others.  The EFT model prioritizes emotion and emotional regulation as the key organizing agents in individual experience and key relationship interactions.

(taken from the ICEEFT website)

The Pragmatic-Experiential Method for Improving Relationships (“The PEX Method”) translates new discoveries in the fields of neurobiology and relationship science into practical strategies for improving relationships. The PEX Method is scientifically-based, drawing from:

  • Long-term research studies that have identified exactly how people who are good at getting their partners to treat them well go about doing it.
  • Long-term studies that examine how emotional attachment occurs in couple relationships, and why an emotional bond is crucial both to the success of relationships and the well-being of individual partners.
  • New neurological studies which suggest how we can rewire our brains for more flexibility, enabling us to develop new habits that become so thoroughly integrated into our neural circuits that they become part of our second-nature.

(taken from the Couples Clinic website)

There are many definitions of Trauma Informed Care (TIC) and various ways to incorporate it across a multitude of environments. In our therapeutic space, we strive to utilize the guiding principles of TIC by starting with the big picture. We believe that your lived experiences inform the way you engage with the world around you. Some of those experiences have likely overwhelmed your system at points in your life, and have impacted the way you connect. The ways you connect with yourself, with others and with the greater systems and society that inform your day to day routine. Our goal is to create a safe space to explore these experiences collaboratively and with compassion. We aim to support the therapeutic process by empowering you to discover and choose what best serves you, every step of the way.<

Attachment-based therapy is a process-oriented form of therapy based on attachment theory. It explores the connection between a client’s early attachment experiences with primary caregivers, commonly parents, and the client’s ability to develop safe and secure relationships as an adult.  Attachment-based therapy involves building a client-therapist relationships based on establishing trust and expressing emotions. Attachment-based therapy can be used with individuals, couples, families and groups.

Person-centered therapy focuses on creating an environment to best fit the unique needs of each individual starting the therapeutic process. At Refine we believe that you are the expert of your own experience. Although you may be coming into this space looking for some clarity or direction, it is your own experiences and emotions that will support navigating this journey.

In this process, your values and ways of understanding the world are paramount. Our goal is to deepen this understanding, exploring the meaning of your experiences in a way where your voice and agency is of utmost importance.

This approach allows your psychologist to use a multitude of strategies drawn from various therapeutic modalities that are tailored to you. The process prioritizes sharing information and explanations to ensure collaboration and your comfort.

Psychodynamic therapy (insight oriented therapy), often known as “talk therapy,” places a heavy emphasis on client self-discovery. The relationship between the client and therapist is key. This relationship must create a safe and non-judgemental environment where the client can share absolutely anything on their mind. There are aspects of our emotional lives that we are not fully aware of, and which, at times, can limit our ability to live fulfilling lives. Past memories and experiences can create hidden assumptions about ourselves and our relationships.  These assumptions perpetuate thought patterns and behaviours that contribute to our difficulties in present day functioning. The goal of this therapy is to increase your understanding of your thoughts and feelings, thus enabling more effective responses to people and situations moving forward.

This is a body-mind integrated therapy that is proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences. EMDR posits that when we experience trauma, our brains process and store information incorrectly. When this happens, it can lead to past memories feeling very present, or experiencing current events as if they were the past memory. EMDR is designed to resolve unprocessed distressing memories so that while the memory of the event remains, the stress response and the distress related to it is significantly reduced. EMDR is an eight-phase approach that involves building resources to manage distress, reprocessing and desensitization to a distressing memory, and installing a new, positive belief related to the memory.

The Somatic Experiencing® method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. It is the life’s work of Peter A. Levine, PhD, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, psychology, and indigenous healing practices, together with over 50 years of successful clinical application. The SE™ approach releases traumatic shock and restores connection, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma.

SE offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states. It provides effective skills appropriate to a variety of healing professions including mental health, medicine, physical and occupational therapies, bodywork, addiction treatment, first responders, education, and others.

-taken from www.somaticexperiencing.com

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been heavily researched and proven effective in supporting desired change for various mental health concerns. At times, our beliefs can present as problematic, interfering with our ability to regulate emotions and develop personal coping strategies. CBT focuses on increasing awareness of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and exploring how they are connected. With the help of a therapist, clients can discover patterns and distortions in thinking that run interference on overall life satisfaction. By bringing more intentionality to these patterns, clients can be better prepared to face the stressors, pressures and activations that come with engaging in their lives.

CBT sessions have a high level of structure and are focused around client goals. Specific events and symptoms will be discussed, as well as how you experience these events. Your therapist will invite you to reflect on your thinking patterns surrounding these experiences and may gently challenge the effectiveness of your current approach in managing activation. Many ways of looking at activating issues/circumstances will be collaboratively explored. You and your therapist will spend time identifying the most effective ways to manage these negative thoughts and cues and practice helpful strategies to promote change.

Please do not hesitate to connect with us if you have questions.

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