Here I would like to share with you a little bit about the methods I practice in my work and also suggestions to further reading.
AEDP
Aedp, short for Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, is a form of psychotherapy that builds on experiencing; emotionally and physically. Not per se a short time therapy, as each individual’s needs differ, and the number of meetings with the therapist varies. The word accelerated implies that it can often happen quickly to get in contact with that which needs attention. Aedp seeks to promote positive neuroplasticity in different ways. The method has its roots in many disciplines, among them attachment theory, affect focused therapy, body-focused approaches (see Somatic Experiencing below) and transformational studies. The method is directed towards healing, not psychopathology, and seeks to help the patient/client getting stronger at the broken places. Aedp comes from the stance that it is within the human nature to heal and to strive for growth and transformation. The relationship between therapist and client is at the center of this method, and actively working with that makes the method well suited for attachment trauma-work, once safety is established. This approach is also aiming at undoing aloneness, and enables deep isolation and introversion to come up and to slowly heal.
For more information about the method, see www.aedpinstitute.org.
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing is a trauma treatment method which aims at restoring the body's inherent capacity for self regulation.
This method focuses on how our nervous system shows dysregulation in the here and now, more than on the story behind the trauma. The story is also important and enables trauma memories and trauma responses to surface within the session.
Peter Levine (2010) one of the pioneers in the field of trauma studies and the founder of Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SE), has contributed key principles in this method that are used to treat trauma survivors all over the world.
One of these keys is to move very, very gently and slowly so that the traumatic energy, stored in the body doesn’t get released too fast. If it does come up too intensely, the nervous system may again be subject to overwhelm and re-traumatization. This slow release of energy might be difficult to grasp and understand at first, but, over time, awareness of this movement in the body along with self regulating capacity grows.
In early traumatization, often called developmental trauma, the focus is mainly on regulation and moving towards a place where the activation or dissociation of the nervous system is reduced. The therapist provides co-regulation and add resources in order to help the client to a more regulated state. Many times the therapist need to just stay present to what is, and it is often a long and slow process. It takes time for developmental trauma to heal. (Elmberger, 2020; Levine, 2009 & 2010)
To find out more about this method:
Compassion Focused Therapy
This method is an integration of the eastern and western approach to psychology and existential inquiry. The founder, Paul Gilbert was inspired to develop this method from his work with people suffering from complex psychological disorders.
He felt that the patients often expressed that even though they, with the help of CBT, learnt that their thoughts were illogical, they didn’t feel that that made a difference to them. They felt bad, even though they logically understood they weren’t.
The method has emerged from CBT, is described as being multimodal and has developed to treat exaggerated self criticism and shame. All interventions are developed to help the person to increased self compassion.
CFT is based on a neuropsychological model that comes from emotional research. It shows that we have three large emotional regulating systems. These are ”the threat and self-protection focused system”, ”the drive, seeking and acquisition focused system” and ”the contentment, soothing and affiliative focused system”.
In working with this method, we look at how these three systems function in our life, and aim at learning ways to increased self soothing. The values behind CFT are to unburden the persons response from being regarded as a disorder to being regarded as an adaptive response to difficult circumstances. This method has good results on depression. (Bertlin & Bluhme, 2012).
To find out more about this method:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on principles from learning theory. The therapeutic work focuses on understanding how thoughts, feelings and behaviors interact so that they cause psychological symtoms, and then to actively work to change these behaviors in order to learn new ways to act and live so that the symtoms lessen or disappear entirely. On the way, the client gets insight into her/his/their patterns, and to some degree also into where these patterns come from.
To find out more about this method:
Psychodynamic therapy (PDT)
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the psychological roots of emotional suffering. Its major tools are self-reflection and self-examination, and the use of the relationship between therapist and patient as a window into problematic relationship patterns in the patient’s life.
Here, observed symptom-reduction isn’t the major goal, although it often results in that. Over time the client gets more understanding of where the difficulties come from, and with that comes a discontinuation of repeating the same mistakes over and over again. On the way to healing the client works with feeling the wounds that are there and to settle into acceptance of the pain. This process creates growth and opens to lasting change.
To find out more about this method:
Meditation/Mindfulness
Meditation, or mindfulness practice is about witnessing and watching, thoughts, feelings, the breath, the body moving, feet touching the floor, hands rinsing the plate while doing the dishes …
There is plenty of research result indicating benefits of regular use of mindfulness, or meditation if you will. After six weeks with 20 min mindfulness-sitting a day, the tails in the DNA grows, according to research performed by Jon Kabat Zin. This also makes the cells live longer. See under articles/links in Resources/Inspiration for more such results. And yet, I can’t help but find that something is missed when we start with mindfulness practice focusing on result. Mindfulness is pretty much referred to in this way in the context of psychological treatment. To me, meditation is also mysterious and spiritual … when silence enters into the inner world… the experience of spaciousness, some rest from emotional intensity... But, then again, that is perhaps also being result oriented. Isn’t this the beauty of meditation? It can’t really be put into words.
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