How we work

The therapies we use

We group our approaches by the part of you they work with — mind, heart and body, plus a set that works directly with the nervous system, and a separate group for couples. Most people's therapy draws on more than one. Your therapist uses whichever fits what you are bringing, and will tell you why. Most of these approaches work across mind, heart and body at once; we group them only as a starting point.

Mind Heart Body Nervous system Couples

Mind

The cognitive dimension

Here we look at the thoughts, beliefs and perspectives sitting behind a pattern — the things you tell yourself so quickly you no longer notice you are saying them. These are skills you keep; they stay useful long after therapy ends.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Catch the thought that fires just before the feeling, look at whether it is actually true, and choose a different response. Structured and practical. Learn more Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills for when the feeling is too strong to think through — riding out distress, steadying yourself, and staying in a hard conversation without going under. Learn more Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Stop wrestling the thought. Make room for it, and move toward what actually matters to you rather than what fear is telling you to do. Learn more Psychodynamic Therapy Trace a pattern back to where it was formed, usually in early relationships, and see how it is still running now. Slower and more open-ended. Learn more

Heart

The emotional dimension

Underneath most of what brings people to therapy are feelings that never had anywhere to go. This is the work of letting those surface at a pace you can manage, and finding out what they were protecting.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Get underneath the argument to the need sitting beneath it. Used with individuals, and with couples who keep having the same fight. Learn more Gestalt Therapy Work with what is happening right now, in the room, rather than only talking about it. Often reaches things that explaining never does. Learn more Internal Family Systems (IFS) Meet the parts of you that are at odds — the protector, the critic, the frightened one — and stop being at war with yourself. Learn more Expressive Arts Therapy When words run out, image, movement and making give the feeling another way out. No artistic ability required. Learn more

Body

The somatic dimension

The body holds what the mind has not been able to resolve. That is why insight alone often is not enough. This work goes at the level of sensation and the nervous system, not explanation.

Somatic Experiencing Follow what is happening in the body and let the nervous system finish what it could not finish at the time. Slow and careful. You do not have to retell the story. Learn more EMDR Therapy Reprocess a memory using guided eye movement, so it stops firing in the present as though it were still happening. Learn more Clinical Hypnotherapy A focused, relaxed state that reaches the subconscious patterns sitting below everyday awareness, alongside ordinary conversation. Learn more Polyvagal-Informed Therapy Learn to read which state your nervous system is in — settled, braced for threat, or shut down — and what actually brings you back. Learn more Mindfulness-Based Therapy Training your attention on what is actually happening in your body and your breath right now, rather than the story running about it. Learn more

Nervous system

Working directly

These work with the brain and nervous system directly rather than through conversation. Both can run alongside talking therapy, and both suit people who have done a lot of talking already and want something that works at a different level.

Neurofeedback (Infralow, LENS & Body LENS) Sensors read your brain's own activity and feed it back in real time, and the brain gradually learns to settle itself. Drug-free — you sit still while it works. Learn more Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT) Uses precise light, colour and eye movement alongside conversation to reach emotional states that talking alone can circle for a long time without touching. Learn more

Couples & relationships

When there are two of you in the room

Couples work is its own discipline. Sitting with two people who are hurt and defended takes different training from sitting with one, and our couples therapists have it.

Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) Gets underneath the fight to the need driving it. Changes the cycle rather than refereeing the content. Learn more The Gottman Method Built on decades of research into what predicts whether a couple lasts. Structured, practical, and strong on the habits that erode a relationship. Learn more Imago Relationship Therapy A structured way of talking to each other that most couples have never been taught. Slows the exchange down enough that both of you are actually heard. Learn more Sex Therapy for Couples Desire, mismatch, avoidance, and the things that have gone unsaid for a long time. Talked about openly, by therapists who do this work regularly. Learn more

Nutritional counselling — with a psychotherapist, exploring the connection between food, mood and the gut. It sits alongside therapy rather than replacing it.

Beyond therapy, we also offer wellness services such as acupuncture and somatic bodywork at our Aurora sister centre.

Not sure which approach is right for you?

You do not have to choose. Start with a free call and Susan will match you with the therapist whose training fits what you are bringing.

Book a free call with Susan