Counseling Treatments & Therapies

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT (developed by Steven C. Hayes, Kelly G. Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl) is a empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. Through metaphor, paradox, and experiential exercises clients learn how to make healthy contact with thoughts, feelings, memories, and physical sensations that have been feared and avoided. Clients gain the skills to recontextualize and accept these private events, develop greater clarity about personal values, and commit to needed behavior change.

Hailey Shaughnessy

Adlerian Therapy

Alfred Adler developed his theory in the early 1900s addressing such crucial and contemporary issues as equality, parent education, the influence of birth order, life style, and the holism of individuals. It was the first holistic theory of personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy that was intimately connected to a humanistic philosophy of living. At the heart of Adlerian psychotherapy is the process of encouragement and therapeutic education. Adlerian theory and practice have proven especially productive as applied to the growth and development of children.

Kristen Johnson & Stephanie Hefner Roth

Bio Acoustical Utilization Device (BAUD)

The BAUD, or Bio Acoustical Utilization Device, is a new and powerful neuromodulation therapy tool invented by Dr. Frank Lawlis, a pioneer in the field of medical psychology. The BAUD can quickly stimulate neural plasticity, the brain's innate ability to change, and see immediate results.  Using a simple technique that includes tuning and listening to special sound frequencies through the BAUD's earphones, you can actually affect neural activity deep within the brain. You can quiet the over-active neural pathways that are the real source of problems like an out-of-control appetite or a mind obsessed with worry. This same technology has been used in neurofeedback by doctors to treat serious disorders like depression, phobias, substance abuse, OCD and ADHD. The BAUD is effective in three main categories of problems: emotional issues, urges or impulses, and physical symptoms like pain.

Hailey Shaughnessy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. The focus of therapy is on how you are thinking, behaving, and communicating today rather than on your early childhood experiences. The therapist assists the patient in identifying specific distortions and biases in thinking and provides guidance on how to change this thinking.  Cognitive therapy helps the patient learn effective self-help skills that are used in homework assignments that help you change the way you think, feel and behave.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy & Katherine Walsh

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT is a cognitive-behavioral treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). CPT was developed in the late 1980s and has been shown to be effective in reducing PTSD symptoms related to a variety of traumatic events including child abuse, combat, rape and natural disasters. CPT is generally delivered over 12 sessions and helps patients learn how to challenge and modify unhelpful beliefs related to the trauma. In so doing, the patient creates a new understanding and conceptualization of the traumatic event so that it reduces its ongoing negative effects on current life. CPT is endorsed by the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, as well as the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, as a best practice for the treatment of PTSD.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth & Hailey Shaughnessy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is a specific type of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Marsha M. Linehan.  It was originally developed to treat Borderline Personality Disorder, however, research has shown that it is effective in treating a wide range of other disorders such as substance dependence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. DBT includes four sets of behavioral skills: Mindfulness - the practice of being fully aware and present in this one moment; Distress Tolerance - how to tolerate pain in difficult situations, not change it; Interpersonal Effectiveness - how to ask for what you want and say no while maintaining self-respect and relationships with others; and Emotion Regulation - how to change emotions that you want to change.

Katherine Walsh


Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)

ERP is a component of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and considered the “treatment of choice” for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Also useful for treating other mental health conditions, such as phobias, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders and social anxieties. This method gradually exposes a patient to feared thoughts, images or impulses and outcome studies show its effectiveness in reducing anxiety and distress over time.

Stephanie Hefner Roth & Hailey Shaughnessy

​Expressive Arts Therapy


Katherine Walsh

Family Systems Therapy

Family Systems Therapy is a branch of psychotherapy that works with families to nurture change and development. It tends to view change in terms of the systems of interaction between family members. It emphasizes family relationships as an important factor in psychological health.  The different schools of family therapy have in common a belief that, regardless of the origin of the problem, and regardless of whether the clients consider it an "individual" or "family" issue, involving families in solutions often benefits clients.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy was developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s and 1950s. It is an existential and experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility. Gestalt therapy focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation. 

Kristen Johnson & Stephanie Hefner Roth

Gottman Method

The Gottman Method is an approach to couples therapy that includes a thorough assessment of the couple relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman. Couples who enter into Gottman Method Couples Therapy begin with an assessment process that then informs the therapeutic framework and intervention. Interventions are designed to help couples strengthen their relationships in three primary areas: friendship, conflict management, and creation of shared meaning. Couples learn to replace negative conflict patterns with positive interactions and to repair past hurts. 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 in conflicting situations, and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship. 

Kristen Johnson & Stephanie Hefner Roth

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

MBCT is a clinically proven therapy for reducing stress and anxiety, and preventing relapses in those who suffer from depression. It combines the practice of mindfulness meditation with the practical skills of cognitive therapy. Mindfulness is a non-judgmental way of paying attention in the present moment, and leads to increased personal awareness and clarity. Cognitive therapy is designed to interrupt thought patterns that lead to depressive and anxious spirals. The program was originally developed by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale.

Hailey Shaughnessy

Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT)

MB-EAT, developed by Jean Kristeller, and supported by NIH-funded research, addresses mindless and stress-related eating, disordered eating patterns, and obesity.  MB-EAT employs mindfulness meditation, eating exercises, didactic instruction, and self-reflection to cultivate awareness and a more balanced and positive relationship to eating and weight. 

Hailey Shaughnessy

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is a mindfulness-based program designed to assist people with pain and a range of conditions and life issues that were initially difficult to treat in a hospital setting. It uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness, and yoga to help people become more mindful and was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. In recent years, meditation has been the subject of controlled clinical research. This suggests it may have beneficial effects, including stress reduction, relaxation, and improvements to quality of life, but that it does not help prevent or cure disease.

Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors (MBRP)

MBRP is a novel treatment approach developed at the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington, for individuals in recovery from addictive behaviors. The program is designed to bring practices of mindful awareness to individuals who have suffered from the addictive trappings and tendencies of the mind. MBRP practices are intended to foster increased awareness of triggers, destructive habitual patterns, and “automatic” reactions that seem to control many of our lives.

Hailey Shaughnessy

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

MI is a counseling approach developed by clinical psychologists Professor William R Miller, Ph.D. and Professor Stephen Rollnick, Ph.D. MI recognizes and accepts the fact that clients who need to make changes in their lives approach counseling at different levels of readiness to change their behavior.  MI is non-judgmental, non-confrontational and non-adversarial. The approach attempts to increase the client's awareness of the potential problems caused, consequences experienced, and risks faced as a result of the behavior in question. Alternately, therapists help clients envision a better future, and become increasingly motivated to achieve it.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy is different in that it encourages the person to be their own individual and to use their own skill set to address the problem and also to minimize the tiny problems in day-to-day life. The idea of narrative therapy is that in life, people create personal stories that help them identify who they are and also that they possess the proper tools to navigate their lives. The point of narrative therapy is to help clarify, develop and support the narrator in life and help guide their journey.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology, pioneered by Martin Seligman, is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. Positive Psychology holds the fundamental notion that everyone has a personal strengths profile and regardless of weakness, an individual's greatest opportunity for fulfillment, growth and success lies in the identification, development and application of their key strengths.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Rapid Resolution Therapy® (RRT)

RRT is a form of clinical hypnotherapy.  “RRT eliminates emotional pain and destructive behavioral patterns and completely resolves the psychological and physiological effects of trauma.  RRT works with the understanding that the subconscious controls emotions, desires, memory, habits, thoughts, dreams and automatic responses. One may consciously understand the value of eliminating problematic emotions, thoughts or behaviors but unless the subconscious mind is reached, enduring change is unlikely. By engaging the subconscious mind and eliminating the ongoing influence from troubling past events, blocked energy is released, healing takes place, and change is automatic. Negative habits and painful emotions are replaced by positive actions and feelings of well-being.”  RRT was founded and developed by Dr. Jon Connelly. Information obtained at http://www.rapidresolutiontherapy.com

Kristen Johnson & Hailey Shaughnessy

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

REBT, created by Albert Ellis in the 1950's, is based on the premise that whenever we become upset, it is not the events taking place in our lives that upset us; it is the beliefs that we hold that cause us to become depressed, anxious, enraged, etc.  REBT referrs to these as irrational beliefs.  The goal of REBT is to help people change their irrational beliefs into rational beliefs. REBT therapists strive to help their clients develop acceptance.  The three types of acceptance in REBT are: (1) unconditional self-acceptance; (2) unconditional other-acceptance; and (3) unconditional life-acceptance.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Rogerian Person-centered Therapy

Rogerian Person-centered Therapy was developed by psychologist Carl Rogers. Person-centered therapy seeks to facilitate a client's self-actualizing tendency, "an inbuilt proclivity toward growth and fulfillment", via acceptance, therapist congruence, and empathic understanding. Rogers ascribed individual personal experience as the basis for therapeutic effect. Rogers identified six conditions which are needed to produce personality changes in clients: relationship, vulnerability to anxiety (on the part of the client), genuineness (the therapist is truly himself or herself and incorporates some self-disclosure), the client's perception of the therapist's genuineness, the therapist's unconditional positive regard for the client, and accurate empathy.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Solution-focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

SFBT is an approach to psychotherapy based on solution-building rather than problem-solving. It was developed by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg, and their colleagues beginning in the late 1970s at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee. SFBT explores current resources and future hopes rather than present problems and past causes and typically involves only three to five sessions. It has great value as a preliminary and often sufficient intervention and can be used safely as an adjunct to other treatments.

Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth, Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy​ (TF-CBT)


Kristen Johnson, Stephanie Hefner Roth & Hailey Shaughnessy


Studies show that not only are your mental health and mood dependent in large part on physical factors like exercise, but also unchecked stress, anxiety and depression can affect physical health, increasing blood pressure, heart disease and even risk of death. Yoga helps a client tap into their inner wisdom and reduce suffering. Operating under the assumption that your body is a repository for all life’s experiences, both positive and negative, yoga gently opens tensely held parts of the body so pent-up feelings, fears and resistances are revealed and transformed. When combined with traditional psychotherapy or counseling, yoga can be highly successful in reducing the symptoms of: grief, eating disorders, addictions, PTSD, sexual abuse, stress, and phobias.

Hailey Shaughnessy Katherine Walsh