How Do I Find the Right Therapist and Type of Therapy for Me??

When life throws curveballs, it can feel like you're trying to navigate an impossible maze of emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Whether it's dealing with anxiety, trauma, or navigating the stressors of relationships, therapy can offer invaluable support. But the kind of therapy that works for one person might not be what another needs. That’s where understanding different therapy modalities comes in.

Each approach offers unique strategies to help you cope, heal, and grow. Below, we’ll dive into some therapeutic methods we use at Couples to Cradles Counselling to help you find what might work for you! We are glad you are here.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is all about the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and actions. If you're someone who tends to get stuck in negative thought patterns or feels weighed down by stress or self-criticism, CBT helps you recognize those patterns and learn to change them.

For example, if anxiety feels like it's always lurking around the corner, CBT can help by breaking down your anxious thoughts and reframing them so they don’t hold as much power over you. It's not about pretending everything is fine, but about learning to challenge unhelpful thinking and replace it with thoughts that make life feel manageable.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

DBT builds on CBT but adds an extra layer of emotional and behavioral regulation. It’s especially helpful for people who struggle with intense emotions, self-harm, or relationships. You might feel like your emotions are running the show, and DBT provides tools to balance acceptance of your feelings while actively working to change destructive behaviors.

At Couples to Cradles Counselling, we use DBT to help clients learn skills like mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation—because it's not just about getting through tough times, but learning how to ride the waves without being overwhelmed by them.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR may sound like something out of left field, but it's highly effective for processing trauma. It's my favourite modality for processing trauma. Traumatic memories often get stuck in the brain, causing distress long after the event. With EMDR, you’re guided through recalling these memories while following specific eye movements. Over time, this helps the brain "reprocess" the trauma, making it less intense and overwhelming.

Whether you're struggling with PTSD, anxiety, or even past negative experiences that continue to affect you, EMDR offers a way to lessen the emotional sting of those memories, allowing you to move forward with more ease.

Somatic Therapy: Healing Through the Body

Somatic Therapy looks beyond talking and gets into the ways our bodies hold onto stress and trauma. Sometimes, emotions or trauma can be stored physically in the body, and traditional talk therapy doesn’t always address that. Somatic techniques focus on what’s happening inside your body when you feel anxious, triggered, or upset. It’s a way of reconnecting with your body to release pent-up tension, anxiety or grief.

At Couples to Cradles Counselling, we might guide you through breathing exercises, grounding techniques, or mindful movement. These methods are particularly useful for clients who feel like their body is always in a state of fight-or-flight or who experience physical symptoms tied to anxiety or depression

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) sees you as having multiple parts within yourself, almost like an inner family. You’ve got parts that protect you, parts that hold pain, and parts that try to manage your emotions. IFS helps you get to know these parts and understand how they interact. By doing this, you can heal the wounded parts of yourself and bring your internal system into harmony.

For those who’ve experienced trauma, overwhelming emotions, or even just the daily grind of juggling work, parenting, and life, IFS helps you reconnect with yourself in a compassionate way. It’s not about fixing parts of you, but understanding, working with, and feeling whole again.

Maternal Mental Health

Motherhood often brings unexpected emotional challenges. Whether you're a new mom struggling with postpartum depression or anxiety or feeling overwhelmed by the demands of raising kids, maternal mental health is vital. At Couples to Cradles Counselling, we recognize that the transition to parenthood isn’t always smooth, and sometimes you need a little extra support.

Through specialized approaches like EMDR, Somatic Therapy, and DBT, we provide moms with the tools to manage overwhelming emotions, process trauma, and find their footing in this new chapter of life. Motherhood can be a beautiful, but sometimes isolating, journey. You don’t have to navigate it alone.

How to Choose the Right Modality

It’s normal to feel unsure about which therapy is right for you, especially with so many different approaches out there. The best way to start is by connecting with a therapist who can help you explore what you need. At Couples to Cradles, we offer free 20-minute consultations to help you get started. We’ll chat about what's going on, discuss your options, and work together to find a therapeutic approach that fits your unique situation. Check out the therapeutic modalities we offer here

Take the Next Step with Couples to Cradles Counselling

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or just not sure where to start, we’re here to help. At Couples to Cradles Counselling, we specialize in providing tailored, compassionate care for individuals, couples, and families. Whether you’re navigating trauma, working through relationship issues, or tackling the ups and downs of parenting, our expert Mom therapists offer the support and expertise to help you find your way forward. We have in person therapy services available in Lethbridge and Camrose Alberta.

Ready to start? Book your free consultation today, and let’s work together to create the change you need.

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