Our Approaches

CBT was developed by Dr. Aaron Beck, a psychiatrist. The fundamental principle of CBT is that thoughts, emotions, and behaviours influence each other. It allows the individual to become more aware of and change “worrisome”, “unhelpful”, and “unrealistic” thoughts to change emotions and behaviours. Research demonstrates that CBT is useful, among others, for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and ASD.

The collaborative problem-solving approach was developed by Dr. Ross Greene, a psychologist. It states that children can do well when they can and that children demonstrate challenging behaviours when expectations exceed their ability. When this approach is used, parents are involved in the sessions to work collaboratively to find mutually agreeable solutions to the child’s/youth’s challenging behaviour.

DBT was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan, a psychologist. It is a modified approach to CBT that aims to teach the individual to live in the moment, to better tolerate distress with healthy strategies, to better regulate emotions, and to improve relationships with others. DBT was originally developed for borderline personality disorder. However, it has been adapted to generally intervene with individuals who have challenges managing their emotions and who use self-destructive behaviours. Research demonstrates that DBT may also be effective, among others, for generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression, and ADHD.

EFFT was co-developed by Dr. Adele Lafrance, a psychologist, and is a life-span approach that aims to support parents or any significant family member in their role in the recovery of the individual with a mental health challenge and thus become “active agents” for that goal. This approach can be offered with the entire family, parent-child, or parents only.

EFT was developed by Dr. Les Greenberg and Dr. Sue Johnson, psychologists, and is a humanistic approach. It identifies patterns or cycles within the individual by looking at attachment style to explore how it affects reactions and behaviours. Research demonstrates that EFT is useful, among others, for depression and trauma. It is also useful for interpersonal difficulties including significant unresolved emotions from the individual’s past and more complex grief.

EFT-C was also developed by Dr. Les Greenberg and Dr. Sue Johnson, psychologists. It is rooted in attachment and emotional theories. It allows individuals and partners to recognize their emotional responses, attachments, and needs to support them in communicating effectively. It also helps to create new cycles of interaction so that partners can build a stronger bond in their relationship.

The systemic approach focuses on the strength of relationships to overcome mental health challenges. It then allows family members to better understand the challenges and implications related to mental health. The systemic approach can be used for a variety of issues: behavioural challenges in children or adolescents, family changes/transitions, communication challenges between family members and/or conflicts between siblings, etc.