Although we are abundantly cared for within our organization, you may feel like you need some additional and professional help in coping with the challenges you’re facing.

Many hesitate before reaching out to a mental health professional due to concerns about not being understood, being encouraged to adopt worldly thinking, or being exposed to types of therapy that may violate their Bible-trained conscience.

As fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses, we offer mental health coaching services that are in line with our beliefs and Bible principles.

Our polyvagal-informed approach to mental health focuses primarily on anxiety, depression, and trauma, and involves a combination of somatic and Cognitive Behavioral therapy.

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach to mental and emotional well-being that actually works. It uses scientifically proven methods that teach you the skills you need to break harmful thinking patterns and habits. For good reason, CBT is the gold standard and first-line treatment for a variety of disorders and problems.

CBT is based on the understanding that how you think and interpret life’s events affects how you think and feel.

Instead of digging through the past to understand current feelings, CBT focuses on current thoughts and beliefs. We will work together to identify, challenge, and change the thinking and views that are holding you back.

It’s not the situations in our lives that cause distress, but rather our interpretations of those situations

AARON T. BECK

Strategies to change thinking typically include:

• Learning to recognize distortions in thinking that are creating problems and reevaluate them
• Gaining a better understanding of the motivations and behaviors of others
• Learning to gain confidence in your own abilities
• Using problem-solving skills to cope with challenging situations

CBT treatment also includes efforts to change behavioral patterns. These typically include:

• Facing fears instead of avoiding them
• Role-playing to prepare for potentially challenging interactions
• Learning to calm your mind and relax your body

What is treated?

While CBT is frequently used to treat a very wide variety of problems, this is what we focus on:

• Mild to severe anxiety
• General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
• Panic Disorder (PD)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Trauma
• Emotional Dysregulation
• Communication challenges in relationships

What is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to healing that focuses on the connection between the body and the mind.

Somatic therapy may include:

• Grounding techniques
• Developing awareness of your body and its sensations
• Physical movement
• Emotional release
• Mindfulness

Effectiveness

Somatic therapy has been proven to be highly effective in treating several disorders and conditions, especially related to trauma, anxiety and depression.

PTSD/Anxiety

Somatic therapy has proven to be an effective way to speed up the treatment and healing after a traumatic event.

In one study of tsunami-related trauma victims, “90% of participants reported significant improvement or being completely free of symptoms of intrusion, arousal, and avoidance. The results support the effectiveness and reliability of this modified version of Somatic Experiencing Therapy in working with trauma reactions.”

Depression

A common feeling that people suffering from depression experience is one of dissociation. They may feel numbness or pain, disconnected, overwhelmed, or otherwise “not like themselves”.

Somatic therapy helps by reconnecting the body to the mind. It may seem counterintuitive, but by directing awareness to how depression affects our bodies, we can work on undoing the effects that the depression has been causing on us physically.

A benefit to using somatic therapy is often an improved ability to assess our own emotional needs in real time. This can help those that have had that feeling of being disconnected to “come back” into their bodies again.

Why Combine CBT and Somatic Therapy?

Initially, we focused entirely on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help our clients improve their mental health. However, we realized that a reasonably significant number of our clients weren’t seeing the results that we felt that they should.

After trialing an inclusion of somatics in our sessions, we noticed dramatic improvement in the effectiveness of our sessions.

Our current mixed approach to therapy works off the concept that what happens to us in life is stored, not only in the mind, but also the body. By including physical sensations with a discussion of your feelings, it is a comprehensive and holistic approach to healing.

What it Takes

Once you’ve completed our intake forms, which help us assess your individual needs, we’ll work out a coaching schedule that best fits you. Generally, coaching will require approximately six to twenty 50-minute sessions that occur once or twice a week.

Every session will include accompanying assignments. These usually take about 10 minutes a day to complete and are crucial to the success of the coaching we offer.

CBT is a collaborative effort between me and you using structured sessions. I’m the expert in CBT, but you’re the expert in knowing your own thinking and experience. The result that we’re trying to achieve is that you’ll be trained to the point that you can essentially become your own therapist.

Deseree Maes