Anne has an integrative approach to therapy, and uses tools from from different schools of psychology in order to respond to a wide variety of needs.
The following models are her main references:
Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) is an empirically validated, brief couples therapy based on attachment theory and the science of emotions. Dr. Sue Johnson in Canada has been developing this cutting-edge model over the past 30 years.
This humanist and systemic model of therapy views distressed couples as being trapped in a repetitive, negative dynamic that makes it very difficult—and often impossible—for partners to respond to each other’s needs for closeness, security, recognition, affection and desire. As a first step, EFT helps couples become aware of this toxic dynamic and of their respective positions and roles within it. The second phase of therapy aims at restructuring the bond between the partners and thereby changing negative behaviors. The title of the method reflects the focus on emotion as organizer of inner experiences and key interactions in love relationships. EFT transforms the emotions that underlie each partner’s behavior, thus fostering the creation of secure, deep and satisfying bonds in the couple.
Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy has proved successful with heterosexual and homosexual couples as well as with couples having diverse cultural backgrounds.
Useful links: www.drsuejohnson.com — www.iceeft.com — www.eftnetwerk.nl — www.eft-sr.ch —
Emotionally Focused Therapy for individuals
EFT can also be used in individual therapy. Developed by Sue Johnson and Leslie Greenberg, EFT is an empirically based model that helps people recognize, understand and transform their emotions, behaviors and ways of relating to others. EFT helps us not only identify the origin of our difficulties but also helps us understand how these problems persist, opening the way to change, growth and a flourishing life.
www.emotionfocusedclinic.org—www.drsuejohnson.com
Emotionally Focused Therapies are Humanist Experiential Therapies. Humanist therapies provide a positive approach to psychotherapy that focuses on a person’s individual nature, rather than categorizing groups of people with similar traits as having the same problems. Humanistic therapy looks at the whole person, not only from the therapist’s view but from the viewpoint of individuals observing their own behavior. The emphasis is on a person’s positive traits and behaviors in the here and now, and on the ability to use their personal instincts to find wisdom, growth, healing, and fulfilment within themselves. In experiential therapies, clients experience emotions and the creation of meaning within the therapy session, thus opening the way to change.
Systemics is an approach to human dynamics and relationships that considers the individual within his/her networks of relationships in order to avoid reductive views of behavior. It is a rich tool for dealing with couple and family problems, but can also be applied in the workplace and in individual therapy. In individual therapy, a systemic focus takes into account the big picture and encourages creative thinking about problems. The systemic approach in individual therapy is usually called relational therapy. In her treatment of couples and individuals, Anne Belgram-Perkins uses not only a systemic approach but also explores and addresses the emotional underpinnings of relationships to heal or enhance them.
The types of therapy Anne practices are primarily brief therapies. These therapies are short-term and focused on helping a person to resolve or effectively manage specific problems or situations and to make desired changes. Brief therapy is typically more solutions-oriented, and sessions are more geared towards here-and-now more than exploration of the past. Sessions are more interactive than is typically the case in traditional psychotherapy.
Anne also has a strong background in intercultural psychology and uses tools such as mindfulness and relaxation when working with people suffering from anxiety and trauma.
