Welcome
My name is Andrew Alder. I am a clinical mental health counselor, and I specialize in treating trauma, grief and loss, relational issues, sexuality concerns, and challenges with self-worth or self-acceptance. I love my work and feel grateful to be a facilitator of people’s journeys in self-healing.
Let me tell you a little bit about how I approach therapy.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
I most frequently use Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, and the Flash Technique. Some therapies are better at helping people respond to moments when they are triggered or distressed. Others are better at treating the source of the triggers so that they are no longer distressing or activating.
Now for the more robust explanation…
Whatever our emotional, mental, or spiritual challenges may be, experiences have shaped how we think and feel, both consciously and subconsciously. Our bodies and nervous systems hold onto those experiences, whether or not we choose to explore them. Often, people seek therapy and do not know how or why certain challenges developed. Sometimes we might know where particular wounds came from. Either way, I like to help people discover and treat their wounds with curiosity and compassion.
Building Resiliency and Tools for Distress Management
Traditional talk therapies (like Internal Family Systems, IFS, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT) help us learn how to be more resilient and how to manage our distress and triggers. Like I mentioned in my TL;DR snippet, I use IFS and ACT with my clients. This helps build self-compassion and to be a resource for ourselves and building healthier relationships with others. However, talk therapies have their limitations when we still hold onto distress stored in our mid-brain and throughout our bodies. This creates a need to treat the source of the triggers or the triggers themselves.
Directly Treating Distress or Trauma
EMDR has become a widely popular treatment approach for addressing trauma and triggering memories. I am trained in the use of this modality and still offer it when appropriate. It can be profoundly influential and I have shared tears of pain, sorrow, and joy with the results of those treatment experiences. One downside to EMDR is that it can sometimes be quite painful, draining, and even triggering of other experiences or memories. In my pursuit to find more effective treatments, I was fortunate enough that my therapist was using a newer approach called the Flash Technique.
The Flash Technique
The Flash Technique (let’s call it “Flash” moving forward) is an approach that does not require individuals to focus on the memories or distress and thereby does not activate the same emotional responses that EMDR or traditional talk therapies often do. This makes the process significantly less taxing than those therapies. It also allows for the processing of multiple distressing memories at the same time! The speed at which distress can be treated has profoundly shifted. If I had not personally received this treatment for myself nor seen the success in my own clients, my skepticism would remain keenly present.
Flash is an evidence-based practice with over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles with findings that support its efficacy. Thousands of therapists and providers around the world have been trained in this. I highly recommend the training to any of my colleagues.
This approach dramatically changes the efficacy and speed at which traumatic or distressing experiences can be reprocessed. It can also make the path to profound traumas more bearable so that talk therapy can be more effective and less triggering or painful. As traumatic or distressing experiences no longer hold the emotional charge or distress, we can let go of how we might be holding onto the past. It might even feel like the past is letting go of the person.
I recommend Flash for anyone who has responses to triggers that are unpleasant or difficult to manage. Or if you have a memory or image in your head that you cannot seem to shake, or you try to avoid, Flash can treat that. Your mind can rest knowing that certain experiences no longer hold the power that they used to.
My name is Andrew Alder. I am a clinical mental health counselor, and I specialize in treating trauma, grief and loss, relational issues, sexuality concerns, and challenges with self-worth or self-acceptance. I love my work and feel grateful to be a facilitator of people’s journeys in self-healing.
Let me tell you a little bit about how I approach therapy.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
I most frequently use Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, and the Flash Technique. Some therapies are better at helping people respond to moments when they are triggered or distressed. Others are better at treating the source of the triggers so that they are no longer distressing or activating.
Now for the more robust explanation…
Whatever our emotional, mental, or spiritual challenges may be, experiences have shaped how we think and feel, both consciously and subconsciously. Our bodies and nervous systems hold onto those experiences, whether or not we choose to explore them. Often, people seek therapy and do not know how or why certain challenges developed. Sometimes we might know where particular wounds came from. Either way, I like to help people discover and treat their wounds with curiosity and compassion.
Building Resiliency and Tools for Distress Management
Traditional talk therapies (like Internal Family Systems, IFS, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT) help us learn how to be more resilient and how to manage our distress and triggers. Like I mentioned in my TL;DR snippet, I use IFS and ACT with my clients. This helps build self-compassion and to be a resource for ourselves and building healthier relationships with others. However, talk therapies have their limitations when we still hold onto distress stored in our mid-brain and throughout our bodies. This creates a need to treat the source of the triggers or the triggers themselves.
Directly Treating Distress or Trauma
EMDR has become a widely popular treatment approach for addressing trauma and triggering memories. I am trained in the use of this modality and still offer it when appropriate. It can be profoundly influential and I have shared tears of pain, sorrow, and joy with the results of those treatment experiences. One downside to EMDR is that it can sometimes be quite painful, draining, and even triggering of other experiences or memories. In my pursuit to find more effective treatments, I was fortunate enough that my therapist was using a newer approach called the Flash Technique.
The Flash Technique
The Flash Technique (let’s call it “Flash” moving forward) is an approach that does not require individuals to focus on the memories or distress and thereby does not activate the same emotional responses that EMDR or traditional talk therapies often do. This makes the process significantly less taxing than those therapies. It also allows for the processing of multiple distressing memories at the same time! The speed at which distress can be treated has profoundly shifted. If I had not personally received this treatment for myself nor seen the success in my own clients, my skepticism would remain keenly present.
Flash is an evidence-based practice with over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles with findings that support its efficacy. Thousands of therapists and providers around the world have been trained in this. I highly recommend the training to any of my colleagues.
This approach dramatically changes the efficacy and speed at which traumatic or distressing experiences can be reprocessed. It can also make the path to profound traumas more bearable so that talk therapy can be more effective and less triggering or painful. As traumatic or distressing experiences no longer hold the emotional charge or distress, we can let go of how we might be holding onto the past. It might even feel like the past is letting go of the person.
I recommend Flash for anyone who has responses to triggers that are unpleasant or difficult to manage. Or if you have a memory or image in your head that you cannot seem to shake, or you try to avoid, Flash can treat that. Your mind can rest knowing that certain experiences no longer hold the power that they used to.
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