Specialized Skills & Approaches

Psychologists often integrate reliable, valid and standardised assessment ‘tools’ in their work. These ‘tools’ may be questionnaires (not the pop- psychology quizzes you find online!), picture cards or activities that if interpreted well, provide valuable insights to enhance one’s self- knowledge.

I often use such assessments in my work to screen and profile clients so that I may be able to develop effective, targeted interventions, track therapy progress and facilitate movement towards the specific goals that a client may have set for themselves in therapy.

The assessments are always done with the client’s consent and usually at their request and typically involve face-to-face procedures administered in a private office. Assessment results are confidential and subject to the same ethical standards as the other aspects of therapeutic work.

If you request an assessment for yourself or your child, you can expect to receive feedback and recommendations in these forms:

• A comprehensive written report that provides findings for each measure, an integrated summary, and recommendations for accommodations, interventions or treatment or

• A brief, written summary that provides an overview of findings and recommendations or

• In-person or telephone interpretive feedback session.

Or CBT as it is popularly known, is a very structured, goal- oriented approach that focuses on clients’ current problems. It is based on the premise that one’s perception or interpretation of a situation determines one’s thoughts and emotions in response to it. Thus, working through long-standing ways of perceiving the world and our beliefs about ourselves is the key to problem-solving and personal growth. More detailed information about CBT can be found here https://beckinstitute.org/get-informed/what-is-cognitive-therapy/

Strictly speaking, this is not an independent psychotherapy approach but a set of specialized skills and interventions designed to specifically focus on Emotional Intelligence- a critical personal, team and leadership skill that encompasses everything from regulating one's own stress, energy and emotions to managing social interactions with others. While there are many such E.I focused trainers and programs available, my extensive professional experience in psychology and psychotherapy allows me to bring in-depth and authenticity to this kind of coaching. I employ the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i 2.0), which is the most researched measure of emotional intelligence and the world’s leading assessment for emotional intelligence used by such companies as Google, Amazon, Nike, and Microsoft.

Unlike CBT which is present-focused, the Psychodynamic approach emphasizes the need to explore deep-seated psychological roots of surface-level symptoms. Using self-reflection and deep exploration, therapeutic work focuses on helping the client delve into past relational patterns that may still be influencing one’s present. You can look at a brief introduction to this type of therapy at

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/01/psychodynamic-therapy

Instead of relying on "talk therapy", ABT uses the language of metaphors and media such as drama, painting, music etc. to facilitate expression and healing, without the need for "expert interpretation".

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a relatively new but powerful approach of learning specific skills to regulate emotions, reduce self-harm and cultivate enriching relationships. Throughout the process, “dialectic” strategies are interwoven to facilitate a synthesis or integration of opposites so that clients can get unstuck from more extreme positions that are usually the source of distress and invalidation. Reliable information on the approach can be accessed here

https://behavioraltech.org/resources/faqs/dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt/