Therapies
At the Brisbane Harmony Centre, your first appointment will involve a detailed assessment of your current difficulties and your life history.
We will work with your goals and values to develop a therapeutic plan that addresses your current needs. This plan will evolve over time as you develop new skills and perspectives, and begin to heal yourself.
The Brisbane Harmony Centre offers treatment for adults. Here are some of the therapies that we practice with some details about how they work:
DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) is a groundbreaking treatment designed to help individuals regulate their emotions and behaviours. Initially developed in the 1980s and 1990s for individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), it has since shown effectiveness with a wide range of mental health disorders, especially substance use disorders, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. It has also shown usefulness with individuals who do not have a diagnosed mental health disorder, but who struggle to regulate their emotions and behaviours. The pillar of the treatment is the central dialectic of acceptance and change. A dialectic refers to a pair of opposites being equally valid at the same time: radical acceptance and change simultaneously.
Dr Sarah Swannell (PhD, MClinPsych), Advanced DBT Clinician, coordinates and runs DBT skills training groups in Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness and Mindfulness.
DBT skills training groups are appropriate for individuals who are committed to and motivated for treatment; are not currently engaging in high risk and/or life-threatening behaviours; and do not require between session support. Individuals who do not meet these criteria require more intensive and individual support outside of the scope of these skills groups.
For more information about DBT Skills Groups visit Dr Sarah Swannell's website www.sarahswannell.com.au
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT helps people to identify their core values, and encourages people to commit to living according to those values in the here and now. ACT teaches mindfulness, and specific mindfulness techniques to help to get people unstuck from problematic thoughts and feelings, and to focus on living in the moment, working and engaging in a valued life. - Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
This mindfulness based therapy involves specific techniques to help people to offer more compassion to themselves. There is evidence that people who meet life’s challenges with an attitude of kindness towards themselves enjoy greater wellbeing, as compared to those who blame and criticise themselves for their difficulties. CFT helps you to develop a compassionate attitude towards yourself, and be a true friend to yourself in times of hardship.