Genogram Example: Symbols, Types, and Clinical Uses
Genogram Example: Understanding the Basics A genogram example does something a standard family tree cannot: it maps not just who is related to whom, but how those relationships function, what conditions run through a family line, and where patterns of behaviour, illness, or emotional conflict tend to repeat. Developed by psychiatrist Murray Bowen and later […]
What Is Brainspotting? A Clinical Guide for Practitioners
What Is Brainspotting: An Introduction for Clinicians and Clinic Owners What is brainspotting, and why are an increasing number of trauma-informed practitioners adding it to their clinical toolkit? Brainspotting (BSP) is a body-based, trauma-focused psychotherapy that uses the client’s visual field to locate and process unresolved emotional and physiological material held below conscious awareness. Developed […]
Dbt Distress Tolerance Skills
DBT Distress Tolerance Skills: A Clinical Reference for Practitioners Most therapy models focus on changing how a client feels. DBT distress tolerance skills take a different position: they equip clients to survive intense emotional experiences without making things worse. Developed by Marsha Linehan at the University of Washington, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy treats distress tolerance as […]
Cognitive Defusion
What Is Cognitive Defusion? Cognitive defusion is a core therapeutic process within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that invites clients to change their relationship with their thoughts, rather than their thoughts themselves. Where conventional approaches often aim to reduce or eliminate distressing cognitions, cognitive defusion treats thoughts as passing mental events – observable but not […]
Therapeutic Interventions: A Clinician’s Guide to Types and Evidence
Most clinicians can name a dozen therapeutic interventions without pausing. Fewer can explain how they select, document, and measure outcomes across those modalities within a single clinic workflow. That gap – between knowing an intervention exists and operationalising it consistently – is where clinical quality breaks down. This guide to therapeutic interventions is written for […]
DBT STOP Skill: A Clinical Guide for Therapists and Practitioners
Most emotional crises do not arrive slowly. A client receives a difficult message, a conflict escalates without warning, or an internal trigger fires before the conscious mind has time to respond. The gap between stimulus and reaction – measured in seconds – is where the DBT STOP skill is designed to operate. Developed as part […]
What Does EMDR Stand For? Therapy Explained for Practitioners
What Does EMDR Stand For and How Was It Developed? EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a structured psychotherapy approach used primarily to treat trauma, though its clinical applications have expanded considerably since its introduction. For mental health practitioners setting up or scaling a therapy practice, understanding what EMDR stands for […]
Internal Family Systems Model: A Clinical Guide for Therapists
What Is the Internal Family Systems Model? The internal family systems model is one of the most influential therapeutic frameworks to emerge in the last four decades. Developed by Dr Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s, it started not as a grand theory but as a practical observation: clients in family therapy kept describing their […]
Fair Fighting Rules: A Clinical Guide for Therapists
What Are Fair Fighting Rules in Clinical Practice? Most couples who enter therapy are not fighting too much – they are fighting badly. Fair fighting rules are a structured psychoeducation framework designed to help clients replace reactive, escalatory conflict patterns with communication that is assertive, regulated, and solution-focused. For therapists working with couples, families, and […]
STOP Skill DBT: What It Means and How to Use It
STOP Skill DBT: What the Acronym Means Most people in acute emotional distress do not pause before reacting. The impulse arrives, and the behaviour follows – sometimes within seconds. The STOP skill DBT technique was designed specifically to interrupt that sequence, inserting a deliberate pause between stimulus and response. Developed as part of Marsha Linehan’s […]