Anyone who has injured himself and had to attend physical therapy is familiar with the term ‘modality.’ Modalities are treatment techniques used to relieve pain or bring healing, and include heat, ice, electrical stimulation, traction and more, all depending on the scope and magnitude of one’s injury.
According to Wellspring President, Tova Kreps, LCSW, “to some degree, psychotherapy works the same way. Therapists use different strategies to help individuals address their needs, depending on the situation they are working to address.”
Just like physical injuries vary in scope and dimension, so do “emotional injuries.” For example, if someone is working on childhood abuse – one of the most devastating issues with which an individual can contend – Wellspring might recommend a therapy called EMDR.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a long and complicated name for unique protocols, which incorporate neurobiology with cognitive therapy, that have been found to provide excellent results in dealing with trauma. “Because EMDR accesses the sensory side of the brain, and doesn’t require someone to talk much, it can help people get un-stuck from old patterns of thinking,” says Tova.
Wellspring seeks to be creative in order to appeal to a broad range of individual learning styles. To do so, in addition to traditional talk therapy as a powerful agent for change, Wellspring adds experiential therapies such as art, equine-assisted therapy, and bio-feedback into its holistic approach to therapy.
Through Wellness Workshops, Wellspring addresses topics such as Intuitive Eating, Using Art to Recover from Grief, and Meditation.
They also offer Equine Assisted Therapy to develop relationship skills or to overcome traumas. Working with a horse provokes self-discovery with instant feedback, and allows someone to practice new skills, which quickly translate to improving human relationships.
Now, they are launching a one-of-a-kind therapeutic group that one would not customarily associate with psychotherapy – poetry.
This 10-week group, called “Poetry and Therapy,” will help attendees explore and express their emotions through the use of poetry.
Combining poetry and therapy in a group strengthens the ability to understand one’s self, stimulates curiosity, exploration, empathy and much more. The unique format of writing helps attendees to reflect and process their emotions and can be a catalyst for healing and personal growth. The only requirement for the poetry group is a desire to be creative and a hunger for self-discovery.
“We are thrilled to add this new therapy to our offerings,” says Tova, “and particularly happy to have Guillermo Cancio-Bello, one of our therapists who also has an MFA in Creative Writing, as the leader of this group.”
Wellspring Counseling has three office locations (Palmetto Bay, East Kendall, and Coral Gables) and 16 therapists with diverse skill sets and backgrounds.
For more information on the new poetry group or the numerous other offerings from Wellspring, visit www.wellspringmiami.org, or call 786.573.7010.
