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Psychotherapy is not easily described in general terms. It varies depending on the personality of both the therapist and the client and the particular problems that the client brings to the sessions. There are a number of different approaches in psychotherapy but they all have some basic features in common. They all involve close communication between therapist and client, in which the client is encouraged to discuss her or his anxieties and most intimate experiences without moral judgment or criticism on the part of the therapist. The therapist, in turn, exhibits a warm, understanding attitude toward the client in order to encourage freedom of expression and to minimize embarrassment. Unlike a visit to a medical doctor, psychotherapy requires a very active effort on the client's part. For the best outcome, issues will require attention both during the therapy sessions and at home.

To some degree the goal of all psychotherapies is to encourage understanding of the problem on the part of the patient, whose limited insight into the nature of the difficulty arouses anxiety and makes it hard for him or her to cope with the demands of everyday living. Ultimately, the goal of all forms of psychotherapy is to create changes in behavior that will ultimately lead to a more effective and fulfilling adjustment to the environment.

Psychotherapy has both risks and benefits. Risks sometimes include experiencing uncomfortable feelings such as sadness, guilt, anxiety, anger and frustration, loneliness and helplessness. Psychotherapy often requires discussing unpleasant aspects of life.

The benefits of psychotherapy include a reduction in feelings of distress, improved relationships, better academic or work performance, resolution of specific problems and increased ability to deal with future stress.

Dance is the most fundamental of the arts, involving a direct expression of one’s self through one’s body. Since the beginning of time humans have used movement to help meet their needs. If aligned with the mind’s thoughts, the body’s expression flows effortlessly. Alternatively, if an incongruity between the body and mind goes un-addressed it will inevitably lead to various internal conflicts including emotional pain and malaise. In more extreme situations the intra-psychic struggle can cause interpersonal problems, depression, anxiety, stress, physical pain, feelings of emptiness, fear and even chronic disease.

Dance/Movement Therapy (D/MT) combines movement and traditional counseling techniques to address the above symptoms. Through the use of “dance” and movement the individual can further their emotional, social, cognitive and physical integration and regain harmony in their lives.

The d/mt session includes both verbal and non-verbal expression and is based on the needs of the client from a developmental, relational and cognitive-behavioral treatment approach. This treatment occurs in both individual and group settings, with all age groups, in an environment that welcomes, encourages and supports the client’s creative movement expression.

Clarus Center's philosophy of recovery proposes that the eating disorder has been trying to alert our clients that something is wrong. Something has moved them away from their inner strengths and resources...away from their own voice. We want to help our clients rediscover their own voice and resolve whatever caused them to turn away from it. Our goal is to help women and men of all shapes and sizes find their worth within themselves.

Underlying what appears to be an obsession with weight and appearance, is the reason for the obsession. People develop eating disorders, often unwittingly, as a means of coping. There are numerous reasons why someone may get caught in the trap of starvation, bingeing and purging or overeating. The behaviors are often adopted in an effort to:

Our treatment team wants to join with people in their struggle to cope. We work closely with area dieticians to help our clients face whatever they need to so that they may release themselves from their eating disorder.

Please bear in mind that each individual has a unique pattern of symptoms. Given that symptoms overlap with other clinical syndromes and that many people struggle with more than one disorder, a thorough evaluation is necessary.

Body-Centered Psychotherapy is a type of clinical work that operates on the premise that sensation, breath, and movement are the body's form of speech, and if we listen to the body we can become aware, appreciate, and track sensations of all kinds (Caldwell, 1996). In body-centered therapy, as people verbally process their experiences, they are guided in the process of being "mindful" of their body's experience. Clients can learn to locate sensations in the body, to tolerate the sensations, and to experience them without judgment. Clients can learn to live in their bodies, rather than hate or destroy them, and learn to distinguish what is nourishing from what is toxic. They learn to create boundaries, and master the fear and tension locked in their body.

According to Matarazzo (1982): “Health Psychology is the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contributions of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, the identification of etiologic and diagnostic correlates of health, illness, and related dysfunction, and the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation (p.4).”

The underlying philosophical foundation of health psychology is the Biopsychosocial Model of health and illness. This model regards both health and illness as a combination of three forces-biological, behavioral, and social. As such, any diagnostic and treatment regimen should focus upon these three forces-biological (e.g. genetic predisposition), behavioral (e.g. lifestyle, stress, health beliefs), and social (e.g. cultural influences, job influences, family relationships, social support).

According to Division 38 (Health Psychology Division of The American Psychological Association), Health Psychologists are engaged in the following activities when functioning as Health Psychologists in Clinical Settings:

“Assessment approaches often include cognitive and behavioral assessment, psycho physiological assessment, clinical interviews, demographic surveys, objective and projective personality assessment, and various clinical and research-oriented protocols. Interventions often include stress management, relaxation therapies, biofeedback, psychoeducation about normal and patho-physiological processes, ways to cope with disease, and cognitive-behavioral and other psychotherapeutic interventions. Healthy people are taught preventive health behaviors. Both individual and group interventions are utilized. Frequently, health psychology interventions focus upon buffering the effects of stress on health by promoting enhanced coping or improved social support utilization.”

More information can be obtained about Health Psychology by going to the Health Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association website:

The mechanism behind EMDR was discovered by chance in 1987 by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. She observed that eye movements can reduce the intensity of distressing thoughts, under certain conditions. Dr. Shapiro began studying this process scientifically and found it very successful in the treatment of trauma victims. Her initial results have since been confirmed by several additional research studies.

We do not yet know enough about brain functioning to know exactly how EMDR works. What we do know, however, is that traumatic events often become "frozen" in one's memory such that recalling the event can feel as if the trauma is being re-experienced all over again. It also seems that trauma is stored in the right hemisphere of the brain. Traditional talk therapy primarily uses left hemisphere brain functions and can, therefore, take a very long time to process and resolve the traumatic experience. EMDR uses a variety of methods such as eye movements, hand tapping or sound coming through headphones to activate both sides of the brain (called bilateral stimulation), similar to what happens in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. When the brain is stimulated bilaterally, the logic of the left brain and the expression of the raw feeling of the right brain can work together to reintegrate the traumatic experience in a less disturbing way.

In addition to trauma, clinicians using this technique have reported success using EMDR in the treatment of panic attacks, complicated grief, dissociative disorders, disturbing memories, anxiety disorders, phobias, performance anxiety, stress reduction, and addictions, sexual and/or physical abuse.

EMDR may be used in the context of regular "talk" therapy, as an additional therapy provided by someone other than the primary therapist, or as a treatment all by itself.

For further information on EMDR research or EMDR in general, contact The EMDR International Association at www.emdria.org

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) integrates cognitive-behavioral strategies with Eastern (Zen) practices, such as mindfulness and acceptance. Originally developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan, DBT has been shown to be especially helpful for individuals who struggle with suicidal thoughts and urges and/or self-harm behaviors. DBT is also beneficial for anyone wishing to learn techniques for soothing and calming the self, coping effectively with stress, and increasing their effectiveness in relationships.

DBT typically involves individual psychotherapy and group skills training. Working collaboratively with the therapist, clients learn skills and enhance their capabilities in four areas:

Mindfulness is the concept of cultivating awareness of thoughts, emotions, and present-moment experiences. Strategies include relaxation, meditation, breathing exercises, and practicing acceptance of life as it is in the moment.

Provides an opportunity to explore how to be more successful in relationships with family members, friends, in love relationships, and at work. Skills are aimed at identifying goals and needs in relation to others, working effectively toward interpersonal goals, and coping with interpersonal conflict.

Focuses on understanding and effectively managing painful emotional states, such as anxiety, depression, guilt, and anger. Specific skills include increasing mindfulness to current emotions, identifying obstacles to changing emotions, reducing vulnerability to negative emotions, and increasing positive emotional experiencing,

Enhances the ability to deal with life stresses and manage crises in effective ways. Techniques for tolerating stressful situations when they cannot be immediately changed include distracting, self-soothing, and improving the moment.