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Therapy Styles

Our counselors utilize a variety of styles to assist students with their concerns. Some of the most commonly utilized therapeutic modalities, include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (learn more about it here); Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) (learn more about DBT here); Person Centered Therapy (learn more about it here); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (learn more about ACT here); Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) (learn more about MBCT here); Solution Focused Therapy (learn more about SFT here); Motivational Interviewing (MI) (learn more about MI here); Positive Psychology (learn more about it here).

Specialized Treatment Modalities

Hypnotherapy/Clinical Hypnosis

Hypnosis is an  state of inward attention and focused concentration. It is often referred to as trance or as an altered state of consciousness.  When the mind is concentrated and focused, people are better able to tap into and utilize their inner resources, to make personal changes, and learn how to better govern their own lives .  Because hypnosis and self-hypnosis allow people to use more of their potential, they gain more self-control (it is a myth that people lose control during hypnosis).

Clinical hypnotherapy can be used in various ways.  For one, guided mental imagery is very powerful in a state of mind such as hypnosis.  The mind responds to imagery to assist in bringing about personal changes and desired outcomes.  A client with an unwanted behavior may be encouraged in hypnosis to vividly imagine acting differently and more appropriately.  The unconscious mind then has a tendency to bring about the imagined change.  Another client, with a fear of some sort, might be invited to imagine being a supportive advisor to herself, and as a result, find the fearful response no longer troubles her.  Athletes, teachers and business people are currently being taught to use hypnotic mental imagery to enhance their performances.

Mental health applications include but are not limited to:  Addictions; allergies; anxiety; phobia; stress management; post traumatic stress; bed-wetting; depression; sports performance; smoking cessation; obesity and weight management; sleep disorders; stress related high blood pressure; self image; sexual dysfunctions; concentration, test anxiety and learning disorders; interpersonal communications; fitness; marriage and family issues; undesirable behaviors and habits; abuse.

To learn more about Hypnotherapy’s benefits, contact the Talley Center for Counseling Services at 540-654-1053.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a name that encompasses the three most influential components involved in producing human experience: neurology, language and programming. The neurological system regulates how our bodies function, language determines how we interface and communicate with other people and our programming determines the kinds of models of the world we create. The goals of NLP are to help the client understand that the way one views the world affects how one operates in the world, and that it is necessary to change the thoughts and behavior patterns that have not proven beneficial in the past and that only serve to block one’s healing and success. NLP has been used to treat fears and phobias, anxiety, poor self-esteem, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and overall reduced quality of life due to various psychological issues.

What to Expect

An NLP therapist may use a variety of techniques such as visualization, or forming a mental image of something you want, as well as visual-kinesthetic dissociation, a process by which the therapist guides the client in reliving trauma from the distance of an imaginative, out-of-body experience. The therapist may help you correct language you use that leads to negative thinking and faulty communication. NLP therapy can be short-term or long-term, depending on the individual and the extent of the problem.

How It Works

Our life experiences influence how we view and relate to the world around us, and no two people have the same experiences, or the same mind, so no two people have the same world view. NLP is designed to help clients understand their own minds, how they came to think and behave the way they do, and to learn to manage their moods and emotions, and reprogram the way they process information so it leads to more acceptable and successful behavior. At the same time, NLP is designed to help clients see ways they have been successful in the past, and determine how they can most easily and efficiently repeat that success in other areas of their lives. NLP therapists believe that their clients have the answers to their problems within themselves; it is simply a matter of helping them draw out those answers.

To learn more about NLP‘s benefits, contact the Talley Center for Counseling Services at 540-654-1053.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.  Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.
EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment.  Eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) are used during one part of the session.  After the clinician has determined which memory to target first, he asks the client to hold different aspects of that event or thought in mind and to use his eyes to track the therapist’s hand as it moves back and forth across the client’s field of vision.  For instance, a sexual assault survivor shifts from feeling horror and self-disgust to holding the firm belief that, “I survived it and I am strong.”  Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes.  The net effect is that clients conclude EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them.  Their wounds have not just closed, they have transformed. As a natural outcome of the EMDR therapeutic process, the clients’ thoughts, feelings and behavior are all robust indicators of emotional health and resolution—all without speaking in detail or doing homework used in other therapies.
To learn more about EMDR‘s benefits, contact the Talley Center for Counseling Services at 540-654-1053.
Eye Movement Integration (EMI)
Eye Movement Integration TM (EMITM) is a brief, effective therapy which produces lasting results.  It can effectively treat PTSD,  phobias, anxiety,  addictions, recent critical incident debriefing, and various other clinical issues — often in one to three sessions.  Importantly, follow-up visits are rarely needed. EMITM, is an exceptionally effective desensitization and re-processing treatment.  Unlike other eye movement methods, EMITM does not require or encourage age regression. Therefore, the concerns of false memory and/or the likelihood of  re-traumatizing are avoided.  Furthermore, EMI encourages individuals with finding the answer within and utilize her/his own resources for healing and lasting change.
To learn more about EMI‘s benefits, contact the Talley Center for Counseling Services at 540-654-1053.

Location and Contact

Lee Hall Room 106 and Tyler House

Phone: (540) 654-1053

Fax: (540) 654-1711

Hours of Operation

The Talley Center is available to schedule appointments from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Monday-Friday

*The counseling center is closed when the University is closed. Information regarding closing due to inclement weather can be obtained by calling (540) 654-2424.