Dr. Valerie A.G. Ventureyra, PhD
Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy & Coaching
Clinical Psychologist, Cognitive Behavioural and EMDR Psychotherapist in English/ Spanish/ French, Neuroscientist, Intercultural Coach and Researcher
Psychotherapy: CBT & EMDR
Approaches
I work with a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches, my main specialities being Cognitive-Behavioural (CBT) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT has been studied and evaluated over time and has proven its efficacy for a wide-range of psychological and social problems. Treatment tends to be rather short-term (a few months to one or two years depending on the problem(s)) and improvement can generally be noted after only a few sessions. Therapy is interactive and based on collaboration between therapist and client. In CBT, thought patterns, beliefs and behaviours are analyzed and gradually modified in order to effect long-lasting changes.
Some important characteristics and specificities of CBT:
1.) Evaluation of the problem through validated questionnaires and subjective measures before, during and after therapy
2.) Modification of Behaviours, Thoughts/ Beliefs and Emotions related to the psychological problem
3.) Practical and based on the “here and now”
4.) The client is proactive in treatment and has tasks to do between sessions
I also work with other approaches belonging to the ‘third wave” of CBT, such as Schema Therapy (for emotional issues originating in childhood and adolescence and still having an impact on life today, such as Abandonment), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness and Positive Psychology, tailoring to the client’s needs.
EMDR
This type of therapy was originally developed to treat PTSD resulting from life-threatening traumatic events, such as violent crime, terrorist attacks and car accidents, for example. Today, EMDR, which is based on reprocessing difficult memories and being able to move beyond emotional burdens, is also applied to other types of events (not necessarily life-threatening), often originating in childhood, and having contributed to self-esteem issues, guilt and fears. As EMDR is based on neurological mechanisms, it is a rather direct route to treating certain emotional difficulties in a few sessions, and can be used in conjunction to CBT or on its own.