Frequently Asked Questions

Q: "What is your clinical approach?"

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A: "All counselors at Coherence Associates have obtained a Master’s Degree and are licensed mental health professionals. They are trained in a variety of modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma informed Therapy, Guided imagery, Hypnosis, Brainspotting, Gottman Relationship Therapy, Family Systems Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. EMDR Therapy is a comprehensive model of therapy, used in conjunction with other methods to help individuals get effective, efficient, and long lasting results in healing from trauma, or changing their habits and negative beliefs. EMDR Therapy is rated in the top 3 evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder. We utilize this powerful healing modality for many challenges that clients are struggling with."

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Q: "Does CAI stay current on new evidence-based counseling? What does ‘evidence-based’ treatment mean?"

A: "Coherence Associates counselors stay current on new treatment modalities, through continuing education for clinicians, staff inservices hosted by Coherence or by other agencies, and by self motivated research and training. The culture of personal and professional growth and self efficacy at CAI starts at the top and is embraced by all team members. ‘Evidence-based’ treatments are those designated to be successful with certain populations and certain mental health problems. These modalities have been through rigorous research and classified in this category by professional governing bodies."

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Q: "What is trauma or post-traumatic stress?"

A: "Trauma is a normal reaction to abnormal circumstances, in other words when a significant event happens that is overwhelming and difficult for the brain to process correctly, it downloads the information and some of the information may not get filed efficiently, and as such there can be long term negative reactions to future events. These negative reactions can include feelings of anxiety, auditory or visual flashbacks, thoughts of the event that pop up when you least expect it, sleep disturbances, irritability, angry outbursts, and feelings of wanting to withdraw from everyone. These reactions are the brain and the nervous systems’ way of alerting us that something is stuck and is trying to refile it, so as to relieve the stress symptoms."

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Q: "Do you work with families?"

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A: "The clinicians at Coherence Associates have worked with many families. We are in a unique position with a number of clinicians under one roof, to be able to have different counselors see different family members and still collaborate to give the best possible treatment to the individuals and the family system as a whole."

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Q: "What happens when I come into Coherence for the first visit?"

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A: "When you come into Coherence Associates for your first visit, you will be given an intake packet which has all of the relevant documents required for counseling to begin. It is recommended to show up 10-15 minutes early to fill out this paperwork, to allow optimal time with your counselor. The first session is usually 90 minutes long and focuses on figuring out the nature of the current problems, and establishing a safe and trusting relationship with the therapist, while developing a plan for treatment."
 

Q: "How will I know if I am getting better?"

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A: "At the beginning of your counseling experience you and your therapist will define what the problems are, and what goals and outcomes you want to accomplish. Some people begin with stress symptoms such as, sleep problems, anxiety, lack of motivation, or irritability. During the course of counseling you will notice improvements in these areas by better sleep, increased motivation, returning of happiness and productivity, and making better decisions in life with greater ease. When you notice these changes, you are surely going in the right direction to being the best of you!"

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Q: "How is ‘Journey to Wholeness’ different if I am already in 12 step groups?"

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A: "‘Journey to Wholeness’ is an educational treatment model, that can be used in groups or individually, focusing on the interplay between addiction and trauma. The program teaches a client to manage their emotions and triggers, and build safe coping skills, so later on they can effectively move through processing traumatic experiences that contribute to struggling in recovery. It is different from traditional 12-step models, because it is psychoeducational and focuses on skill building, and is facilitated by a clinician, as opposed to being a self help group."

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Q: "What is Heartmath, Inc.? What is Heart rate coherence?"

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A: "Heartmath Inc., is a company who for the past 20 years has been a leader in stress management research and education. HeartMath develops and delivers research-based, practical, and reliable tools and technologies that enable people to align and connect their heart, mind and emotions to produce transformative outcomes—with more flow and less stress. HeartMath has created award winning technologies enabling people to better harness the intelligence of the heart to improve their performance and health."

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Heart rate variability is a measure of the consistency of the space in between heartbeats. A smooth consistent rhythm of spaces between heartbeats is known as being “in coherence.” Heart rate coherence is where the heart and brain are synced up in a way that produces a state of peak performance, relieving stress and improving concentration. This state, which athletes call “the zone” is the optimal state for accomplishing most tasks, and feeling smooth even while engaged in full physical exertion. There are a number of tools to measure this, as well as guides to how to use them available at The counselors at CAI are all trained in HeartMath technologies."