At Loves Hidden Policy we feel it is important to use evidence-based approaches when working with personal clients, couples, families and children. The evidence-based approaches we use are listed below.
Coaching
Coaching was born as a result of great advances in psychotherapy and counseling. It began as a profession only in the 1980s when Thomas Leonard, an American financial planner developed his career with a then relatively unheard of term ‘Life Coach’. Thomas started the very first school to train Professional Life Coaches in 1992. This was even before Tony Robbins launched his career as a ‘Peak Performance Coach’ in 1988 with his first Infomercial, Personal Power. in 1994 Thomas Leonard founded the International Coach Federation (ICF) to protect the industry and improve credibility. There are now an estimated 20,000+ trained coaches in the USA.
The data and a meta-analysis now fully supports coaching – it is now confirmed as an evidence-based proven approach alongside all of the helping professions. This is because the relationship is key to the success of working with another. Be this personal coaching, therapy, counseling or psychotherapy or couples work: couples coaching, couples therapy, marriage counseling or family work: family coaching, family therapy or working with a child psychologist or on the parent-child relationship or coaching to support children: the relationship is key. Read or download the meta-analysis.
Results revealed no differences regarding the type of clients, coaches’ expertise, number of coaching sessions, and clients’ or coaches’ perspectives. Similar to other helping relationships like counseling, therapy, psychotherapy or mentoring, the results support the importance of a high-quality working alliance in coaching.
Dyadic Development Psychotherapy (DDP)
DDP is based on and brings together the latest understandings in attachment theory, what we understand about developmental trauma, the neurobiology of trauma and relationships, caregiving, intersubjectivity theory and the latest evidence-based understandings in child development.
All professionals supporting children and families need a model that is evidence-based and too uses selected evidence-based work to underpin their approach and brings together knowledge about developmental trauma, attachment, interpersonal neurobiology and child development.
Troubled children are struggling due to too many adverse experiences or changes in the people who look after them. The Ace Study – reveals the dangers of leaving a child with unresolved trauma or unresolved adverse childhood experiences but actually most adults too have unresolved adverse experiences.
Children who have had adverse childhood experiences can believe that their parent or parents and life isn’t safe, and can’t regulate emotionally or cognitively through their experiences. This childhood survival set up of many changes in the people who look after them, leaves them finding it hard to trust adults. They may believe that one of their parents, or both parents aren’t safe, and can’t always be turned to for comfort and help. They tend to develop insecure attachments and try to stop their parents from becoming emotionally close to them. DDP helps children to learn to trust. It is a family-based approach and develops the child-parent relationship and involves working with child, with his or her caregivers.
Dyadic Developmental Parenting
Why do we need a different type of day-to-day parenting today?
With the advances in technology and children spending so much time with electronic devices, the race is on to develop greater parenting skills alongside technology. We need a new parenting model for the modern, technological environment.
When children feel alone, scared, overwhelmed, abandoned, hurt or even hungry early in their life, and if we miss these needs as parents due to our own life demands and challenges, the child will have no choice but to find ways or adaptive behavior to help them get through these times by relying on themselves.
The signs and outcomes of these ways of thinking, feeling and behaving are seen later when children are older as outward concerning behaviors. The emotional upset is usually played out in the early years, and this is the opportunity to intervene with DDP when the child’s outward behavior seems to be saying that they don’t want or need their parents, or won’t allow their parents to love them.
Dyadic Developmental Practice
Dyadic Developmental Practice is an all encompassing approach that includes working with the parents, and the child, so develops the parent-child relationship. The approach also promotes caring for children as well as the therapeutic aspect. It also looks at the structure of support and team around the child, beyond the parents, to ensure greater security of the child’s inner world is developed. This all encompassing approach helps the parents, caregivers and any professionals involved understand, and work together to be effective in their support of children and their families.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is an evidence-based approach to be used alongside psychotherapy, therapy, counseling or coaching which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-choice treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; WHO, 2013).
Numerous controlled studies show that EMDR produces more improvement than absence of treatment, for alleviating the symptoms of PTSD, and for anxiety-related disorders or challenges.
One study that is particularly noteworthy is The Role of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy in Medicine: Addressing the Psychological and Physical Symptoms Stemming from Adverse Life Experiences as this addresses the needs of The Ace study because adverse childhood experiences are common and they have strong long-term associations with adult health risk behaviors, health status, and diseases. Indeed, most adult stress-related issues brought to psychotherapy, therapy, counseling or coaching sessions are often related to childhood adverse experiences, coming up and being in need of attention.
We use EMDR in sessions with clients as it is an evidence-based approach and very effective at painlessly releasing unresolved emotions, quickly and easily.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
EFT is a revolutionary treatment method that offers healing from physical and emotional stress and pain. Without the use of needles, this form of acupuncture uses the fingertips to stimulate energy points on the body. This treatment sprang from the thinking that, “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.”
EFT is an evidence-based practice with 100+ published studies. One published study demonstrated a 24% decrease in cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the EFT group. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have demonstrated its efficacy for both physiological and psychological symptoms. One notable clinical study showing the efficacy of EFT is Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health.
We use Emotional Freedom Techniques in sessions with clients as it is an evidence-based approach and very effective at painlessly releasing unresolved emotions, quickly and easily, and it also moves people to greater levels of self-acceptance.
