Guiding our team through the diverse and expanding terrain of trauma treatment is one of our highest priorities at Green Mountain Counseling. Our vision is to serve each client’s experiential and safety needs while offering cutting edge treatment that is evidence-informed and effective. We offer several various modalities at Green Mountain Counseling. There’s no one-size-fits-all! Our therapists use their extensive knowledge, plus conversation with an individual, to decide what modalities might be a good fit for them. Here, we’ve assembled a survey of the modalities we utilize most often.
EMDR focuses on bilateral stimulation (typically through eye movements) to reprocess traumatic memories. It’s an eight-phase approach that helps clients process distressing memories and integrate them without the emotional charge. EMDR is particularly evidence-based and widely used in trauma work, but it can be intense, requiring clients to directly engage with their traumatic memories.
Brainspotting focuses on identifying specific eye positions—referred to as "brainspots"—that correlate with stored trauma. This modality is more flexible than EMDR, allowing for a deep, client-led exploration of trauma without necessarily recounting the details of the traumatic event. It can feel less structured, but offers a more somatic, body-centered approach to healing.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) shares similarities with EMDR, using eye movements to help reprocess trauma. However, ART is shorter-term and less focused on the client fully revisiting the traumatic experience. It incorporates imagery rescripting, allowing clients to rewrite distressing scenes in a way that gives them a sense of mastery over their trauma. ART can be an excellent choice for those seeking quicker results or who may struggle with traditional trauma recall.
Narrative Therapy shifts the focus to the stories clients tell about themselves and their experiences. This talk therapy method invites clients to reframe their trauma within a broader context, helping them separate their identity from their traumatic experience. It’s less directive and more exploratory, making it ideal for clients who benefit from a strengths-based, meaning-making approach.
Parts Work, often associated with Internal Family Systems (IFS), views the mind as composed of different parts, each holding distinct emotions and memories. Trauma work in Parts Work involves helping clients understand and integrate their wounded, vulnerable parts with their core Self. This modality is deeply validating and can be especially effective with clients who experience dissociation or complex trauma.
Neurofeedback, a non-invasive brain training technique, focuses on regulating the nervous system by giving clients real-time feedback on brainwave activity. While it doesn’t involve direct trauma processing, it is useful in preparing clients for trauma work by stabilizing emotional responses and improving brain functioning. Neurofeedback can complement other modalities, particularly for clients with complex trauma or dysregulation.
Finally, a peak behind the door of our counseling rooms, professional conversations, and what is now in broader culture: psychedelics and integration work. Treatments such as psilocybin or MDMA can catalyze profound insights and emotional release, but their true healing potential often depends on how those experiences are integrated. Integration helps clients process the emotions, memories, and insights that arise during their psychedelic journey, turning these revelations into lasting change. Therapists may incorporate modalities such as EMDR, Parts Work, or Narrative Therapy to ground these experiences, allowing clients to make sense of their trauma in a safe, structured way.
The Green Mountain providers have different levels of experience and training in these modalities. We are proud to offer the range of possibilities for healing for our clients and community and will continue to grow into these spaces.
What trauma work are you familiar with? What questions do you have? We love having conversations about these things and would love to connect with you.
