I work to provide a safe, non-judgmental, culturally safe space where you can share, we can identify what isn't working, and implement the best practice interventions that work toward your goals. Curiosity about why we do what we do is helpful when we need to create different habits. Therefore we work on cultivating a sense of curiosity so we can learn how to identify what isn't working in our life anymore. When we are open to new possibilities, we reduce self-imposed limitations to improve our own life experiences. When we strengthen what we are already good at, we reduce the impact of our life challenges. When we integrate newly learned skills with existing skills, we tend to feel more hopeful about our future and increase our self-confidence. These changes can lead to adopting new ways of coping, learning how to view our challenges from new perspectives and using all of this to live your best life.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session, we are getting to know each other. I will have questions for you so I can better understand where you have come from and where/how you would like to grow. I encourage you to ask questions about the process of counseling, therapeutic goals, or anything else you are curious about.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I believe that therapeutic success is rooted in how the therapist and client relate to each other. Authentic connection develops best in a compassionate safe space, Before we can accept or have compassion for ourselves, we need to practice vulnerability which takes trust. Learning to trust ourselves and listen to our intuition is a critical step to healing. I approach therapy from a curious, solution-focused, systems perspective. I use empirically-based approaches that include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy, bibliotherapy, family systems therapy, neurofeedback, acceptance and commitment therapy, attachment-based therapies, and existential questions among others.
About Shauna Summers
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809 West Detweiller Drive, Peoria, IL, USA, Suite 804cAppointments
Virtual & in-personMy treatment methods
Attachment-based
I use an attachment-based approach because the degree to which we feel safe in our early relationships is significant and impacts our individual's emotional development. I focus on understanding clients' early attachment patterns with the significant people in their lives as these patterns often influence current behavior and relationships. I tend to explore past experiences and relational patterns regarding whatever issue clients are struggling with now. If a client's idea of gender roles is one thing that is getting in their way, of being happy in their relationship; we could spend time exploring what they learned about gender roles earlier in life from their familial and cultural examples of what it looks like to be a successful man/woman/human. I work at creating a secure and trusting environment within therapy where clients feel they can talk about anything without being criticized, dismissed, or otherwise made to less less than or not enough. Providing this safe therapeutic relationship facilitates healing and growth because clients can try out new-to-them ways to communicate, relate, and cope without fear of being dismissed, criticized, or somehow feeling less than or not enough.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I utilize CBT for revising the outdated thought patterns that sometimes we have used for decades to include what we have learned since we started using those thought patterns. Sometimes that includes addressing one or multiple cognitive biases (ie: black and white thinking, catastrophizing, the bandwagon effect, the halo effect, and more. I also use CBT to address and change our negative self-talk into becoming more self-compassionate. Specifically, I utilize CBT to challenge negative self-talk, and replace out habitual negative self-talk with more positive, affirming self-talk.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I have received training in DBT which combines elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with mindfulness and acceptance strategies. I utilize DBT to focus on helping clients regulate their emotions, tolerate distress, improve interpersonal relationships, and enhance their overall quality of life. I am comfortable with balancing acceptance and change and how to apply these to therapy and I teach clients skills in four core areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients accept their anxious thoughts and feelings rather than trying to eliminate them. It emphasizes psychological flexibility, where clients learn to commit to actions that align with their values, despite the presence of anxiety. I teach clients how to “detach” from their anxious thoughts and to live a life with actions that support their values. This approach is particularly helpful to those who experience chronic anxiety and have developed avoidance behaviors that limit their lives.