bryn mawr counseling

What is EMDR Therapy & Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

What is EMDR Therapy & Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

In this blog post, we will delve into the practice of EMDR therapy, shedding light on its purpose and exploring the wide range of individuals who can greatly benefit from this innovative approach. Whether you reside in the vibrant city of Philadelphia, the charming town of Bryn Mawr, or prefer the convenience of online sessions anywhere in Pennsylvania, we invite you to dive into the transformative world of EMDR and discover how it can bring healing and relief to your life.

Eating Disorder Treatment: What you should know

Eating Disorder Treatment: What you should know

Recently, I created a list of questions to ask when vetting an eating disorder treament program to see what they actually provide. I thought I’d share this with all of you in case you’re looking for a higher level of eating disorder treatment.

What is Substance Abuse Counseling? by Stella Kimbrough

What is Substance Abuse Counseling? by Stella Kimbrough

The aim of substance abuse counseling is to help make your life better, rather than just suppressing substance use. Through substance abuse counseling, you and your therapist can explore ways in which your life without substances can become better than your life with substances.

LGBT | Depression and Anxiety

LGBT | Depression and Anxiety

As you might have heard, depression, anxiety and suicide rates are significantly higher among the LGBTQ community. The question is what will help build some resiliency? Well, there are a number of ways to help build resiliency in yourself or in those you love who may be struggling. Here are Spilove Psychotherapy's top five.


Using Emotion-Focused Therapy in Couples Therapy by Megan Delp

Using Emotion-Focused Therapy in Couples Therapy by Megan Delp

Do you feel like you’ve lost the connection you used to have with your partner?  Emotionally-focused therapy (EFT) can help in the process of rebuilding the relationship from the ground up.  Through the process of building more empathy and communication skills within the relationship, a path forward can be established.

Bryn Mawr Trauma Therapy: 3 Things to Consider When Searching for a Trauma Specialist

  1. Do you want to learn skills or go deep?

Bryn Mawr Therapy, ptsd, yoga, anxiety, depression

Before searching for a trauma specialist in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, you may want to consider what, exactly you are looking for.  Do you want to learn skills to help you tolerate the trauma memories?  Or would you prefer to engage in deeper therapeutic work to get underneath the trauma so that it can heal at the core?  

Skills such as DBT Skills are extremely helpful for daily life.  

Bryn Mawr therapy, anxiety, depression, main line, Philadelphia

DBT has 4 tenants: distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and mindfulness.  These skills are essential when doing trauma work for PTSD and for many other difficulties such as anxiety, depression, anger management, eating disorders, self-harm and addiction.  

If you’d prefer to get underneath the trauma, you will need a therapist who can help you with skills to stabilize and one who is able to help you heal at the root of the problem. 

These skills are the building blocks that will allow you to be able to function and tolerate uncomfortable memories and emotions as you dive deeper into the healing work.  

2. Which Therapeutic Models Do you Prefer?

When looking for a trauma specialist in Bryn Mawr, you’ll also want to take the time to find out the model or theory that the therapist uses to help navigate your therapy.  If you’re looking for a safe space to process and talk things out make sure you find a counselor who is great at talk therapy. If you are looking for evidence based interventions to help you DO something with the traumatic material, you may want to investigate something like EMDR.  If you want to work more from the body or a creative place, you may want to look for an art therapist, a yoga therapist or an experiential or psycho-dramatic therapist.  Ideally, you’ll find a therapist who is able to choose a therapeutic tool from a large tool belt with many choices.  

3. What is your commitment level to healing?

Successful therapy is mostly about your commitment to healing.  Your counselor may ask you to consider abstaining from addictive substances, behaviors or eating disordered behaviors, especially while you’re engaged in trauma work. If you’re doing drugs, engaging in self harm or throwing up your food while you’re trying to heal from PTSD, it can side-track the process. Instead of taking the time in between sessions to allow your psyche to continue to process and digest the trauma, engaging in behaviors can numb the emotions and make it less likely that you will process and be ready for your next session.  When you commit to your own healing process, it means you are willing to look at all aspects of your life and work towards shifting the things that no longer serve you.  

Bryn Mawr counseling, anxiety, depression, ptsd, main line, Philadelphia

Commitment to healing also means consistency.  

If you engage in therapy every week, it creates synergistic momentum as opposed to dropping in only when you’re experiencing anxiety or depressive symptoms. Committing to consistent therapy will help you heal faster and more completely.  What is your level of commitment to healing from a traumatic past?

If you’re looking for a trauma specialist near Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and need some helping finding the right person for you, please feel free to give us a call at 484-784-6244 for a free 15 minute initial consultation.  We are happy to help you find the right trauma therapist for you.

WHAT IS PTSD AND DO I HAVE IT?

PTSD, Post traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD symptoms, trauma, therapy, counseling, bryn mawr, main line, west chester

Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is an indication from your body that it needs support in sorting some things out.  Traumatic memories are stored in a different part of your brain than the rest of your memories.  When therapy is completed successfully, brain scans show that the trauma memory has been moved to a different area of the brain.  This alternate area of the brain doesn’t trigger your mind to get confused, your adrenaline to rush, and your body to be on alert.

Here are some of the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V):

A stressor such as actual or threatened serious injury, threatened death or witnessing of death or actual or threatened sexual violence.

Intrusion symptoms such as

  • intrusive memories
  • traumatic nightmares
  • dissociative reactions such as flashbacks
  • prolonged or intense distress after being exposed to a trigger

Avoidance symptoms such as persistent efforts to avoid anything that triggers traumatic memories.

Alterations to thoughts and mood symptoms such as

  • not being able to remember important parts of the traumatic event
  • believing bad things about yourself and/or the world
  • blaming yourself for the traumatic event
  • overwhelming emotions such as horror, shame or anger related to the trauma that continue to happen even long after the event
  • losing interest in things that you used to enjoy
  • not being able to feel positive emotions such as joy

Reactive symptoms such as

ptsd, post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd symptoms, therapy, counseling, west chester, bryn mawr, rosemont, main line, philadelphia
  • exaggerated startle response
  • difficulty concentrating
  • sleep difficulties
  • hypervigilance
  • aggressive or irritable behavior
  • reckless or self-destructive behavior

If you are ready to listen your body signals and get some support to untangle the memories and put them in their proper place, I can help.  My name is Tiffany Spilove and I LOVE working with people to heal their past.  I want to make sure that you find peace inside your body and your mind.  I have specialized training and experience helping people who have gone through sexual abuse, physical trauma and emotional pain.    

Call me today for your free 15-minute phone consultation at 610-314-8402 and find out if therapy is a good option for you