Therapy approaches we use in Nashville and Franklin
Nine approaches, from AEDP and EMDR to IFS and somatic therapy, each explained in plain language: what it is, what sessions may involve, and when it is worth considering. Your clinician suggests one and agrees it with you. Not every therapist is trained in every approach, and that is worth knowing before you choose.
How is the approach chosen?
The approach is not chosen before you arrive, and you do not need to pick one from a list. Your clinician suggests an approach based on what you describe, explains why in everyday language, and you agree it together. If it is not working, it changes.
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It starts with what you describe
No prior knowledge of therapy is expected, and nobody will ask you to choose a method. The suggestion comes from what you say about your week, your history, and what you want to be different.
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Your clinician explains the reasoning
The approach is named and explained in plain language before it is used: what it involves, what it is for, and who it may not suit. You can ask why that one and not another, at any point.
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You agree it together
Nothing is applied to you. If an approach does not fit, or stops fitting, it changes. Changing course is a normal part of the work rather than a failure of it.
What therapy approaches do we offer?
Nine approaches are listed below, and each one answers three questions: what it is, how it works, and what it helps with. They are offered as options rather than recommendations. Not every therapist is trained in every approach, so tell us what you are looking for and we will point you to someone who works with it.
What it is. AEDP stands for Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy. It is a talk therapy that works with feelings as they happen in the room, not only with the story you tell about them.
How it works. Your therapist stays actively involved. They may notice a change in your face or voice and ask you to stay with the feeling for a moment instead of moving past it. You agree on what feels manageable before going deeper.
What it helps with. It is often used for anxiety, grief, and patterns that began in early relationships. It can suit people who understand their feelings but rarely feel them.
What it is. Brainspotting is a therapy that uses the position of your eyes. A brainspot is a point in your field of vision that seems to hold a feeling.
How it works. Your therapist guides your eyes slowly until something shifts. You hold your gaze in that spot and say what comes up. You stay in control and can stop at any point.
What it helps with. It is often used for trauma, anxiety, and strong reactions that are hard to put into words. It can suit people who feel things in the body before they can name them.
What it is. Embodied Recovery is a body-focused therapy used in eating disorder care. It treats symptoms as things the body learned to do in order to cope, rather than as a failure of willpower.
How it works. Sessions may look at where you hold tension, how you sense your body, and how you set physical boundaries. You may practice noticing hunger, fullness, and feelings without numbing or controlling them.
What it helps with. It is often used for eating disorders and difficult feelings about the body. It runs alongside medical and nutritional care and never replaces it.
What it is. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured therapy for memories that still carry a charge.
How it works. You hold a memory in mind while doing something that uses your attention, such as following your therapist's fingers with your eyes, tapping, or listening to tones. Early sessions teach coping skills and agree on a plan before any memory work begins.
What it helps with. It is often used for trauma, disturbing memories, panic, and phobias. The aim is not to forget what happened, but to take the charge out of the memory.
What it is. Family therapy is therapy for more than one person from the same household, seen together.
How it works. The therapist looks at the pattern between people, not at one person as the problem. Sessions may involve everyone saying what they notice, the therapist slowing an argument down so each person is heard, and things to try between sessions.
What it helps with. It is often used when a change, a loss, or one person's difficulty is shaping the whole household.
What it is. HeartMath is a set of breathing and biofeedback exercises. Biofeedback means you can watch your body's signals change on a screen while you practice.
How it works. You learn a slow breathing rhythm and a way to steady your attention. A sensor or app shows your heart rhythm settling in real time.
What it helps with. It is often used for stress and anxiety. It is a practical support that sits alongside other therapy rather than a whole therapy on its own.
What it is. IFS stands for Internal Family Systems. It treats the mind as made up of parts, such as the inner critic, the people pleaser, and the part that goes numb.
How it works. Each part is treated as having a job it learned to do. Your therapist may help you name a part, ask what it is trying to prevent, and slowly get to know the feeling underneath it.
What it helps with. It is often used for a harsh inner critic, self-criticism, and feeling at war with yourself.
What it is. It is therapy built on the view that ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergence are differences in how a person processes the world, not faults to fix.
How it works. Sessions may map your energy, your sensory needs, and how you communicate. You may look at where an environment does not fit you, and talk about masking and what it costs.
What it helps with. It is often used by adults and young people who have spent years being told to act more typically. Neurodivergence itself is never the thing being treated.
What it is. Somatic therapy is a group of approaches that treat body signals, such as breath, tension, and posture, as a way into feelings.
How it works. Sessions may slow down and turn attention to where a feeling sits in the body. Some include gentle movement or grounding to settle the nervous system.
What it helps with. It is often used for stress, trauma, and anxiety. It can suit people who live mostly in their heads or who shut down under pressure.
Does every therapist offer every approach?
No, and it is worth knowing before you ask. Each clinician trains in a particular set of approaches, so asking for one by name is a reasonable place to start. We will tell you who works with it, or say plainly if nobody here does.
Name the approach if you know it. AEDP, EMDR, Brainspotting and the rest are separate trainings, not modules that every clinician has taken.
You will hear who works with it. If someone here is trained in it, we will give you their name, which office they are in, and whether they have space.
Nothing gets quietly swapped. If what you asked about is not available here, we will say so and talk through the alternatives with you.
Which therapy approach is right for me?
You do not have to work that out alone, and there is no single right answer. The six questions below cover what most people weigh up before they book. If yours is not here, ask it when you get in touch.
Do I need to know which approach I want before I book?
No. Most people book without knowing the name of a single approach, and nobody will expect you to have read up first. Bring what is happening and what you want to be different, and the clinician will suggest where to start.
Is one approach better than another?
No single approach is best for everyone. What tends to matter is the match between the person, the difficulty, and the clinician, and whether the work is reviewed as it goes. Be wary of anyone who says one method fixes everything.
Can the approach change partway through?
Yes. If something is not working, say so, and it can change. Adjusting course is a normal part of therapy rather than a sign that it has failed.
Can approaches be combined?
Often, yes. Many clinicians train in more than one approach, and some use a second one for a specific part of the work. What matters is that the reason is explained to you rather than left unsaid.
How do I know a therapist is trained in an approach?
Ask. A clinician can tell you what training they have completed in an approach and how long they have been using it. You can ask before you book, and the answer should be straightforward.
Do the same approaches work for children, couples, and families?
Not all of them. Some approaches are built for one person in the room, family therapy involves the household, and work with a child usually involves parents in some way. Raise these details when you ask about an appointment.
Talk it through before you book
A free 15 minute phone call is the place to ask which approaches a therapist actually uses, and whether any of them suit what you described. Nothing is booked until you decide, and there is no charge for the call.