Our Approach

Top down

Bottom up

At Chesed Counseling we use a holistic, top-down and bottom-up approach to therapy-- which is especially helpful when it comes to working with trauma or painful experiences.

Top-down therapy works with your thoughts and feelings. It's about using your thinking mind to understand and change how you feel about your experiences using explicit memory.
Bottom-up therapy works with your body and emotions. It helps you heal through feelings and physical sensations, often without needing to talk about the memories in detail, using implicit memory, which is the kind of memory that’s stored in your body without you knowing.

The best therapy often combines both approaches, so processing can happen both with thoughts and sensations, and give you the best chance to help you integrate and reconnect with your body.

Read more about specific modalities and interventions:

Polyvagal Theory
explains how our nervous system helps us feel safe or stressed, influencing our reactions to everyday challenges. Learning about this helps us have a choice.

EMDR
(Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)
is a therapy that uses guided right-left movements—to help your brain process painful memories, reduce their emotional impact, and foster healing.

Sensorimotor and Somatic
is a body-focused treatment that helps you become aware of your physical sensations and movements to process and heal from trauma or emotional stress.

Internal Family Systems
(IFS)
views the mind as a collection of different parts, or sub-personalities, each with their own feelings and needs. The goal: to connect with these parts so you can collaborate and feel more balanced.

Together, these modalities complement one another:

EMDR and sensorimotor techniques help process and release traumatic memories,
IFS provides insight into internal conflicts and enhances awareness, connection and collaboration.
Flash Technique offers a gentle trauma processing approach using single memories.
Polyvagal Theory offers valuable strategies for understanding and supporting how our bodies experience safety.
Play/expressive therapies allow for creative emotional expression.

At Chesed we offer an integrated approach, which addresses trauma from multiple angles, promoting healing on all levels and ages.

Specialties & Areas of Support

🔹 Anxiety & Stress Management
🔹 Trauma & PTSD Recovery
🔹 Depression & Emotional Well-being
🔹 Life Transitions & Personal Growth
🔹 Grief, Loss & Healing
🔹 Self-Esteem & Confidence Building
🔹 Pregnancy, Prenatal & Postpartum Support
🔹 Attachment and early childhood
🔹 Individual counseling for conflict resolution & Relationship Dynamics
🔹 Christian counseling, support & spiritual trauma

A Space for Growth and Renewal

🌿 Healing past wounds with compassion
🌿 Navigating life’s challenges with strength
🌿 Cultivating resilience and self-acceptance

You are not alone.
Take the first step today by booking a free 15-minute appointment, and let’s begin your journey toward healing together.

📍 In-person sessions available in Wellington area: Monday, Friday afternoons and Saturdays.

💙 Compassion. Healing. Chesed. Your transformation starts here.

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