Individual Therapy

Center for Survivors therapists are honored to provide individualized therapy to MSU students, faculty, and staff; additionally, the CFS Safe Place therapist provides individualized therapy to community members, MSU students, faculty and staff. Survivors work with their therapist to identify their goals and treatment options that are tailored to their individual needs. All therapy services are free and confidential.

Therapy at the Center for Survivors is:

  • client centered
  • strengths based
  • trauma-informed
  • holistic
  • intersectional
  • empowering

Supportive therapy is a flexible approach that allows you to express yourself in a comforting and encouraging environment.

Supportive therapy is:

  • Designed around your current needs and healing goals
  • Incorporates different methods, coping skills, and activities
  • More conversational and often less structured

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based treatment that follows a 12 week protocol designed to reduce trauma symptoms. During CPT, the client and therapist:

  • Focus on identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts (called stuck points) related to a traumatic event that keep people stuck in their healing process
  • Learn skills to challenge these stuck points to develop more helpful thoughts
  • Explore themes related to safety, trust, power and control, esteem, and intimacy

While doing CPT, clients can expect regular out-of-session practice assignments to apply what has been discussed in therapy sessions. CPT does not require sharing details of the traumatic event.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress resulting from disturbing life experiences. During EMDR, a therapist and a client will:

  • Build a kit of resources (coping skills)
  • Use bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tones, or taps) to safely reprocess past experiences
  • Work on enabling the mind and body to feel safe in the present.
  • Relieve painful emotions
  • Develop more helpful thoughts
  • Decrease physiological symptoms

EMDR has been shown to be effective in working on a variety of issues, including trauma. EMDR does not require you to discuss experiences in detail and can feel different than talk therapy.

Our therapy team at the Center for Survivors has various backgrounds and approaches, ranging from ear acupuncture, ecotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, substance use, and trauma informed yoga.

Interested in Therapy Services?

If you are interested in scheduling a therapy appointment you can email us at general@msu.edu.

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