Image by Jr Korpa
As a psychotherapist, I have spent over 30 years learning about mental health, psychology and psychotherapy. During that time I have taken a deep dive into a number of therapy models, including:
Cognitive behaviour therapy
Compassion-based therapies like compassion-focused therapy and mindful self-compassion
Parts-based, transpersonal therapies like psychosynthesis
Trauma therapies, especially Janina Fisher’s trauma-informed stabilisation treatment
Somatic therapies like polyvagal theory and somatic experiencing
Schema therapy
Internal family systems
Mindfulness-based therapies such as MBSR and MBCT, as well as Buddhist psychology
I now integrate the best of these powerful, highly effective models into a unified treatment approach with my clients. Here are some of the key principles of my approach.
trauma-informed therapy
As someone who specialises in helping people with the impact of childhood trauma, I have come to understand that trauma is at the root of most psychological problems, such as depression, chronic stress or anxiety, eating disorders, addiction and substance abuse, low self-esteem and relationship difficulties. I am currently writing a book about healing trauma which will take readers on a step-by step guide to using an integrative approach to heal the wounds of a painful childhood.
After decades of research, including the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, we now understand that most of the psychological problems people struggle with have their roots in trauma or neglect in childhood. These may be single-incident traumas like a car crash or natural disaster, but are more likely to be complex trauma, such as bullying in the home or at school; experiencing any kind of abuse; having a parent with substance-abuse or mental-health problems; being harshly criticised, feeling unloved or unvalued on a regular basis; growing up in a high-conflict home, or witnessing domestic violence; experiencing poverty, homelessness or frequent upheavals in childhood; experiencing any kind of discrimination, especially racism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia.
Whatever you may be struggling with, it’s likely that childhood trauma or neglect is the root cause of your problems. And this needs addressing, which means you need a trauma-informed approach. Linked to this is a thorough understanding of the nervous system, as trauma dysregulates your nervous system and other systems in the body. So it’s helpful to understand that through the lens of somatic approaches like polyvagal theory or Peter Levine’s somatic experiencing. I have created a wide range of breathwork, meditation and guided-imagery practices for my Insight Timer collection, many of which will help you calm, soothe and regulate your nervous system. And these approaches form the foundation of therapy, before we move on to trauma processing.
an attachment-based approach
Most of the trauma we experience as children is relational, meaning we are hurt by those who are supposed to love, protect and care for us. Very sadly, most abuse happens within the family, despite the scare stories of ‘stranger danger’ published in the media. And more subtle forms of emotional neglect can be extremely painful for children, such as having a parent who is chronically depressed, so – through no fault of their own – struggles to attune to your needs in the way all children require to develop a healthy mind and body.
A core need for all children is secure attachment with their caregivers – feeling safe, protected, loved and cherished by their parents, or other key family members if they are raising the child. This secure attachment in childhood translates to a secure attachment style, which we know around 50 per cent of adults possess. The other half of the population are mostly either anxious or avoidant, both of which create problems in forming healthy, nourishing relationships.
If you have an insecure attachment style – like most people seeking therapy – you need an attachment-based therapy, which will help you learn to feel safer and more secure in relationships, bit by bit. Schema therapy is the gold standard of this approach to therapy, so I integrate all the richness, wisdom and practical tools from this model into my work.
a parts-based model
One of the major revolutions in psychotherapy began in the late 1980s, when a number of parts-based therapy models were developed. These include schema therapy, internal family systems, Janina Fisher’s approach, Gestalt therapy and many others. My approach is also a parts-based, because it’s clear from a neurobiological understanding of the brain that your mind, and mine, is formed of a number of parts – this is known as ‘multiplicity of self’. It means that you have parts, like the Inner Critic or Inner Child, who either hold painful beliefs, memories and experiences from difficult times in your life, or work to keep those hurt young parts safe.
My work with clients draws especially on internal family systems, because it’s a warm, compassionate approach to healing these hurt and hardworking parts. But I strongly believe that no one model of therapy holds all the answers, so its better to draw from a wide range of models, creating a bespoke treatment for each individual client. I have found this to be the most powerful way to heal trauma with my therapy clients and have taught this approach to many other mental-health professionals, in my supervision and wider teaching.
Compassion at its heart
Finally, my approach involves a strong emphasis on learning self-compassion, because this is perhaps the most important skill you can learn – and especially if you experienced childhood trauma. Most of my clients are highly self-critical, with negative and self-lacerating beliefs about not being good enough, being dislikable or unlovable. None of these things are true, but are unhelpful ways of thinking about themselves they learned as a child – what are called ‘schemas’ in schema therapy.
Any effective therapy involves learning a new story about your life, one which is kind, compassionate and realistic, rather than highly negative and demeaning. Learning to think differently about yourself is a key part of any good therapy – and learning to be self-compassionate is an antidote to the noxious and harmful ways of thinking you developed as a child.
If you would like to know more about my approach to therapy, do sign up for my newsletter using the form below – you will get to read my latest blog posts, which are enjoyed by half a million people a year. You will also be the first to hear about my new courses, webinars and workshops, as well as my new book, when it is published in 2026. Also check out my Insight Timer collection, for a wide range of practices, most of which are free or donation-based.
I hope you find the help you are looking for from me or the many brilliant therapists and teachers globally, all of whom are dedicated to helping heal people struggling with the legacy of trauma. As I always tell my clients: Whatever you have been through in your life, it is never too much and never too late to heal.
Love ❤️
Dan
