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  • Opened Heart Therapy

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      • Matthew Munich, LICSW, PhD
      • Melissa Ming Foynes, PhD
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    Skills Training in Affective & Interpersonal Regulation – STAIR

    STAIR is an evidence-based skills-focused treatment focused on difficulties with interpersonal relationships and emotion regulation, two domains commonly affected by trauma. Research suggests that STAIR can be used to support and facilitate the effectiveness of subsequent trauma-focused therapy or be a powerful standalone treatment. Efforts are currently underway to develop a parenting supplement for STAIR for parents who are trauma survivors to assist them in managing trauma symptoms and enhancing their relationships with their children.

    Treatment involves learning about trauma-related symptoms and their impact on your life, practicing skills to help you calm your body, build self-efficacy, self-compassion, and positive self-regard, and effectively express the full range of positive and negative emotions, particularly as they occur in interpersonal contexts, and enhance relationships by building interpersonal skills related to assertiveness and flexible expectations, reactions, and actions. STAIR is typically comprised of 8-12 weekly 50-minute sessions, but can be flexibly delivered depending on the your needs and skill level. Partners or loved ones may be integrated into treatment for support as needed. More information can be found here.

    While STAIR is extremely effective for trauma-related symptoms, it is not a good fit for everyone. Fortunately, there are a number of other treatments that are effective for trauma-related issues, depending on your preferences and stage of recovery – Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Mindfulness-Based Therapy.

    If you aren’t sure which of these treatments might be the best fit for you, please feel free to contact us to talk more. We’re happy to help and want to ensure you’re getting the treatment that most suits your needs.

    Treatment Offerings

    Therapy for Perinatal Mental Health Difficulties

    Therapy for Trauma, Loss, and Unexpected Complications in Mothers, Infants, and Children

    Mindfulness-Based Therapies

    Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

    Trauma-Related Therapy

    • Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

    • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Therapy (DBT PE)

    • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

    • Skills-Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR)

    • Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CBCT)


    Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

    Multi-Family Support

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