Issues We Treat, and the Research Behind How We Treat Them
Every condition below responds differently to different kinds of treatment. Rather than offering one modality for everything, our clinicians match brain-based, body-based, and depth-oriented approaches to what the current research, and your own nervous system, actually call for.
Find the Right Approach for What You're Facing
Select what brings you to therapy and we'll highlight the modalities our clinicians reach for first. Every card opens into how the approach works, what a session actually looks like, and what the evidence currently shows, with a link to the primary source.
Showing all 10 approaches we use at Taproot.
Brainspotting
Trauma-FocusedUses fixed eye positions to access and process trauma held outside conscious, verbal awareness.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Developed in 2003 by psychotherapist David Grand, Brainspotting works from the idea that where a person looks can affect how they feel. A held eye position, or "brainspot," appears to correspond with unprocessed activation in deeper, non-verbal regions of the brain, so the process can reach material that talking alone often cannot.
What a Session Looks Like
Sessions begin with a felt sense of the issue in the body, then a slow scan to locate the eye position where activation is strongest. The clinician holds that spot with the client for an extended period, often with quiet bilateral sound, while the client's own nervous system does the processing. Expect sessions to feel still and internal rather than talk-heavy.
What the Evidence Shows
Pilot and comparative studies have found symptom reductions similar to EMDR for PTSD, though the peer-reviewed base is still smaller and newer than more established trauma therapies. See the Brainspotting research and case studies archive.
Learn more about Brainspotting at Taproot →EMDR
Trauma-FocusedAn eight-phase protocol using bilateral stimulation to help the brain finish processing memories that got stuck.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR rests on the idea that the brain has a natural information-processing system that can become interrupted under overwhelming stress. Reactivating a memory while simultaneously tracking bilateral movement, taps, or tones appears to help the brain file that memory away as something that happened, rather than something still happening now.
What a Session Looks Like
A course of treatment starts with history-taking and coping-skills work before any memory processing begins. During active phases, you briefly hold a target memory in mind while following the clinician's hand or a light bar, pausing every 20 to 30 seconds to report what surfaced. Sessions close with a deliberate return to a calm state before you leave the room.
What the Evidence Shows
The American Psychological Association's 2025 clinical practice guideline for PTSD in adults includes EMDR among its recommended interventions, and the VA and Department of Defense list it as a first-line trauma treatment. See the APA PTSD guideline on EMDR.
Learn more about EMDR at Taproot →Somatic Experiencing
Body-BasedTracks physical sensation to help the nervous system complete a survival response that got interrupted.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Developed by Dr. Peter Levine after observing that wild animals rarely stay traumatized after a life-threatening encounter, Somatic Experiencing works by tracking sensation rather than narrating the story of what happened. The goal is to help the body complete the fight, flight, or freeze response that was interrupted at the time, releasing the survival energy that stayed trapped afterward.
What a Session Looks Like
A session stays close to present-moment sensation: tension, temperature, an urge to move. The clinician tracks small shifts in tiny, manageable increments called titration, and you are rarely asked to recount a traumatic event in detail. Many clients are surprised by how little talking is involved.
What the Evidence Shows
A 2017 randomized controlled trial in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found significant PTSD symptom reduction compared to a waitlist control, and later studies extend findings to chronic pain and cancer-related trauma. See Somatic Experiencing International's research page.
Learn more about Somatic Experiencing at Taproot →IFS & Parts Work
Parts-BasedTreats the mind as a system of protective inner parts, guided by a calm, curious core Self.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Internal Family Systems treats self-criticism, numbness, or reactivity as the strategies of protective inner parts trying to help in the only way they know how, rather than as symptoms to eliminate. Therapy helps you access a grounded internal Self that can build trust with each part, understand what it is guarding against, and eventually help wounded, exiled parts carry less weight.
What a Session Looks Like
Sessions often begin by noticing what is active internally right now, then turning toward it with curiosity instead of trying to fix or silence it. A clinician might ask what a part wants you to know, or how you feel toward it, building an internal dialogue rather than an external one.
What the Evidence Shows
IFS was added to the federal registry of evidence-based practices in 2015, and a 2026 randomized controlled trial in the APA journal Psychological Trauma found significant PTSD symptom reduction from a group-based IFS protocol. See the IFS Institute research hub.
Learn more about IFS at Taproot →qEEG-Guided Neurofeedback
Brain-BasedMaps the brain's electrical activity, then trains it in real time toward healthier patterns.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
A quantitative EEG records electrical activity from 19 points on the scalp and compares it to a normative database, highlighting areas running too fast, too slow, or poorly coordinated with each other. That map guides a personalized neurofeedback protocol, where sound or visual feedback rewards the brain in real time for shifting toward more regulated patterns.
What a Session Looks Like
Mapping involves a painless cap of sensors and about 20 minutes of recording, eyes open and eyes closed. The neurofeedback sessions that follow involve watching a screen or listening to audio that changes subtly with your brainwave activity, closer to exercise for self-regulation than to talk therapy.
What the Evidence Shows
A PRISMA-guided meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials found significant attentional improvement in ADHD patients receiving EEG neurofeedback, though researchers note effect sizes vary by protocol and the evidence base is still developing. See the meta-analysis on PubMed Central.
Learn more about qEEG & neurofeedback at Taproot →Lifespan Integration
DevelopmentalWalks the nervous system through a memory timeline to prove, on a body level, that the past is over.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Developed by Peggy Pace, Lifespan Integration draws on memory reconsolidation research, the idea that recalling a memory in a new context can change how it is stored. Repeatedly moving through a chronological timeline of memory cues helps the nervous system integrate a coherent sense of "then" versus "now," often exactly what feels missing after developmental trauma.
What a Session Looks Like
Sessions are highly structured. Early work often uses a baseline protocol that moves through neutral, easy memories to build a felt sense of safety and continuity before any distressing material is addressed. Complete or vivid memories are not required for the process to work.
What the Evidence Shows
As a newer, specialized modality, Lifespan Integration's evidence base currently rests mainly on case studies and practitioner-reported outcomes rather than large randomized trials, though its mechanism draws on established memory reconsolidation research. We think that's worth saying plainly rather than overstating the research.
Learn more about Lifespan Integration at Taproot →Emotional Transformation Therapy
Light-BasedPairs specific wavelengths of colored light with guided processing to shift the nervous system's state quickly.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Developed by psychologist Dr. Steven Vazquez, ETT combines colored light exposure with techniques drawn from parts work, mindfulness, and narrative therapy. The theory is that particular light frequencies help calm or activate specific neural pathways, giving the clinician a physiological lever alongside the psychological one.
What a Session Looks Like
You work with a light device while the clinician guides your attention through a target emotion or memory, tracking shifts in your felt experience as the light frequency changes. Many clients report a noticeable shift in emotional intensity within a single session.
What the Evidence Shows
Small trials, including a randomized study on combat-related PTSD and pilot studies on anxiety and chronic pain, report meaningful symptom reduction, though ETT's overall research base remains smaller than longer-established trauma therapies.
Learn more about ETT at Taproot →Nutritional & Micronutrient Psychiatry
BiologicalSupports mood, attention, and emotional regulation with broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral formulas.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Rather than targeting one nutrient in isolation, broad-spectrum micronutrient formulas supply the fuller range of vitamins and minerals the brain needs for energy production, neurotransmitter synthesis, and inflammation control. This approach is used alongside, not instead of, psychotherapy and any existing medical care.
What a Session Looks Like
Work begins with a review of diet, health history, and current symptoms, followed by a structured supplementation protocol adjusted over several weeks based on your response. This is typically woven into ongoing therapy rather than delivered as a standalone service.
What the Evidence Shows
A 2025 Annual Research Review in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found medium effect sizes for broad-spectrum micronutrients across ADHD, mood dysregulation, and autism-related symptoms, while noting the field still needs larger replication studies. See the Rucklidge et al. review.
Learn more about nutritional psychiatry at Taproot →Jungian Depth Psychotherapy
Insight-BasedWorks with dreams, patterns, and the exiled parts of the self to find the meaning underneath a symptom.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Rooted in the work of Carl Jung, depth psychotherapy treats symptoms as communication from parts of the psyche that have not yet found a voice. The work aims at integration, a more honest relationship with the parts of the self a person has learned to keep out of view, rather than symptom reduction alone.
What a Session Looks Like
Sessions are more free-associative and exploratory than protocol-driven, often working with dreams, recurring life patterns, or significant images and memories as they arise. This approach is frequently paired with the more structured, body-based modalities above rather than used alone during acute crisis.
What the Evidence Shows
Jungian technique specifically has a smaller research base, but it sits within the broader psychodynamic tradition, where a landmark 2010 American Psychologist review found effect sizes comparable to other well-established treatments, with gains that tend to grow after therapy ends. See Shedler's review in American Psychologist.
Learn more about Jungian therapy at Taproot →Gottman-Informed Couples Work
RelationalUses decades of observational research into what predicts whether a relationship thrives or drifts apart.
How it works, a session, and the evidence
How It Works
Drawing on the Gottman Institute's Sound Relationship House framework, this approach identifies specific, observable patterns, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling, and criticism, that erode a relationship, and replaces them with structured tools for repair, appreciation, and conflict that does not damage the friendship underneath it.
What a Session Looks Like
Work typically opens with an in-depth assessment of the relationship's history and current conflict patterns before moving into structured exercises both partners practice together, in session and at home, targeting the patterns identified in the assessment.
What the Evidence Shows
Longitudinal outcome studies report significant improvement for most couples who complete a full course of treatment, with gains that hold up in follow-up studies conducted years later. See the Gottman Institute's effectiveness research.
Find a relationally-trained clinician at Taproot →Conditions We Treat
Serving Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, and Homewood in person, with teletherapy available statewide.
Anxiety, Trauma & Stress-Related Disorders
Anxiety & Panic
Generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and the physiological threat response that keeps a person on alert.
High-Functioning Anxiety & Perfectionism
The anxiety that hides behind achievement and rarely looks like a "problem" from the outside.
Panic & Phobia
Sudden, intense fear responses and the specific triggers that set them off.
PTSD & Complex Trauma
Single-incident and developmental trauma, treated at the neurophysiological source rather than through talk alone.
Dissociation
Feeling checked out, fragmented, or disconnected from the body, addressed through parts work and grounding.
Depression & Mood Disorders
Major Depressive Disorder
Treating the biological and psychological roots of hopelessness, not just the symptom checklist.
OCD & Bipolar Spectrum
Mood cycling and intrusive, repetitive thought patterns, managed with neuro-regulation and structured support.
Treatment-Resistant Depression
For depression that has not responded to medication or talk therapy alone, qEEG-guided neurofeedback offers another angle.
Neurodevelopmental Support
ADHD & Executive Function
Brain mapping and coaching aimed at improving focus without adding shame to the picture.
Autism Spectrum (Affirming Support)
Strengths-based support for sensory processing, communication, and navigating a neurotypical world.
AuDHD (Autism + ADHD)
Dual-diagnosis support for children and adults whose presentation does not fit either label cleanly.
Child & Adolescent Behavioral Concerns
School refusal, tantrums, and oppositional behavior, addressed with the whole family in view.
Chronic Pain & Physical Health
Chronic Pain & Post-Surgical Depression
Breaking the feedback loop between physical pain and depressed mood with brain-based therapies.
Fibromyalgia & Autoimmune-Related Symptoms
Regulating a dysregulated nervous system to reduce flares and unexplained somatic symptoms.
Long COVID
Support for the cognitive and emotional toll of a long-haul illness that medicine is still learning to treat.
Medical Trauma
Healing from difficult diagnoses, surgeries, or hospital experiences that stay in the body.
Relationships, Grief & Life Transitions
Grief & Loss
Honoring the mourning process and finding meaning again after a significant loss.
Couples & Relationship Strain
Gottman-informed and IFS-informed work for communication breakdowns, conflict, and repair.
Perinatal & Women's Mental Health
Support through pregnancy, postpartum, and the reproductive health transitions that rarely get enough attention.
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Care
Identity, relationships, and minority stress, addressed by clinicians trained in affirming practice.
Performance, Burnout & Identity
Executive & Professional Burnout
For the toll of demanding roles, compassion fatigue, and the identity questions burnout tends to surface.
Physician & Medical Provider Burnout
Specialized support for the particular pressures of clinical practice and med school.
Academic & Performance Pressure
Test anxiety, school refusal, and the pressure to perform, for students at every level.
Addiction & Post-Rehab Care
Continuing care that treats the trauma underneath a substance use pattern, not just the pattern itself.
Common Questions About Choosing an Approach
How do I know which therapy approach is right for me?
Start with what you are struggling with, not the modality name. Use the concern-matching tool above to see which approaches clinicians typically reach for first, then bring that shortlist to your first appointment. Your clinician will confirm or adjust the plan once they understand your full history, since two people with the same diagnosis often need different starting points.
What if talk therapy alone has not worked for me before?
That is one of the most common reasons people find their way to Taproot. Traditional talk therapy relies heavily on the parts of the brain responsible for language and narrative, which can be exactly the parts that go offline during a traumatic event. Brainspotting, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and qEEG-guided neurofeedback all work with the nervous system directly, which is often why they reach material that talking alone could not.
Can these approaches be combined into one treatment plan?
Yes, and in practice most treatment plans do combine two or three approaches rather than relying on one alone. A course of care might pair Brainspotting or EMDR for a specific traumatic memory with Internal Family Systems for the ongoing relationship between different parts of the self, or add qEEG-guided neurofeedback alongside talk therapy for someone whose attention and mood symptoms have a strong biological component.
Do you accept insurance for these treatments?
Several of our clinicians are in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield. For clients using out-of-network benefits, we provide monthly superbills with the diagnostic and procedure codes most insurers need for reimbursement. A sliding scale is also available, including for teletherapy clients anywhere in Alabama.
Is teletherapy available for these modalities?
Yes. Talk-based approaches, IFS, and Jungian depth work translate well to secure video sessions, and many clients do EMDR and Brainspotting successfully over telehealth as well. qEEG brain mapping requires an in-person visit to our Hoover office, since it involves physical sensor placement, though the neurofeedback and interpretation that follow can often continue remotely.
How long does treatment typically take?
It depends on what you are treating and which approach you use. Some clients notice meaningful shifts from Brainspotting or EMDR within a handful of sessions for a single, well-defined traumatic memory, while complex, developmental trauma addressed through IFS or Lifespan Integration is usually a longer-term process measured in months. Your clinician will give you a realistic estimate once they understand your history.
Not Sure Where to Start? That's What the Consultation Is For.
You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis or a modality in mind. Tell us what is going on, and we will help you find the right clinician and the right starting point.
This page is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for a personalized clinical evaluation. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911.