“Like the light in the sun spilling out of the sun, the spirit within beams its way through all our cracks till our most treasured walls come down. The coming down of those walls is the blessing we crave and resist. The coming down of those walls - so the light of the soul like the light of the sun can help the world grow - this is the call of calls”. -Mark Nepo
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Also known as “parts work”, this is the primary framework through which I provide therapeutic support.
IFS maintains the theory that all humans have access to a wise Self, which leads our human behavior with calmness, creativity, compassion, courage, confidence, curiosity, clarity, patience, presence, and playfulness. However, throughout our lives, we develop protective parts/traits that attempt to help us by avoiding, pleasing, perfecting, abusing, harming, pushing away, criticizing, or over-thinking. These behaviors served a purpose at one time, but probably no longer do. Have you ever caught yourself saying things like, “part of me feels anxious” or “there’s a part of me that wants to cry”? Then you’ve already started to understand yourself through the IFS lens.
As an IFS-informed therapist, I guide you through a process of getting to know these parts of yourself, extending them curiosity, and allowing your true Self to lead them into healthier roles. IFS can help with processing traumatic events through a more compassionate lens where your “fight or flight” response does not get activated. It can also help individuals learn more about who they are, and the motivations behind their behaviors.
Furthermore, IFS includes elements of somatic (the body) therapy, self-compassion, and mindfulness, which are the three pillars from which I grew my therapeutic foundation many years ago. I have left their descriptions below.
trauma & the body
I am a TRM (Trauma Resiliency Model) certified therapist. I use the somatic (biologically-based) techniques in this model to guide people in bringing a sense of balance and well-being back into their bodies/nervous systems.
self-compassion
More often when people talk about compassion fatigue, they actually mean empathic distress. Many of us have strong empathic tendencies and burn out from sitting in other people’s pain. It has been shown in research that engaging in acts of compassion and self-compassion can be the antidote for this kind of burnout. For clients who struggle to give themselves the compassion they deserve, I try to help them discover their own self-compassion practices, create healthy boundaries, and not get swept away by the overwhelm that comes with being an empathetic person. I follow the research of Kristin Neff, Ph.D and Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D who are leading the charge in this fascinating area of wellness study.
mindfulness
I consider mindfulness to be the foundation of all change. If we cannot be mindful of our current actions, thoughts, and emotions then we are simply being carried about by the waves that crash through our lives. Mindfulness can be not only a tool for change, but it also encompasses the elements of intuition, patience, trust, radical acceptance, and letting go. These elements are foundational in my work with clients and I am happy to share these practices with others.