Finding a style of therapy that's right for you
It can be hard to know what type of therapy best fits your unique situation Below is a list of the types of problems and areas of focus that my style of IFS-oriented therapy is best suited for. This is not an exhaustive list, however, so please do reach out if you need more guidance on finding therapy to suit your specific needs.
Trauma Healing using Internal Family Systems (IFS)
The Internal Family Systems (IFS) modality is effective for healing complex trauma, developmental trauma
or C-PTSD.
Complex trauma is a result of repeated, traumatic, interpersonal injuries over an extended period during childhood or adolescence. These traumatic injuries can range from subtle to explicit. Some examples include experiencing emotional and physical neglect, criticism or bullying, responsibility burdens, emotional manipulation, loss or death of loved ones, witnessing addiction, mental illness, conflict or violence, or experiencing physical or sexual abuse.
We live in a society that often expects adults to get over what happened in the past and move on. Yet, anyone who has experienced complex trauma knows first hand this is easier said than done.
Many survivors discover what I have learned: cognitive and analytic approaches alone cannot fully heal trauma. Strategies like forgiveness, focusing on the positive, "letting go" or retelling and analysing the details of what happened in the past, do not work.
It is now widely accepted that trauma lives in the body, and that an experiential, in-the-moment, in-the-body intervention is needed for full healing. We know that we are able to change the patterns of neuronal network activations in our brain through real-time, guided, focused interventions.
IFS is a model designed for this purpose. Using IFS, I guide clients inward into safe, gentle, phase-oriented, non-traumatizing, deeply compassionate, real-time healing experiences.
Healing the root cause of symptoms
Are you looking for therapy that goes deeper into healing the source of your struggle? Have you already done a lot of cognitive work trying to think your way out or discipline your way out of your behaviour, but at the end of the day, it's not really working?
The following scenarios are some of the common patterns we can get stuck in, despite our efforts to change.
Do you ever feel trapped in repetitive patterns of negativity, blaming, resentment, irritation, anger, or mistrust? Do you sometimes lash out and hurt the ones you love, despite your genuine desire for connection?
Or, perhaps you experience chronic self-doubt, a harsh inner critic, feelings of worthlessness? Maybe you can't shake the feeling that there is something inherently wrong about you. Maybe you find yourself chronically people-pleasing?
Or, perhaps you spend too much of your time worrying and planning, working, or overscheduling yourself? Maybe you get the sense that if you stopped moving, you would have to face highly uncomfortable emotions?
Or, do you feel a sense of chronic disconnection, numbness, fogginess, forgetfulness, tiredness? Maybe you feel that you have never really experienced joy, or wonder if you ever will again.
If any of these symptoms resonate with you, then you likely have some protectors working overtime! The IFS model of the human psyche understands that the human psyche is made up of protector parts that develop at a younger age to help us cope at the time. These survival strategies likely served you well at some point, however, they come at a cost, as demonstrated in the scenarios above.
Using the IFS approach, I guide clients inward on a journey of Self-inquiry to connect with their protectors.
Clients build a sense of support and wisdom in their own system that allows their protector parts to feel safe enough in the present day to soften and release the over-working coping strategies so that we can then do our healing work with the underlying hurt the protectors are protecting. Once the underlying hurt is healed, protectors can finally relax and function in a more adaptive way.
Self Awareness and Spiritual Growth
The IFS modality is a spiritual approach. All of our inquiry and healing work is done from a place of Self. Self is the IFS term used for the spiritual centre that exists in all of us. Other terms for Self could be: seat of conscious awareness, observing self, witnessing self, or soul. I guide clients into their own experience of Self energy, and guide them through exploring and working with their personality structure. IFS work reminds us that we have a calm, wise centre that is always available to us, and from which vantage point we can be with our emotions, thoughts, and actions from an aware, self-compassionate, and empowered stance.
Neurodivergence - OCD, ADHD, HSP, AUTISM
Recognizing symptoms of ADHD, OCD, autism, and highly sensitive person (HSP) in adults, and working with these clients to meet their unique mental health goals, is a field of knowledge that is still growing, and I am excited to be learning in this area.
This is a developing area of practice for me.
I regularly consult with a group of neuro-divergent oriented therapists, and I am currently practicing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) along with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to work with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms.
I welcome clients who identify with any of the neurodivergent expressions.