Be the Human
You Want to Be!
Find the Plenty Within,
To Navigate Any Change...
TRUSTEstablish a relationship with your parts based on trust, connection, communication. |
RESTExperience rest, ease, and peaceful presence with your inner kids. |
HEALBegin healing your wounds, so you can move forward with renewed energy and hope. |
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
IFS is a a model of therapy that considers multiplicity and diversity as natural, and recognizes the inherent wisdom in each of us to facilitate our own healing.
When applying this model, I believe that you have an inner team, made of a core Self and many different Parts - all working for you every day, to shape your experiences of the world and life around.
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I first discovered IFS when I started therapy for the first time in my life, at a moment of huge transition for me: applying for jobs in academia. I began a journey that has transformed my life and the way I experience myself and others, in every moment. I was completing my training as a Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association for Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT) and as an immigrant I found belonging in remembering how nature did not care for how I was different. I found belonging in our common Earth and universe linking all, but in IFS I found a way to relate to my differences and especially my body: embracing, respecting, and trusting the diversity, differences, and multiplicity I was.
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I owe who I am today to the deep healing facilitated by my IFS therapist. And the model made so much sense to me that I immediately started the path to become trained as an IFS practitioner. So today when I use this model, I assist my clients in facilitating the relationship between the core Self and their Parts, making sure all individual Parts get the space they need to be witnessed in their story and role: to feel seen, heard, appreciated, understood, and not alone.
Understanding Self...
No matter how old you are, what you have been through, or what has happened to you, you have and will always have the healing essence of Self ALL are born with.
Self has 8 qualities that support the healing of parts: curiosity, calm, compassion, connectedness, creativity, confidence, courage, and clarity. In my role as an IFS therapy practitioner, I help clients access and feel their Self energy so they can work with their Parts and help free their systems of burdens to feel more balanced and integrated.
Self has 8 qualities that support the healing of parts: curiosity, calm, compassion, connectedness, creativity, confidence, courage, and clarity. In my role as an IFS therapy practitioner, I help clients access and feel their Self energy so they can work with their Parts and help free their systems of burdens to feel more balanced and integrated.
Understanding Parts...
In the IFS model, there are NO BAD PARTS, therefore ALL PARTS are WELCOME. Parts hold information about us.
Some parts are proactive and help us track and manage our daily life, while some others are more reactive and rely on quick impulsive strategies of action. Parts however always have good intentions, they do not want to harm us. Therefore, at the core of IFS therapy is getting to know these protective parts first, their stories and histories, and intentions, always appreciating how they work for us and our system. They tend to protect other vulnerable and wounded parts of us, generally through different layers of protection that keep these parts exiled and out of sight or awareness. The vulnerable parts often feel alone and unlovable. When protective parts trust the Self enough to allow their energy to witness and be with the exiled parts, healing and transformation begins. These exiled parts can be integrated back into the system, in ways that create more freedom, choice, energy, and HOPE.
Sometimes the idea of having multiple "parts" can be difficult to understand and even unsettling. But you may relate to the idea when you think of a moment before you made a decision.
Let's say you get an invitation from a friend to attend a potluck at their house. Before you decide, you can notice different 'parts' of you voicing their perspective - one part of you wants to stay home and relax, another part wants to go for the food, people and conversation. Maybe after an exchange between these parts you compromise on going but leaving early so you have time to relax too. Maybe one of these parts is louder than the other and has more say on the final decision. You see how such moments of internal conversations happen a lot in our day to day life. And they are essential to our daily life but sometimes patterns of inner communication develop in such a way that hide, send away, or silence other parts of us. And the aim is to see, hear, appreciate, and value all parts of us, and lead with Self energy to update them on how best to have harmony in our system - an inclusive team.
Some parts are proactive and help us track and manage our daily life, while some others are more reactive and rely on quick impulsive strategies of action. Parts however always have good intentions, they do not want to harm us. Therefore, at the core of IFS therapy is getting to know these protective parts first, their stories and histories, and intentions, always appreciating how they work for us and our system. They tend to protect other vulnerable and wounded parts of us, generally through different layers of protection that keep these parts exiled and out of sight or awareness. The vulnerable parts often feel alone and unlovable. When protective parts trust the Self enough to allow their energy to witness and be with the exiled parts, healing and transformation begins. These exiled parts can be integrated back into the system, in ways that create more freedom, choice, energy, and HOPE.
Sometimes the idea of having multiple "parts" can be difficult to understand and even unsettling. But you may relate to the idea when you think of a moment before you made a decision.
Let's say you get an invitation from a friend to attend a potluck at their house. Before you decide, you can notice different 'parts' of you voicing their perspective - one part of you wants to stay home and relax, another part wants to go for the food, people and conversation. Maybe after an exchange between these parts you compromise on going but leaving early so you have time to relax too. Maybe one of these parts is louder than the other and has more say on the final decision. You see how such moments of internal conversations happen a lot in our day to day life. And they are essential to our daily life but sometimes patterns of inner communication develop in such a way that hide, send away, or silence other parts of us. And the aim is to see, hear, appreciate, and value all parts of us, and lead with Self energy to update them on how best to have harmony in our system - an inclusive team.
Additional Approaches
I am a researcher of society, organizations, culture, and power, and I see my IFS practice as another kind of research - one into the social world inside us. I have completed many trainings on trauma, children, art and nature therapies, and my learning continues. I learn from my clients and all partnerships that support me in this work every day. I am happy to answer any questions you might have about what this means for our time together in an IFS session.
To learn more about IFS, visit the IFS Institute or check out some IFS resources that can help you learn more about this model and see if you would give IFS a chance to support you.
I work with:
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I work with clients who are grappling with:
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Here's How We Partner
When you book a call with me, we discuss how the IFS practice can support your specific needs, and decide if and how we will start your journey within together.
No pressure, just gratitude that we have an opportunity to see if we are a good fit!
No pressure, just gratitude that we have an opportunity to see if we are a good fit!
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First, we will talk about what is going on for you and your family, and where I can offer initial support.
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Then, I will explain my approach and the options we have for working together. You can ask any questions you have and see what type of support would best fit your life and schedule.
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If it feels right to you, we can book our first session and get started. If it is not a good fit, I will do my best to offer alternative resources or suggestions for support.
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