IFS, Somatic, EMDR
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS is a radical and paradoxical way of approaching therapy. For some clients, it is unlike anything they have tried before.
While some treatments encourage you to try to control your thoughts and emotions better, IFS encourages you to have conversations with them. This is because we believe the personality is naturally split up into “parts.”
"You can think of parts as little people inside you. Each has its own perspective, beliefs, feelings, memories, and motivations. You may have heard of the "inner critic" and the "inner child," the most famous of our parts. But these are simple concepts that only begin to touch the richness and complexity of our inner life. Our inner family may include a lonely baby, a wise mentor, an angry child, a stern mother, a calm mediator, a magician, a happy animal, a closed-off protector, and so on." - Jay Earley
Learn More about IFS Therapy
For a full demo (between two experienced IFS therapists), check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqIhczaF9W8
Read this chapter from the seminal book, The Body Keeps the Score.
Check out this article (Weekend University), or this longer and more in-depth article (Medium).
Check out the first chapter of “Introduction to Internal Family Systems” here.
Read a transcript of an IFS session.
Listen to an Interview with Richard Schwartz on IFS and relationships.
Check out Instagram (The Ordinary Sacred; Brookedbyka); there are also several IFS podcasts (The One Inside).
Somatic & EMDR
While IFS is my main approach, I blend in Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, and Hakomi to help you heal at every level—body, mind, and emotions. Somatic Experiencing helps you notice and release built-up stress in your body, which often ties into parts of you that feel stuck. EMDR uses simple eye movements (or other forms of bilateral stimulation) to strengthen connections with parts. Hakomi adds a gentle, mindful approach about helping you dip your toe into deeper work.
When we combine these approaches with IFS, we get a well-rounded method for working with all your parts in a safe and caring way. This helps you break old cycles, heal deep wounds, and reconnect with your natural sense of wholeness.
Emily Dickinson