Treatment Modalities

I work primarily through IFS. 

This approach recognizes that we all contain many parts of our personality and all of them are doing the best they can to protect us and manage our life. Many times our parts have learned protective jobs during traumatic or painful periods, and they continue to do these jobs even when the actual helpfulness has run its course.  For example, if you grew up in a household with angry, scary people, you may have learned that the best way to avoid problems was to keep people around you as happy as possible no matter what.  This may have worked beautifully then, but those enduring patterns may cause you a lot of challenges in your adult life.  IFS helps us learn more about those parts and their protective intent while connecting them with  Self energy, the place already existing inside us all that carries Compassion, Curiosity, Calm, Clarity, Courage, Connectedness, Confidence, and Creativity, and knows how to heal. This work is built on a couple of very important premises:

- All parts are welcome! - All parts have protective intent (even if our behavior seems destructive) - We have what we need to heal.

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Many clients say this is the deepest and most transformative kind of work they have ever done.  It can be extremely powerful for the mind, body, and spirit. 

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I invite you to learn more here: 

https://ifs-institute.com

EMDR is a form of highly researched, evidence based treatment which accelerates the body’s capacity to process and heal troubling information. Trauma is inherently overwhelming and as a result traumatic memory is not stored the same way as non-traumatic memory; this is why we might find ourselves thinking about disturbing memories when we don't want to be, and why we have overwhelming feelings that don't seem to make sense, have flashbacks, and nightmares.  During sessions, the emotional overwhelm of distressing memory is reduced so that you can think differently about it and feel differently about yourself.

Have you ever experienced your feelings and thoughts saying different things?  For instance, knowing something was not your fault but still feeling like it was anyway?  By reducing your emotional overwhelm, your knowing starts to feel authentically true.  This sounds too good to be true, but I have seen it happen over and over-- it works!

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Please learn more about EMDR here: https://www.emdria.org

This is a body based approach to working with wounding and offers us a “bottom up” way of doing so, meaning we listen to and directly work with the sensations and impulses in our bodies. Sensorimotor approaches will help us develop the somatic and imaginal resources we need to help our nervous system feel safe and offers us a way to physically move distressing memories through our bodies.

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So many of us are disconnected from our bodies because our bodies hold our pain.  However, our bodies can be our best ally and tell us important information-- like when our needs are not getting met or when we need a boundary.  Our bodies have a natural intelligence; our bellies, for instance have more neurotransmitter sites than our brains-- up to 95% of the body's serotonin is found in the gut!

More information can be found here: 

https://sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org

ACT combines mindfulness, cognitive tools, commitment strategies and values clarification to allow us to work on taking effective action guided by your deepest values in order to create a rich and meaningful life. We work on developing acceptance of our pain as it is showing up in this moment so that we can be more effective with it.

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If you are looking for practical, ready to use tools that will help you create the change you want to see in your life, this is a great approach.  ACT is very concrete and offers a wonderful frame for understanding psychological pain and why we act the ways we do.  Using these tools can help us unstick from old patterns quickly while using our highest values as a compass to drive forward action in our lives.  

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There is a lot of great information about ACT online!

Here are some ideas:  https://www.actmindfully.com.au

https://stevenchayes.com/category/act

At times, I may offer interventions rooted in yoga traditions, such as breathwork, movement, or meditation, to support your nervous system’s natural capacity for healing. These practices come from a rich and ancient lineage, offering a pathway to deeper awareness, integration, and release. By engaging with these techniques, you can cultivate greater connection to yourself, facilitate the release of traumatic burdens, and nurture a sense of wholeness in your healing journey.