Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS is a powerful therapy modality for trauma therapy. It is safe, non-pathologizing, compassionate, and easy to bring into relationships for developing greater intimacy. It is a method for facilitating emotional wellbeing by helping people understand the parts of their inner world. It works to integrate the exiled and abandoned parts of yourself that were wounded in childhood and adolescence. The goal of IFS is to help people develop a more compassionate and accepting relationship with their parts so that there is restored access to wholeness, calm, creativity, clarity, and ease.

Somatics, rooted in the Greek word for "living body known from within," emphasizes our inner experience of the body. It's a philosophy and a field of practice that embraces the wholeness of our being, recognizing the deep connection between mind and body.

Trauma can create a disconnection from our bodies. We may experience overwhelming emotions, physical pain, and unskilfull coping mechanisms. This can leave feelings insecurity and distrust.

Somatic therapy offers an experiential approach to bridge the gap between mind and body. It helps:

— Reclaim our body as a safe haven: Learn to feel safe and comfortable within ourselves.

— Process emotional material: Heal from unprocessed emotions, both verbal and nonverbal.

— Complete unfinished stress responses: Resolve the stress responses left incomplete due to overwhelming experiences.

— Rebuild connection: Foster a healthier relationship with ourselves and the world around us.

Somatic trauma therapy offers tools to navigate their internal landscape. This includes:

—Building resilience: Develop stronger internal and external resources to cope with challenges.

—Fostering trust: Build trusting and supportive relationships to promote healing.

—Self-compassion: Cultivate self-love and learn to turn inward with kindness.

—Body awareness: Deepen the connection with your body and its signals.

— Trauma processing: Allow time and space to process and release the impact of trauma.

By unpacking the effects of trauma through somatic techniques, we can experience a profound sense of wholeness and well-being

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, without judgment. It's a foundation of holistic therapy, offering a powerful tool for cultivating self-awareness, reducing stress, and fostering inner peace. Through mindfulness practices, you can learn to:

— Focus your attention: By gently guiding your awareness to the present moment, you can train your mind to be less reactive to thoughts and emotions, allowing you to respond with greater intention and clarity.

— Embrace non-judgment: Mindfulness encourages observing your thoughts and feelings without judgment, fostering self-compassion and acceptance.

— Increase self-awareness: Through mindful practices, you can gain a deeper understanding of your triggers, patterns, and emotions, empowering you to make conscious choices that align with your values and goals.

—Reduce stress and improve well-being: By calming the mind and fostering a sense of presence, mindfulness can significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and negativity, leading to improved mental and emotional well-being.

Bringing mindfulness into your holistic therapy journey can:

—Enhance the effectiveness of other therapeutic techniques.

—Support chronic pain and illness.

—May improve your sleep quality and overall energy levels.

—Strengthen your relationships with yourself and others.

By integrating mindfulness into your therapy experience, you can embark on a transformative journey towards greater self-awareness, resilience, and well-being.

Expressive Art Therapy is a powerful avenue in therapy, offering an alternative path to healing from trauma, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. This unique approach utilizes creative expression as a bridge to explore the depths of your thoughts, feelings, and lived experiences.

Often, expressing the complexities of our inner worlds through words can feel challenging. Expressive Art Therapy provides a safe and supportive space to navigate these difficulties through various creative outlets, such as:

Dance: Move your body to express and explore emotions in a non-verbal way.

Writing: Express yourself through poems, stories, or journaling, finding clarity and release through written words.

Painting: Engage with colors and textures to visually portray your emotions and experiences.

Photography: Capture the world around you through your lens, discovering new perspectives and metaphors for your inner world.

Sculpture: Mold and shape clay or other materials to give form to your emotions and experiences.

Music: Create or engage with music to express yourself in a different, yet powerful, language.

Through Expressive Art Therapy, you can:

Gain new perspectives on your challenges.

Tap into unconscious emotions and experiences.

Develop coping mechanisms for difficult feelings.

Gain a deeper understanding of yourself.

Navigate your healing journey in a creative and empowering way.

If you're looking for an alternative approach to therapy or simply want to explore your creative side while fostering well-being, Expressive Art Healing may be the path for you.

Soul work is the process of returning to your most essential self. It is a journey of restoring your innate gifts and brilliance, those lost and forgotten fragments of soul. Soul work is distinct from traditional therapy in that it is not about fixing or resolving anything. 

There are no clearly defined goals. Soul work is a personal journey to understand and nurture your deepest essence, your true and authentic self. It is a journey into the mysterious. It follows its own unique timeline. It requires a symbolic death to what has been in order to birth a new life, a life that is embodied with your unique wisdom and medicine.

I guide people on the soul’s path using an array of tools such as, embodiment practices, dream work, shadow work, exile retrieval, sacred wound work, ritual and ceremony, soul art, and natured-based practices.

Dreams are the realm where your disowned selves emerge, including hidden aspects of your soul. The body is a doorway back into the dreamtime, where lived emotions and vivid images are accessed. Entering this depth terrain awakens creativity and psychic phenomena, offering you a path back to your vital essence. Dream tending is a sacred practice that creates a bridge to the forgotten world of soul, myth, and symbol.

Nature healing along with nature-centered soul work practices is a unique approach that blends nature immersion with soul-oriented practices such as expressive art, dream work, shadow work, wandering, deep imagery, sacred wound work, solo immersions, connecting to the animate world, dialoging with the more-than-human world, to foster self-discovery and a deeper connection to the natural world. I offer nature-based yoga, meditation, trauma therapy sessions and soul mentoring sessions. Nature is a powerful tool in holistic therapy.

The shadow is the mysterious somatic unconscious that contains hidden aspects of your inner world. It is entirely unknown and can be understood as the unlived life. It includes both those things deemed negative by culture and those positive qualities, which Jung called the golden shadow. The golden shadow contains your brilliance and creative potential. The process of befriending the shadow enables you to live a more vital, creative, and authentic life.

Somatic education offers a powerful tool for understanding your body's wisdom and its connection to your emotional state. Through this practice, you'll learn to track your nervous system's responses, becoming more aware of the subtle shifts between feeling safe and triggered. This awareness can help you identify if you're in a fight-or-flight state, a freeze response, or even a fawn response, where you appease others to avoid conflict.

Somatic education doesn't just focus on awareness; it empowers you to regulate your nervous system. By learning techniques and cultivating a safe therapeutic environment, you can begin to repair the impact of stress and trauma stored in your body. This process can help you move towards a healthy regulatory state, a place of calm and balance from which you can navigate life's challenges with greater ease.

Furthermore, somatic education sheds light on the connection between the body and mind. Many common trauma symptoms, such as addiction, dissociation, anxiety, and depression, can often manifest in physical ways. By understanding this connection, you can gain valuable insights into your emotional landscape and begin to address the root causes of these challenges.

Focusing is a unique tool within holistic therapy, offering an inward journey towards greater self-awareness and healing. It guides you to use your body as a compass for deeper understanding.

This process, called felt-sensing, involves focusing on subtle physical sensations – not just pain or discomfort, but all the subtleties and nuances your body communicates. By paying close attention to these subtle shifts, you can access your embodied imagination, allowing internal images and insights to surface.

Focusing offers numerous benefits for your holistic journey:

Clarity: By honing your inner awareness, you gain deeper clarity about yourself, your needs, and the root of underlying issues.

Self-discovery: Focusing helps you uncover hidden aspects of your identity and unconscious patterns that may be holding you back.

Direction for healing: Through this self-discovery, you can identify pathways to healing and personal growth that are truly aligned with your unique needs.