Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy

The awareness of IFS is growing rapidly for it's efficacy in cultivating and expanding self awareness all the way through to treatment of trauma. It is an evidence based method of psychotherapy that can be a powerful and transformative way of working.

 As you will see from the video linked here, the modality takes the belief that all of our minds are multiple (which is positive!) and that these parts which we are born with and make up our personality, can be forced into taking on new roles, beliefs or ways of being, often to keep us safe or protect us in some way. As we get older and life changes, these parts may not be aware that they no longer need to respond the way that they have been and may, through good intention, keep us stuck in the past which doesn't serve us in the present day.

Like in any external family, these parts will have different beliefs and act in different ways to different situations and some may be more acceptable to us than others. Often these parts are stuck in the past and therefore their way of managing may not be serving us in the present day. As we begin to develop an awareness about this, we can begin to understand ourself and make choices about our life from a more informed place. 

As well as parts, we all have 'Self'. Discovering what this means to you is deeply personal. "Self is in everyone. It can't be damaged. It knows how to heal."

(Quote:  What is Internal Family Systems? | IFS Institute (ifs-institute.com) 

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a modality of therapy that looks at how we connect to those we love based on our earlier experiences and what might hold us back from asking for connection. It support us to notice how these feelings show up in the present day in our bodies, how to make sense of our feelings and how understanding this can help us to connect and bond in our relationships in new ways. 

The training that I have done is in EFCT; Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. This way of working allows couples to identify their negative cycles, to offer support to stabilise them and to understand what might be holding them back from connecting. At this point of therapy, IFS can also help to make connections about the parts in each person that are communicating and how this dynamic can be supported to shift and soften.

I offer online therapy for individuals ages 16 and over. This work can be very different than working face to face, but has been shown to offer just as much value to clients. Links for sessions conducted via Microsoft Teams will be sent at least 24 hours before a session.

I am qualified as a Certified Cyber Therapist with the Online Therapy Institute who offer a broad and comprehensive training about working online and all the different ways this may suit different individuals.