“Trauma is not what happens to us. But what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
Dr. Peter Levine
Treatment Models
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
A growing number of therapies understand that fundamental change sometimes occurs in a more experiential, non-verbal manner. We now have a growing understanding of the way our bodies and not just our minds process and store difficult or overwhelming experiences. Working to increase awareness of stuck or habitual ways of responding can free some of these areas of difficulty or rigidity or can bring more stability to someone who often experiences states of overwhelm and chaos or, conversely, states of dissociation and freeze.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a model of psychotherapy that maintains we are all made up of sub-personalities or “parts” that sometimes work to our advantage and protect us from unbearable emotions, thoughts and memories, but at other times over-function or overreact in ways that are not to our advantage. The goal of IFS is to help clients heal by developing a greater balance and harmony between these protective parts and burdened parts through a growing relationship with our own compassion, curiosity and sense of perspective about our inner experience.
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The work in IFS then is to nurture our connection to our Self, and from this place, discover, learn, and engage with our parts, witness what they have been carrying, heal their traumas, release their roles, and discover what else they would like to be doing. IFS is grounded in the belief that healing comes from your parts being seen, recognized, and guided by your core Self, which rests on the strength of your Self’s relationship with each of your many parts.
IFS is based on the premise that all parts are valuable and have good intentions, and yet due to life’s circumstances, they often take on roles that come with heavy burdens, are extreme, and may be harmful to us in some way. IFS also assumes that everybody has an essential Self, which has the power to heal parts as well as provide guidance, wisdom, and harmony to our inner system. IFS is a highly collaborative, non-judgmental approach, where the experience of respect and appreciation for all our parts is prioritized, nurtured, and promoted in and outside of session.
Inner Relationship Focusing
Inner Relationship Focusing is a body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing. It’s as simple as noticing how you feel–and then having a conversation with your feelings in which you do most of the listening. Focusing starts with the familiar experience of feeling something in your body that is about what is going on in your life. Focusing allows you to get past what has been making you stuck, using the body-mind’s inherent ability to heal and live forward into new possibilities.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR treatment works by helping the individual process distressing thoughts, feelings and memories that can reduce symptoms of trauma, improve functioning and improve one’s psychological state. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an interactive psychotherapy technique used to relieve psychological stress. It is an effective treatment for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). During EMDR therapy sessions, you relive negative or triggering experiences in brief doses while the therapist directs your eye movements.