What do IFS sessions look and feel like?

In the first several sessions, we might start by connecting with a “key” protector part that you know well.  Say, your perfectionist part, who relentlessly insists on working late into the night to go above and beyond on all work assignments.  You’ve been promoted several times over the last few years, in large part thanks to this perfectionist part.  And, you are utterly exhausted from lack of sleep, you’ve been sick more than usual this past year, and your relationship with your partner is suffering.  You see the damage this part is causing, yet you can’t seem to change your behavior.  In fact, it almost feels like an addiction.

 

So, we begin by building a relationship between your perfectionistic part and you (your Self energy). We get to know it: how long has it been around? Why did it develop when it developed? What does it do for you? How does it do it, exactly? Does it like its job?  We help the perfectionist part feel connected, understood and appreciated.  Then, we get curious about who the perfectionist works for.  Who does it protect?  This shines light towards an exiled part, perhaps a part that was harshly criticized as a child, and received large doses of "tough love" from your parents and as a result, took on beliefs of incompetence, always feeling like a failure no matter how hard you tried.  Once the perfectionist grants us permission, we go to the exile and witness its suffering.  We connect it to you and allow it to feel heard, seen and validated.  Finally, we offer it the opportunity to release the painful core beliefs and feelings its carried for so long in a gorgeous healing process known as unburdening.  Once the exile unburdens, your perfectionist part relaxes, because the part it was so fiercely protecting has been healed.  The protector then takes on a new, more pleasant role in the system.  Perhaps your perfectionist becomes your ambitious part, always looking for new interesting, fun opportunities, but from a place of calm and joy, rather than anxiety and fear.

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All of this work usually happens with your eyes closed or a downward gaze, which facilitates an inward focus.  I guide you with clarifying questions, gentle nudges and validating statements.  What I do most, though, is find and sustain my own Self energy to support the innate wisdom of your system.  At the end of the session, you "come out" and we often debrief a bit.  

Do you do any other types of therapy besides IFS?

IFS is the principle modality I use because I believe whole-heartedly in its power to take you beyond coping and into the realm of transformation.  However, I am also passionate about mindfulness, sand play therapy, somatic and art therapy and I incorporate these into my work.  If you are a chronic pain sufferer, I would also use Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT).  I also rely heavily on a strengths-based perspective and attachment theory to inform our work and my understanding of you.  In general, my intention is to take you out of the cognitive realm and into your body and your unconscious.    We do more than talk, analyze and think together.  I guide you in understanding and healing yourself beyond the intellectual.   

What types of clients do I usually work with?

I love working with people who long to understand themselves better, improve their relationships and live with more joy. I also enjoy bringing spirituality into therapy, when/if clients are open to it and it serves them.  Because of my background in Latin America, I especially love working with people people who identify as bicultural, bilingual and/or multicultural in any way. I'm dedicated to serving the latino immigrant population in the US and bringing IFS to under-served populations in the US and Latin America. 

How much do sessions cost?  Do you take insurance? 

I take Medicaid of Maryland insurance.  I'm also working on becoming credentialed with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland.  My rate for a 50-minute session is $130.  I can always provide a Super bill for you to submit to your insurance for reimbursement.  

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