My Approach
(how I help you become more you)
Internal Family Systems
Internal Family Systems (IFS) was developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, founder of IFS Institute and author of No Bad Parts. The IFS model assumes a few things are true: we all have a multitude of parts (or personalities) within us; all our parts have good intent (to protect us) but some are stuck in harmful roles due to burdens they carry; and we all have a core Self that is capable of compassionately leading, listening to, and healing our burdened parts.
IFS is a transformational framework and model (meaning it aims to transform your burdens, not just help you live with them). Using IFS, we'll engage your internal conflicts, release burdens or agreements that no longer serve you, and reintegrate previously exiled parts of you. After some time practicing IFS with me, you'll be able to practice it on your own, too.
Allender Theory
Based on the work of Dr. Dan Allender, co-founder of The Allender Center and The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, Allender Theory is a narrative framework that helps us engage with kindness the parts of our story we've previously neglected or held with shame and contempt. Using the Allender approach to story, we'll approach places of heartache and empower you to move from a stance of self-contempt or avoidance to one of self-compassion and hope. Allender Theory will teach you to attune to both your own story and the stories of others with greater courage and kindness.
Wholistic Framework
To transform, we must first engage what our bodies know, and how we live in or attempt to escape our bodies. I can help you learn to listen to and even love your own body, receiving and responding to its wisdom with kindness, agency, and integrity.
Transformation also requires connecting to the soul, that innately wise part of us who, no matter how buried or neglected, still knows who we truly are and what it means for us to be truly alive. Some folks want to know if my coaching is faith-based, and my answer is both yes and no; while my own faith is rooted in Christianity, I have no interest in persuading my clients to adopt a particular set of beliefs or expression of faith. To me, caring for you well means I continually do the work of becoming a safe and culturally sensitive person with whom you can name the truth about where you've been, where you are now, and where your soul most wants to go next.