Individual Therapy Services

What Is Internal Family Systems Therapy?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is an evidence-based experiential therapy that helps people understand the different “parts” of themselves and their underlying functions. For example, many people notice an inner critic, a part that avoids conflict in relationships, or a part that carries emotional pain from the past. In IFS therapy, we work to find ways we can explore these inner experiences with curiosity rather than judgment. When these parts of us begin to feel understood, they often relax their protective roles, which allows the therapist and client to address more deeply rooted emotional pain or trauma. Over time, many people feel less controlled by anxiety, shame, or self-criticism and more connected to a calm and confident sense of self.

What Happens in an IFS Therapy Session?

In an IFS session we slow down and pay attention to your internal experience. I will help you notice body sensations, emotions, thoughts, or internal conflicts and gently explore the parts of you connected to them. Instead of pushing emotions away, the goal is to understand what those defensive parts are trying to protect. Through guided reflection and experiential exercises, these parts can begin to release burdens connected to past painful experiences. Many people find that internal tension decreases and they develop a more compassionate relationship with themselves. This usually translates into more easily having compassion for others as well.

What Issues Can IFS Therapy Help With?

Internal Family Systems therapy is often helpful for people who feel stuck in emotional or relationship patterns that repeat over time. It is commonly used to support people experiencing shame, depression, anxiety, persistent self-criticism, grief, and relationship difficulties. It’s particularly helpful for people who have experienced childhood trauma. IFS can also help people who feel overwhelmed by conflicting emotions or who struggle with a strong inner critic. By helping people understand why these patterns developed, IFS therapy allows deeper emotional healing and new ways of relating to themselves and others. The approach is often described as gentle, flexible, and non-shaming. Ultimately, IFS can help you see the natural worth even the most hard to understand parts of you have.

What Is Accelerated Resolution Therapy?

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a trauma-focused therapy designed to help the brain process images of painful memories so they no longer trigger the same emotional intensity. When distressing experiences are not fully processed, the nervous system can continue reacting as if the event is still happening. ART uses guided imagery and eye movements to help the brain update how these memories are stored. People often find that the emotional “charge” connected to the memory decreases, even though they can still remember what happened.

What Happens in an ART Session?

ART is very targeted, structured, and direct. There is less talking involved compared to other types of therapy. During an ART session we identify a distressing memory, image, or emotional trigger that continues to affect you. While briefly recalling aspects of the experience, you follow a series of guided eye movements that help the brain process the memory. As the memory begins to shift, we may use imagery techniques to help the brain replace distressing elements of the scene with experiences that feel more resolving or empowering. Many people notice the memory feels less overwhelming and easier to think about afterward. This often happens in as little as 2-5 sessions. Since ART addresses the roots of emotional distress, people notice that what would normally trigger them in a typical day affects them much less too.

What Issues Can ART Help With?

Accelerated Resolution Therapy is commonly used to help people process experiences that are connected to their current struggles or memories that still feel emotionally overwhelming. It is often effective for trauma, intrusive memories, anxiety related to past events, upsetting mental images, shame connected to painful experiences, and complicated grief. ART can also be helpful when someone logically understands that the past is over but their emotional reactions still feel intense or difficult to control.

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Traumatic Stress?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for traumatic stress focuses on how difficult experiences shape the beliefs we develop about ourselves and the world. After painful events, people often form beliefs such as “I’m not safe,” “I can’t trust anyone,” or “Something must be wrong with me.” While these beliefs may develop as a way of protecting us, they can also keep anxiety, shame, or self-doubt going long after the event has passed. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people examine these beliefs and develop more balanced and helpful ways of understanding their experiences.

What Happens in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Sessions?

In CBT sessions we explore how certain thoughts and beliefs influence your emotions and behavior. Together we look at patterns such as self-criticism, worst-case thinking, or assumptions about danger or rejection. We then work on developing more accurate ways of interpreting situations and responding to difficult emotions. We might also create outside practice between sessions such as practicing skills or conducting behavior experiments to test negative thoughts. Many people find that situations that once triggered strong reactions begin to feel more manageable as their thinking patterns and behavioral responses shift.

What Issues Can Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Help With?

CBT is widely used to help people struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, and persistent self-critical thinking. It can also help with shame related to past experiences, difficulty trusting others, and patterns of negative thinking that affect relationships or confidence. By helping people develop new ways of understanding themselves and their experiences, CBT can support lasting emotional and behavioral change.

Clients often have a strong relationship with their primary therapist but feel stuck on a specific issue that continues to interfere with progress. Starting over with a new therapist just to try a different approach can feel disruptive.

Short Term Adjunctive Treatment (STAT) is designed to supplement your existing therapy, not replace it. This short-term, structured approach uses Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and experiential interventions to help target specific symptoms that may be difficult to resolve through traditional talk therapy alone.

STAT can be provided when a client or therapist wants additional support addressing a particular challenge so the client can return to their primary therapy with greater momentum.

Clients may consider STAT when they are experiencing:

• Trauma-related symptoms such as intrusive memories, flashbacks, or distressing mental images that make therapy conversations overwhelming
  

• Anxiety triggers or phobias, connected to past experiences
  

• Emotional flooding that interferes with couples therapy or changing relationship patterns
  

• Persistent painful beliefs such as “I’m not good enough” or “I’m unlovable” that feel difficult to shift
  

• Heartbreak from the end of a meaningful relationship

• A specific memory, event, or experience that continues to create strong emotional reactions

STAT involves a small number of highly targeted sessions (3-5) aimed at helping the brain process and resolve emotional experiences so ongoing therapy can become more productive. Since it is designed to be brief, clients that have a clear goal and motivation to change are most likely to benefit from STAT.