Sessions are 60 minutes although with children they are around 45 minutes.  Groups are 90 minutes.

There isn’t a set number of sessions.

Some people find it helpful to work in blocks of six or twelve sessions and then review how things are going. Others prefer to keep things more open-ended.

Sometimes a particular piece of work can be completed and it feels right to have a break.

My aim is not to keep you in therapy for longer than you need.

If I feel that we are not making progress, I will talk to you about this. If I think another kind of support would be more helpful, I will say so.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a compassionate, non-pathologising approach to therapy.

IFS understands that we all have different “parts” of ourselves. You may recognise an anxious part, an inner critic, a perfectionist, a people-pleasing part, an angry part or a part that wants to hide away.

Rather than trying to get rid of these parts, we become curious about them.

Often, these parts have developed to protect us in some way. When we can understand them with compassion, they may no longer need to work so hard.

IFS also recognises a deeper Self – the calm, curious and compassionate presence within us that can help us relate differently to our parts.

IFS is pretty unique to other therapies in that there are two therapists in the room!  There’s me and there is YOU!  The You which is not a “part”, does not hold extreme beliefs or tricky behaviours and can bring curiosity and compassion to even the hardest situations.  Much of the beauty of this model is when clients start to experience living more in this energy of Curiosity, Courage and Compassion.

IFS can be helpful for many different experiences, including:

• anxiety and overwhelm
• trauma and grief
• depression and low mood
• self-criticism and low self-worth
• relationship difficulties
• parenting challenges
• phobias and compulsive behaviours
• emotional regulation
• life transitions
• chronic illness
• difficult or repetitive patterns of behaviour

You don’t need to have a diagnosis to benefit from therapy.

In the first session we will explore what issues you would like to have help with.  I will ask questions and get a sense of what is concerning you.  Together we will decide on a treatment plan and sometimes there will be time for some hypnosis in the first session but most often it is mostly talking. This is a collaborative partnership and often there will be homework to help start to embed the changes into your life.  For example if you are experiencing a lot of anxiety I may suggest you listen to a mindfulness meditation that will help relax your fight flight nervous system.

This is very common.

A child may have a part that is worried about therapy, embarrassed, angry or simply doesn’t want another adult asking questions.

I would never want to force a child into therapy.

Sometimes it is more helpful for a parent to come first, or for us to think together about how to make therapy feel less threatening.

We can treat the first meeting as an experiment rather than a commitment.

You don’t have to decide before contacting me.

Choosing a therapist is a personal decision, and feeling safe and comfortable with your therapist matters.

I warmly invite you to get in touch for an initial conversation. We can talk about what is happening for you and you can get a sense of whether I might be the right person to work with.

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No.

My role is to help you become curious about your own inner world and to support you in discovering what your parts need.

You are the expert on your own experience.

“Parts” are a normal part of being human.

You might notice that one part of you wants to go to bed early while another wants to stay up watching television. One part wants to speak up in a meeting while another is terrified of being judged.

IFS gives us a way of understanding these different experiences without judging or pathologising them.

It is very common for parents to feel anxious, helpless or unsure what to do when their child is struggling.

Sometimes the most helpful place to begin is with the parent.

Our children’s distress can activate our own parts, and when we understand and support those parts, we may find that we can respond to our child differently.

I work with children and parents either together or separately, depending on what feels most helpful.

You don’t have to tell me everything straight away.

IFS is not about forcing yourself to revisit experiences before you are ready.

We can listen to the part of you that doesn’t want to talk.

It may have a very good reason.

That’s okay.

Sometimes we know exactly what the problem is. Sometimes we simply know that we feel stuck, overwhelmed, unhappy or disconnected from ourselves.

We can start there.

Curiosity is often more useful than having all the answers.

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The first session is an opportunity for us to get to know one another.

We will talk about what has brought you to therapy, what you would like help with and what you hope might change.

I will explain a little about IFS and, if it feels appropriate, we may begin to explore a part of you that is showing up around the issue.

There is no pressure to go anywhere you don’t feel ready to go.

The therapy is collaborative. We work together rather than me telling you what you should do.

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No.

You don’t need to have read anything about IFS or know what your “parts” are.

We can simply start with whatever is troubling you and see what happens.

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