Let me tell you a bit about myself...
I came into the community of IFS quite by accident some 20 plus years ago.
I had reached out to a well-regarded therapist in the community during a time of my life when I was having a bit of a, "dark night of the soul", and I had learned at my first appointment that she had recently been trained in this new model of therapy called IFS and it was the only model of therapy she was using in her practice.
Wow! Because she presented this information to me with such ease and confidence and welcoming nature, I simply agreed! Little did I know that this first appointment would be the beginning of a watershed moment in my life.
Within a short amount of time I quickly experienced the healing aspects of this model first hand. Though my life circumstances didn't change overnight, I became less overwhelmed by the many challenges I was facing, and I was less reactive in ways that no longer served me. I learned that something within me, my "Self", was an endless resource that I could access to bring healing and eventually transformation to the Parts of me who held painful beliefs about myself and the world around me. My inner protective system could be updated about the healing within me so they too could transform into more relaxed, compassionate and curious inner companions who could advise me as necessary to better move through life from a place of compassionate curiosity, and with courage to meet life's challenges. I became more connected within myself, and as a result, more connected with the world around me.
A bit about my academic and clinical background...
I am a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Connecticut, USA. I have been practicing individual and group psychotherapy since 1997. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Keene State College and my Master of Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut, with a specialization in social group work and casework. I have experience working as a therapist in private practice, community based outpatient behavioral health clinic, partial hospitalization program, intensive outpatient program, and as a crisis clinician doing psychiatric consultations within a hospital setting. In addition to working with the general population, I have also worked with veterans and their families, people living with a wide range of internal and external constraints and challenges to include depression, anxiety, substance abuse and a variety of stress-related disorders resulting from difficult life transitions, and chronic medical conditions.
I have brought my social work and teaching skills into the classroom setting as an Adjunct faculty member of the Social Work Department at the University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, Connecticut, as well as teaching psychiatry residents, nursing students, social work interns, psychology and chaplain interns about individual and group psychotherapy at a large teaching hospital in Connecticut.