My primary treatment modalities are Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) therapy through a Catholic anthropological lens and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I also incorporate Cognitive Behavioral techniques (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy techniques (DBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), Biofeedback, Polyvagal Theory techniques and bibliotherapy to support the therapeutic process.
My counseling methodology is integrative. We are not only cognitive beings, we are beings with a mind, a body, and a soul and so I take a holistic approach to the healing process. Understanding trauma and the structural dissociation/fragmentation it causes in the system, the main modality I incorporate throughout treatment is Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS). While I often times incorporate EMDR therapy into sessions, it might not always be appropriate. It is important to know that EMDR is a powerful tool and is not necessarily the technique to begin with, continue with or even use depending on the client’s system. If a person’s system cannot tolerate EMDR, it does not have to. Sometimes IFS is enough and EMDR is not needed or incorporated into the therapeutic process. I have clients that prefer to do only IFS and I have clients who prefer to incorporate IFS work in EMDR. It is important that the client has active input into this decision as they are the ones who live in their internal system.
Most importantly, I am only an instrument of the Divine Healer. It is a joy for me to assist my clients in accessing Christ within. Learning to become the mediator that brings Him to the different parts of their internal system that are sick, hurting, scared, alone, tired from the heavy burdens they carry.
“When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.’” Revelations 1:17-18