Don’t turn away. Keep your gaze on the bandaged place.
That’s where the light enters you.” ~ Rumi
I take a non-pathologizing holistic approach to the healing journey. Having over 18 years experience with the IFS Model, I bring a high level of Self-energy to sessions with my clients. This means that I welcome all parts (feelings, beliefs, behaviors) from a deeply compassionate and nonjudgmental open heart. It is within this safe context that authentic exploration, validation, and healing integration takes place.
I believe that not only are all parts welcome, all parts are essential. All parts are amazing (yes, all of yours)!
I am a Certified Level Three IFS Practitioner. I routinely partake in IFS-related workshops and trainings, and have over 400-hours of direct learning from Richard Schwartz, PhD, founder of IFS. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Metropolitan State College of Denver and have continued to read, study, and participate in experiential workshops and trainings in various subjects within psycho-spiritual realms over the last 30 years.
I am trained in Gabor Maté, MD’s, Compassionate Inquiry Method (in 2017) which I use for entheogen integration and ceremony preparation. I received a Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) from Naropa University in 2022 and have also received MDMA Assisted Therapy training (up to supervision stage, awaiting that process) by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). I am in the process of receiving my Oregon Psilocybin Facilitator license. I am a SoulCollage® facilitator, as well as a Spiritual Emergence Coach. Dick and Gabor are both long-time mentors and friends.
As an Integrative Interfaith and Esoteric Minister, my spiritual inclinations are eclectic and wide. I find much value in nearly all spiritual traditions and teachers, whether traditional or esoteric. Having identified myself as agnostic, atheist, and spiritual, at one time or another, I respect everyone’s spiritual and religious beliefs. I am very sensitive and intuitive, thus am an open and receptive conduit of information. As a Spiritual Emergence Coach, I can help those on their path of spiritual emergence and awakening.
I value and have used Holotropic Breathwork®, SoulCollage®, psychedelic-assisted therapies, massage, CranioSacral therapy, Iyengar and Phoenix Rising yoga, astrology, art, journal writing, externalization of parts, movement, nature, animal spirit totem guides, and crystal healing to name a few. I may suggest you research some of these in addition to our sessions.
These are areas that feed my soul and from which I lead my life’s purpose of listening to and helping others integrate their experiences. As a healed “wounded healer,” having pulled myself through the trenches of trauma and recovery with IFS and other modalities, I have a deep empathy and respect for those who are on their journey to wholeness. I feel deeply honored to accompany clients on their healing journeys. It warms my heart tremendously to know that what benefitted me and my healing process is now helping others. It’s more than a dream come true to know that I have had this kind of impact on the lives of others.
I only work with clients who want to use IFS. If you’re not sure IFS is for you, but are interested, I invite you to contact me.
I am the creator of and author of Daily Parts Meditation Practice®: A Journey of Embodied Integration for Clients and Therapists™ and provide workshops and support for those wanting to work with the tools of the process. Please go to DPMP® Workshops for more information. These tools are now available in the IFS-Inspired app, Sentur.app.
In addition, I engage with little to no media (news, television, radio). This has been true for the last 18 years. This may be of extra benefit to those who are well-known and in the public eye. I can bring an open and neutral position to our sessions that perhaps others could not.
Outside of work, I love being in nature. The ocean is the place that brings me the most calm and fulfillment. I enjoy travel and learning languages and cultures of all kinds. I often find that I am a bridge for people and experiences. Organic gardening, creating music playlists, spending time with dear friends and family, practicing Duolingo, reading, and watching Netflix series are other things that bring balance to my work/life.
Finally, I spent 7 years as the Editor of the Foundation for Self Leadership‘s magazine, OUTLOOK. You may be interested to see how others are utilizing IFS around the world in varied fields by reading any issue of OUTLOOK.
I am an alternative non-licensed counselor operating under Oregon’s “educational licensing exemption:” ORS 675.825(4)(a), which allows alternative counselors and practitioners to practice legally in Oregon without a license. While I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, I am not a psychologist or a psychotherapist. As an non-licensed alternative counselor, I cannot assess, diagnose, or treat mental disorders, as per the DSM-V. I can provide counseling. Each state has different laws. I am not licensed in any state or country.
The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists defines alternative counselors and practitioners as, “Those who may have counseling-related training and provide similar services as licensed counselors and therapists but do not meet the educational requirements to qualify for licensure as an LPC or LMFT. Alternative providers do not assess, diagnose, or treat mental disorders.”
If you have a complex mental-health / medical need, please seek appropriate help from practitioners within the medical model.
The IFS Certification process provides a clear set of actions for the IFS Therapist and IFS Practitioner to undertake in order to demonstrate the competencies and experience necessary to practice the IFS model effectively. Certification adds a measure of quality control in the practice of IFS by providing a way to recognize those who have demonstrated the capacity to safely and effectively use the model. The processes by which one becomes a Certified IFS Therapist or a Certified IFS Practitioner are exactly the same. The difference in title relates to the applicant’s existing credentials at the time of application.
“It takes courage…to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.” ~ Marianne Williamson
“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.” – Hafiz