This fall I will be starting a new therapy group that combines IFS and Interactive modalities.

IFS

Most of you who have been reading my emails know about Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS). For those who don’t, here is a brief description:

IFS is a new form of psychotherapy that has been spreading rapidly across the country in the past decade. It is compassionate, inclusive, spiritual, powerfully healing, and deeply respectful of our inner life. It is incredibly effective on a wide variety of life issues, such as self-esteem, procrastination, depression, and relationship issues. IFS is also user friendly; it helps you to comprehend the complexity of your psyche.

IFS recognizes that our psyches are made up of different parts, sometimes called subpersonalities. You can think of them as little people inside us. Each part has its own perspective, feelings, memories, goals, and motivations. IFS also recognizes that we each have a spiritual center, the Self, which is compassionate, understanding, and grounded. Through IFS you can learn to stay in Self, develop a relationship with each of your parts, and heal them. This is quite empowering because the healing comes from you.

Interactive Groups can help you:

• Develop your capacity for intimacy and learn how to make a love relationship work
• Become more assertive
• Become more outgoing and socially comfortable
• Learn what you may be doing to keep your relationships from being satisfying
• Understand and trust people of the opposite sex. . .or of the same sex
• Learn how to deal with anger and conflict constructively
• Get in touch with your personal power

You can learn these relationship skills:

• Reaching out to others confidently
• Saying “No” firmly
• Expressing yourself forcefully and spontaneously
• Asking for what you really want
• Having the courage to bring up difficult issues

What Happens in an Interactive Group

You work directly on how you are relating to the other group members. . .in the moment. Instead of just talking about how you relate in your life, you practice interacting with others right in the group and get help as you do.

You get direct and honest feedback on how people are reacting to you.

We provide a safe place for you to try out new and risky behavior.

Everyone has certain patterns of relating to others. We help you to uncover those patterns that aren’t working for you, so you can experiment with changing them, right on the spot.

In this combined IFS and Interactive Group, you can learn to:

• Allow yourself to be open and vulnerable
• Be comfortable relating to a group of people
• Be in touch with your feelings and express them
• Empathize with others
• Raise your self-esteem
• Become part of a loving community of people

You see other people struggling with problems which may be similar to yours, and through this you learn about yourself and others.

There is a strong sense of support for each person and a warm feeling of community in the group. You gradually learn to risk showing the group all of yourself, even those parts that you feel sure are bad, and discover that you are not only accepted, but appreciated for your vulnerability and courage.

Thursday evening, 7:30-9:30
Mill Valley, CA
Cost: $50/session, sliding scale
Starts in early October
For more information or to join, call me at 415-924-5256.