My Approach to Helping
Just as we exist within an external system; family, work environments, neighborhoods, school community, we have a personal internal system within each of us. These two systems influence each other throughout every day of our lives. Just as our minds need to understand our external systems like the rules at our office or school, we need to understand the interaction of the parts within ourselves. This may be a difficult concept to wrap your mind around because we live in a world with such external rules. What would it be like if we lived by the knowledge of the internal and external systems?
My practice focuses on the holistic approach of each individual in counseling. Therapy should be a journey that explores one's inner world while taking into consideration their external world. The journey through therapy should provide awareness and compassion of any and all parts the client desires to explore.
"Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it comes and sits softly on your shoulder." -Henry David Thoreau
More Info About My Practice
Lauren is able to utilize many skills, therapeutic approaches, and tools into the therapy session, however, the Internal Family Systems approach has shown her great success with client's. The Internal Family Systems approach is becoming a growing approach to the psychological field due to its evidence based success. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a systems therapy designed to recognize the valuable "parts" that exist within each of us. Each "part" has qualities that provide functioning for the individual, but life experiences can often "reorganize the system" in unhealthy ways. The therapy works with each "part" of the system to understand its needs and experiences. The "parts" can be considered sub-personalities that exist surrounding the self. Depending on the experiences of each protective part of the being, the part can function in centered productive manners or extreme roles to protect the self. The Internal Family System therapy is a therapeutic tool to create andor enhance the connection between the "parts". Awareness of our own parts and understanding of why they do what they do, creates ease in parts because they are being heard within our system. The intention behind our own internal parts is to keep us from pain, an alarm system, and managing our goals.
Lauren's seen such a transformation on the view of people, themselves, and their environment by utilizing this therapeutic approach. Teaching clients how to view themselves in this manner and learning how to work with their own parts provides an entirely new perspective on life.
