Over recent years, a growing number of therapists are offering an alternative to the conventional ‘one-hour weekly’ model of psychological therapy. Intensive therapy involves seeing a therapist for a longer block of time, ranging from 90 minute appointments to extended sessions covering 3 hours, whole days or even several days or weeks. This means that while the time investment as therapy begins is much greater, the total length of time in therapy (from start to finish) is often much shorter.
What is IFS-informed EMDR?
Hopefully you arrive at this blog with a basic understanding of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapies, separately. If not, I warmly invite you to read both prior blog articles to access these individual introductions.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
It’s helpful to know a little bit about what EMDR is before deciding whether or not it could be the right therapy for you. In order to understand what kinds of presentations/problems EMDR is most suitable for, first it’s important to discuss some of the basics about how traumatic experience gets stored and stuck, according to the theory underpinning EMDR.
Internal Family Systems
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a model of therapy which understands the human psyche as an “internal system” made up of multiple parts, very much like an external family or system. The Internal System includes a Self, Protective parts, and Vulnerable (or exiled) parts.
My top three breath patterns for calm and safety (even if you hate breathing exercises)
Perhaps becoming more aware of “the body in therapy” is an idea you have heard lots about in recent years and with which you agree in principle? However, as a potential therapy client or even an interested professional, you still don’t necessarily feel you have a complete hold on – why and how does the body actually matter in therapy?
A simple, methodical way to check in with yourself
Most of us ask and answer the question “how are you?” several times each day, but how often do you really give yourself the space to find the deeper answer?
A core message I wish to share via my work as a body focussed psychologist is that there are many ways in which we can benefit our wellbeing and accelerate healing via connecting and listening to the innate wisdom of our bodies.
There is POWER in your posture
Most of us are aware that non-verbal behaviour like posture, eye contact and movement greatly influence how others perceive us.
Why I think we should talk less about EXERCISE and more about MOVEMENT
“If you think of your body as a house, movement is the large front door, swinging wide open to allow your awareness, your thinking, to enter back inside where you have always belonged”
hILLARY mCbRIDE, pHD