On Certain Therapy Modalities

Internal Family System (IFS), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy)

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS or "parts work" is a type of therapy that sees the 'self' as the ultimate healer of a system's wounded parts. IFS seeks to help you gain a kind understanding of your inner world, work with the parts that carry distress and pain and to help them unburden. It is the theory's belief that by unburdening the parts that carry significant wounds, your system can function with less challenges. Reference the following video links for a thorough explanation:

"Intro to Internal Family Systems"

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT or Cognitive Processing Therapy is an evidenced based form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) utilized to help persons recover from acute stress disorder and PTSD. CPT functions in a systematic and structured way over the course of 12-15 sessions. Sessions center on helping persons identify "stuck" thinking patterns attached to traumatic events and restructuring these thought patterns to allow for a different understanding of the trauma and reduce the overall impact of the trauma in the present. This type of therapy requires the person to participate in daily written thought exercises.

You can reference more information about CPT here:

https://cptforptsd.com/

** Note, I completed a training for CPT 12/2025 and am new to facilitating this method. However, I am excited to add this to my tool box and look forward to implementing it with current and future clients.

EMDR

From the EMDR Institute, "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a detailed protocol utilized to help persons struggling to find healing from a highly distressful or traumatic event."

You can reference more information about EMDR here:

www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr

A personal note on IFS and EMDR

IFS and EMDR can be effective tools. At times, I have found that together, they can be quite effective when combined. I find this to be particularly true for persons who have complex inner systems. They can also be effective for persons who do not have significant trauma histories.

With this in mind, it is also important to note that one's individual system might not be receptive to these modalities. If this is the case, this does not mean that you are broken. It means that there are a number of therapeutic modalities available to try; some which work for some and some which work for others.