My Methods
No single approach works for everyone.
People come with different histories, different nervous systems, and different ways of making sense of their experience — and the work needs to reflect that.
My approach is integrative, relational, and trauma-informed. This means I draw on a range of evidence-based methods — including IFS parts work, somatic EMDR, ACT, nervous system regulation, mindfulness, breathwork, and cognitive therapy — and combine them in a way that is tailored to you.
Rather than following a fixed protocol, I stay attuned to what each person needs at each stage of the work.
Some sessions will be more body-based; others more reflective or cognitive.
What guides the process is always your experience, your pace, and what is most alive for you in the room.
Below you will find an overview of the main approaches I work with.
Parts Work (Internal Family System)
According to Internal Family Systems (IFS), we all carry different "parts" within us — some that protect us from pain, some that hold difficult emotions or memories, and some that help us function in daily life.
These parts often developed for good reasons, usually early in life, and their strategies made sense at the time. But they can also keep us stuck in patterns we no longer want.
IFS also recognizes a deeper place within you — often called the Self — that is naturally calm, curious, and compassionate. The goal of this work is not to get rid of difficult parts, but to understand them, build a relationship with them, and gradually help them let go of the burdens they carry.
In our sessions, we slow down together and turn gently toward what's happening inside — noticing reactions, feelings, or tensions with curiosity rather than judgment. Over time, this can reduce inner conflict, deepen self-compassion, and create more lasting change than simply trying to think or push your way through things.
Somatic EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based method originally developed to treat trauma. It works by helping the brain process distressing memories that have become "stuck" — memories that still feel raw, overwhelming, or intrusive, even long after the event itself has passed.
The somatic approach I use combines classic EMDR with close attention to the body. Rather than focusing on memory alone, we also track what happens in your body as we work — the tension, the sensations, the places where experience is held physically.
This allows the nervous system to process not just the story of what happened, but how it was felt and stored.
Sessions are carefully paced and adapted to what feels manageable for you. The goal is not to re-live painful experiences, but to help your system integrate them — so they no longer hold the same charge, and you can move forward with more ease and a greater sense of safety in yourself.
Nervous System Regulation
Many emotional difficulties are linked to how the nervous system responds to stress. When we experience threat — whether physical, emotional, or relational — the nervous system activates survival responses like fight, flight, or freeze.
These responses are automatic and protective. But when they become chronic, they can show up as anxiety, numbness, overwhelm, irritability, or a persistent sense that something is wrong.
You might have understood many of your patterns, even been in therapy for a long time — and yet, nothing really changes. Because your nervous system hasn't learned that it is now safe to let go of its survival strategies.
In our work, we use body-based tools to help your system recognize safety — through breath, grounding, movement, and gentle awareness of physical sensations. This isn't about relaxation techniques. It's about gradually expanding your capacity to stay present with yourself, so you can feel more stable, less reactive, and more resilient in everyday life.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing gentle, non-judgmental attention to what is happening in the present moment — in your thoughts, your emotions, and your body.
It sounds simple, but for most of us it goes against the grain of how we usually move through life: on autopilot, caught in worry about the future or rumination about the past.
What mindfulness offers is space. When you can notice a thought or feeling rather than immediately react to it, you gain a moment of choice. Over time, this changes your relationship with difficult inner experiences — they become less overwhelming, less defining.
In our sessions, mindfulness is woven into the work rather than taught as a separate technique. We practice slowing down together, noticing what is present, and developing the capacity to stay with your experience without being swept away by it.
This becomes a foundation that supports everything else we do.
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is based on the insight that much of our suffering comes not from difficult thoughts and feelings themselves, but from the struggle against them.
The effort to suppress, avoid, or control inner experience often keeps us more stuck than the experience itself — and can narrow our lives in ways we don't always notice.
ACT works by shifting your relationship with your inner world. Rather than trying to eliminate discomfort, you learn to make room for it — to observe thoughts and feelings with some distance, without being ruled by them. This is sometimes called defusion: the ability to notice "I'm having the thought that..." rather than taking every thought as an absolute truth about yourself or the world.
Alongside this, ACT places a strong emphasis on values — not goals or achievements, but the qualities that make life feel meaningful to you. In our sessions, we explore what genuinely matters to you and what has been getting in the way. From there, we work on taking real steps in those directions, even when difficult emotions are present.
Over time, this builds psychological flexibility — the capacity to stay open, present, and in contact with what matters, rather than being driven by the need to feel better in the short term. It is a practical and compassionate approach, and one that complements the body-based and relational work we do together.
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy is based on the insight that the way we think about our experiences shapes how we feel and how we act. Unhelpful thought patterns — like all-or-nothing thinking, harsh self-criticism, or catastrophizing — can quietly drive anxiety, low mood, and avoidance without us even noticing.
In this work, we slow down and look at the thoughts that run in the background. We examine them together — not to dismiss what you feel, but to understand where these patterns come from and whether they are still serving you.
You develop the ability to notice a thought rather than be ruled by it, and to respond to challenges with more clarity and steadiness.
With a background in cognitive psychology, I integrate these tools when they are most useful — especially when connecting with the body feels too intense, or when you need more concrete tools to navigate a difficult period.
Breathwork
The breath is one of the few functions of the body that is both automatic and under conscious control — which makes it a uniquely direct way to work with the nervous system.
How we breathe affects our state of arousal, our level of tension, and our ability to feel safe and present.
In guided breathwork sessions, we use specific breathing patterns to support different goals: calming an activated nervous system, accessing emotions that are hard to reach through words alone, releasing held tension in the body, or deepening the connection between mind and body.
The experience can be subtle or more intense, depending on what we work with together.
I guide the process carefully, always prioritizing your sense of safety and staying attuned to your capacity. Breathwork can open things up quickly, so it is always held within a container of care — and integrated with the broader work we are doing together.
Mind–Body Coaching
Mind–Body Coaching is an approach that bridges insight and embodied experience. It recognizes that lasting change doesn't happen through understanding alone — it happens when new ways of thinking and being become something you can actually feel and live, not just something you know intellectually.
In this work, we explore your patterns, beliefs, and the stories you carry about yourself — while staying connected to what is happening in your body at the same time.
Often, the body holds information that the thinking mind hasn't yet accessed. By paying attention to both, we get a fuller picture of what is keeping you stuck and what is needed to move forward.
This approach is particularly useful when you are navigating a transition, working through a recurring pattern, or looking to bring more alignment between how you live and what truly matters to you. I support you in translating insights into practical, embodied change — so that things shift not just in the session, but in your everyday life.