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Clay Art

IFS-INFORMED PLAY THERAPY

Serving adults, teens, and children throughout New York

"A part of me feels like...and another part of me..."

We've all said this because this is how the brain works. All of our thought processes are some sort of a negotiation - most of them unconscious. You may have felt conflicted - torn between parts of yourself. For example, many of us have:

Parts that propel you forward and parts that pull you back.
Parts that score for you and parts that sabotage you.
Parts that dream big and parts that keep you small.
Parts that you like to show off and parts that you'd rather hide.
Parts that "check out" and parts that "overreact".
Parts that like being in control and parts that "lose it" on a regular basis.

Trying to control all of them has left you spinning your wheels, falling short of your goals, feeling frustrated and fatigued. Struggling against them has not worked out. It's time to work with them - gently, respectfully, and playfully.

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  • You're self-aware but it feels like there are still missing pieces.

  • Learning what is healthy or unhealthy has not given you the how to change.

  • You're not a linear thinker

  • Like so many with complex trauma, aggressive methods like EMDR and Prolonged Exposure (PE) have been ineffective or even backfired on you.

  • You're not a fan of invasive methods that 'extract information' from you

Why IFS and Play Therapy:

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  • Self-esteem

  • Anxiety disorders

  • Attachment trauma

  • Adjustment issues

  • Complex trauma

  • Cognitive distortions

  • Emotional outbursts

  • Existential issues

  • Dissociative disorders

  • Personality development

  • Personality disorders

What IFS-informed play therapy is appropriate for:

What is IFS-informed Play Therapy?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a method that brings our different parts into awareness and negotiates with them to achieve a balanced adaptation. This regulating process simultaneously organizes our internal system and optimizes its functioning.

Play Therapy uses tangible objects to process symbolism, meaning, and relationship dynamics. This allows us to work out unconscious or nonverbal conflicts three-dimensionally and develop new ways of navigating challenges.

While some forms of play therapy are more passive or more coping-oriented, I take a dynamic approach and combine it with IFS, Drama Therapy, and Art Therapy. This results in an efficient process that is also meaningful and enjoyable for clients of all ages.

What you can expect

Getting to know our internal parts starts with mindful awareness.

As our internal parts can show up and communicate in various ways, I'll help you identify them through sketches, sculpts, puppets, and the sandtray. We'll make sure all parts feel welcome and develop respectful, trusting relationships with them. Using the tools of theatre and play therapy, we'll give voice to all parts before beginning a gentle negotiation necessary to repair psychological injuries.


The Benefits:

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  • Self-discovery

  • Increased sense of well-being

  • Improved relationship with yourself

  • Improved relationships with others

  • Decrease stress

  • Decrease indecisiveness

  • Reduce self-sabotage

  • Reduce procrastination

  • Recover from trauma

  • Update your systems of thinking and behaving

  • Optimize adjustment for balance in life

Image by Iván Díaz

Meet your inner child

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