Solo work versus work with a practitioner

Solo healing work versus working with a therapist

Parts work can go very deep. Far deeper than you’d want to go on your own without an experienced therapist. So can EFT and so can hypnotherapy. But that doesn’t mean that they always have to go that deep every time or that we should avoid using these tools on our own for the more manageable stuff.

My daily tapping (that sometimes feels like it’s doing nothing at the time) often creates shifts just as big as the work that feels deep and tearful and obvious. In the same way noticing and communicating with my protectors when they stop me in my tracks can ease my path as well as helping me become more my Self.

To explain a little more about protectors and Self, the Internal Family Systems model (a type of parts work) teaches us that we all have parts, some of which are protectors, and we all have a Self. The Self is who we are at our core without all of the burdens and beliefs that we’ve picked up in response to our difficult times. One of the goals of IFS is to become Self led.

We also all have exiles, the parts of ourselves that we pushed out in times of trauma, these are the parts that you’ll want to work on with a therapist as it can get quite intense, just as it would if you were working on trauma in another way.

However getting to know and understand yourself better, improving your relationship with different aspects of yourself and generating more self love belongs solely to you. You don’t need anyone’s permission to check in with the part of you that’s saying ‘don’t finish that project, put the TV on instead’ or ‘have another cake, you’ll feel better’ and ask ‘why do you think that? I’d like to understand.’

In doing this you’re not only opening up space for that part to be heard and understood but also noticing and demonstrating that you are not that part, that you don’t need to fully identify with it and that it’s just one aspect of you.

This kind of gentle work can create big shifts when you’re not in crisis mode and being able to recognise the times when you do need support is really crucial here. For many people, the more work you’ve done, the more you can take it into your own hands. Even then there may be times when you need support and you’ll get better and better at recognising them.

With clients my aim is to be there with you as you step further and further into your own joy, to teach the techniques and approaches that can help bring change and to set homework so you can see how good you’re getting at using them and ask any questions that come up.

It can also be really nice to have someone with you as you heal, holding space and supporting, keeping track and showing you how much you’ve achieved.

Like everything in life, balance is the key. Some supported work and some independent is the most powerful combination and you’ll know for yourself when the time comes to seek a practitioner. If that time has come for you, you’re welcome to book a free consultation here www.healingwomanhood.com/book-online