Internal Family Systems (IFS): An Introduction to Your Inner World
One of the key frameworks that informs my work is Internal Family Systems (IFS), a model developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. IFS provides a compassionate and non-pathologising way of understanding the human mind as inherently complex, composed of different “parts” that carry roles, emotions, and histories.
In the IFS model, these parts are often grouped into:
At the centre of this internal system is what IFS refers to as the Self — a core of inherent wisdom, calm, curiosity, and compassion. From an IFS perspective, healing is not about eliminating or overriding parts, but about creating enough space to hear them, understand their protective intentions, and allow the Self to lead with clarity and care.
In my work, I draw on IFS principles to help individuals:
While I do not offer IFS therapy, these principles provide a rich framework for psychoeducation, relational insight, and emotional awareness — helping people make sense of their inner world without judgment.
IFS offers a different kind of healing: not fixing what is broken, but listening to and validating what has been trying to protect us all along.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT): Building on Strengths
Another key influence in my approach is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), a model developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg. This approach isn’t just a therapy model; it’s also widely used in education, coaching, leadership, social work, and community support. Its strength lies in its practical, future-oriented approach: helping people focus on what’s already working, identify small steps forward, and build on their existing strengths. Whether in a business, classroom, workplace, or family setting, SFBT provides valuable tools for communication, problem-solving, and fostering change without requiring a revisit to the entire problem story.
SFBT is a future-oriented, goal-directed framework that encourages a shift from focusing on problems and deficits to strengths, possibilities, and what is already working. Rather than analysing the causes of distress, SFBT focuses on how people have already managed difficulty, even in small or overlooked ways. It highlights resilience, resourcefulness, and the belief that change is not only possible but often already happening.
In my psycho-educational work, SFBT provides a practical, empowering perspective that helps individuals recognise their ability for change, even when trauma has made that difficult to see. It shifts the story from “what’s wrong ?” to “what’s already helping, and how can I build on that?”
By focusing on desired outcomes, taking small steps, and building on existing strengths, SFBT supports trauma-informed work with a hopeful and grounded perspective. It reminds us that healing isn’t necessarily about deep analysis — sometimes, it starts with recognising what’s already going well.
Trauma-informed work of Dr. Gabor Maté
My work is also influenced by the insights of Dr. Gabor Maté, particularly his exploration of the relationship between stress, trauma, and physical health. This perspective supports a more integrated understanding of trauma, not only as a psychological experience but as something that deeply impacts the body.
Maté’s work highlights how chronic stress, emotional repression, and unresolved trauma can influence the immune system, hormonal function, and long-term health. Rather than viewing physical symptoms as isolated or purely biological, this approach encourages us to see them as part of a broader, relational picture, one that includes history, emotional context, and survival strategies.
Informed by this understanding, I support individuals in:
This is not a medical or diagnostic approach, but a holistic, compassionate framework that honours the body’s role in the healing process. It encourages self-awareness, emotional literacy, and a more respectful relationship with one’s physical experience.
Understanding the mind-body connection enables us to move beyond symptom management toward addressing the underlying conditions that shape our sense of wellness and self-worth.
Trauma-informed work of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
Like Dr. Maté, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explores how trauma is not only stored in the mind but also held in the body. This framework is key to understanding how past experiences can continue to shape our present, through sensations, emotional responses, and behavioural patterns that may not always make logical sense.
Van der Kolk’s work, supported by neurobiology and polyvagal theory, demonstrates that trauma affects the autonomic nervous system, influencing our responses to cues of safety or threat. It explains why people living with trauma may feel hyper-vigilant, numb, disconnected, or overwhelmed, even in situations that seem objectively safe.
Informed by these insights, my approach supports individuals in:
This orientation helps move beyond the idea that trauma is “all in the head.” Instead, it invites a more integrated understanding, where body, brain, and relationships are all part of the healing process.
By learning how and why the body stores trauma, individuals can begin to reclaim a sense of agency, safety, and inner coherence, one grounded in knowledge rather than shame.
Somatic experiencing
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based approach to understanding and resolving trauma. Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, it focuses on how trauma is held in the nervous system, not just in thoughts or memories, and helps people gradually release that stored stress through body awareness.
I am inspired by his work in which SE, rather than revisiting traumatic events in detail, guides individuals to gently notice physical sensations such as tension, heat, or numbness, and supports the body in completing its natural stress responses like fight, flight, or freeze. The aim is to help the nervous system return to a more balanced state, reducing symptoms such as anxiety, hypervigilance, or shutdown.
In short, Somatic Experiencing is about listening to the body, restoring a sense of safety, and allowing the body to do what it already knows how to do — recover.
Māori Healing Philosophy: Guided by Io te Wairua and Indigenous Wisdom
Another source of deep inspiration in my work comes from Māori healing philosophy, particularly the sacred teachings associated with Io te Wairua, the spiritual foundation of many traditional wānanga (learning spaces) in Aotearoa New Zealand. While I do not practise as a tohunga(spiritual healer), my approach has been shaped by years of learning alongside kaupapa* Māori practitioners, and by a profound respect for the wisdom embedded in this worldview.
Central to this philosophy are interconnected concepts that honour the full human experience — spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational:
While I draw from this tradition with respect, humility and care, these principles guide my approach to relational safety, identity, and healing across generations, particularly when those ties are disconnected. Concepts like mauri, mana, and tapu remind us that every person carries both a life force and a role within a wider relational web.
This orientation affirms that healing is not just psychological — it is also spiritual, ancestral, and relational. It also informs my work with families and communities by emphasising relational healing over individual pathology. Rather than viewing trauma as something that lives solely within a person, I consider how it moves through whakapapa* — through family systems, cultural disconnection, and collective experiences.
When working with families, I focus on strengthening these connections, restoring dignity, clarifying boundaries, and supporting each person’s role without blame.
This approach also recognises that healing is not just about the past, but about restoring presence, safety, and love in everyday relationships through breath, rhythm, story, and aroha (love).
Reference:
Inspired by Māori healing traditions and the teachings of Io te Wairua, as shared through wānanga*, lived experience in Aotearoa, and publicly available resources by Māori knowledge holders.
I am also a holder of a certificate in foundational Māori Healing and Bodywork, Mirimiri and Romiromi, which I obtained in March 2021 in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Kaupapa* – Kaupapa refers to the underlying values, purpose, or guiding principles of a person, practice, or collective. In this context, it speaks to a values-based approach rooted in integrity, relationships, and respect—the “why” behind the work.
Whakapapa* – Whakapapa is genealogy, but more than ancestry, it is the relational web that connects all people, places, and elements through time. It speaks to where we come from, who we are connected to, and how we belong. In a healing context, it helps frame trauma and wellbeing as deeply relational and intergenerational.
Wānanga* – A place of higher learning
