Karen's Credentials:  IFSCP (IFS Certified Practitioner), MA in Education

 I have a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Music Therapy, and a Master’s Degree in Special Education.  I was certified in Body-Centered Transformation by the Hendricks Institute, and I have been trained through  the Center for Self Leadership (the IFS trainers in the US).  I also lead an IFS phone support group for practitioners and others interested in the work.  I am listed on the website of Center for Self Leadership as a certified practitioner in  Minnesota. 

                                                                      Karen's Story

I am what people call a “wounded healer”, because I have my own childhood issues that have been dogging me all my life.    I’ve been learning about healing modalities ever since I started with a Music Therapy degree in college.  I’ve studied Psychosynthesis, visualization, bodycentered  transformation, and even hypnosis.  For a while I went the spiritual route and was working with material in the “Course in Miracles”. 

  The only constant I could see in my life was that I went up and down …. a lot!  Sometimes I felt just great, and I could meditate and be kind and generous and infinitely patient.  And yet, at other times I would find myself snapping at people, becoming a control freak, and  having feelings or thoughts that a “good” person should never have!

This all fell into place when I began to learn about  Inner Family Systems work.  In IFS we understand that people- ALL people- have different parts inside themselves that come out from time to time and change our personalities. Not only does IFS understand these parts, but we also have methods to actually HEAL the parts that were originally wounded and are now causing us problems.
  
I’ve spent much of the last 10 years learning about IFS,  going to training sessions and workshops  to refine my skills, and  doing sessions with  myself and others. As a teacher, I’m finding that it is easy to explain the IFS concepts as well as encouraging people to learn more about themselves  this very delicate, almost miraculous method of emotional healing.

In the 2015 I went through the process of becoming a certified practitioner of IFS.  Since then I've been working with groups and individuals to help them deal with stress,  calm their inner critics, and heal the inner parts that have been holding them back subconsciously for years.