01.
Self Space provides online telehealth counselling services.
It operates four days a week, Tuesdays to Fridays.
Self Space is based in Southern Tasmania, but I currently move between Brisbane and Hobart. However, as Self Space is online, I provide services to anyone with internet access.
02.
Self Space's practice is centred in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy.
I’m confused. Isn’t that a type of family therapy?
Not at all. IFS is not family therapy nor therapy just focused on family issues. The name can be misleading!
IFS instead focuses on the ‘families’ or communities that exist inside us. We all have many different aspects or parts to our personalities. We all hold many differing (and sometimes conflicting) needs, wants, motivations and ways of being.
Just as someone might use family therapy to help families, we can use IFS therapy to assist the many parts of our ourselves internally.
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy?
IFS therapy is a way of getting to know our inner landscape – the different aspects of our personality and our many different ways of thinking, feeling and acting.
In getting to know these different parts of ourselves, we can support our inner systems to create:
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A sense of the different parts of ourselves working together (rather than against each other)
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Clarity and connection to our own stores of knowledge and wisdom
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Greater self-awareness, self-compassion and greater internal integration
As part of this process, we can also be supported to:
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Heal the pain of parts that hold memories of overwhelming or traumatic experiences and community or cultural legacies, and
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Release the need to protect ourselves from reminders of that pain, thereby
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Freeing up parts of ourselves to embrace new ways of being.
IFS can bring about deep transformational change and help us to:
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Feel lighter and move forward in life with ease and clarity
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Respond to difficult situations and others in ways that we that we would prefer to respond
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Feel more accepting, connected and compassionate towards ourselves and others
To learn more on IFS, you can refer to the IFS Institute https://ifs-institute.com/ or Internal Family Systems Australia https://www.internalfamilysystemstrainingaustralia.com.au/about-us/about-ifs/
03.
Part of embracing IFS therapy in my practice was to experience it from the client’s perspective. With no IFS therapists in my area, I had to go online to access it. To my surprise, online IFS worked exceptionally well. Much of the time I was working internally and verbally reporting back, and throughout this the therapist felt very present and supportive, perhaps due to the closeness of the screen or being in the comfort of my own home. Going online also saved me time from travelling, so it was easier to squeeze into my life.
Given that not everyone has an IFS therapist in their area, I decided to dedicate a day out of my working week to a telehealth service to make access much easier.
Online therapy will suit people who:
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Would like the convenience and the privacy of staying in the comfort of their own home
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Would like to see a counsellor out of their geographical area (for privacy)
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Has difficulties in accessing face-to-face services, such as living in regional and rural areas, lack of transport, social anxiety, health or mobility issues.
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Has a lack of therapist availability or IFS therapists in their area
04.
You are welcome to get in touch by email selfspacecounselling@gmail.com with questions or referrals and we can arrange a time to chat on the phone if you wish. Self-referrals are welcome.
The standard session time is 1.5 hours.
When a session is booked you will receive the appointment details, Zoom video link and password for the session and the Self Space information sheet via email. The information sheet requires electronic receipt (signed by mouse or touch screen) prior to your session. Close to the appointment you will also receive an SMS appointment reminder.
Prior to your session, please set up 15 minutes in advance in accordance with the instructions on the information sheet.
Payments are made by credit cards using a secure encrypted payment system.
Sessions are priced at $116.70 per hour (total cost for standard session - $175). No Medicare or Private Health rebates are available. You will receive an invoice/receipt via email.