How do we proceed?

• If you feel we might be a good fit, reach out to me via email at jennawheatontherapy@protonmail.com. The first step is to arrange a free 10-15 phone consultation. If you determine my services are right for you, we will complete the necessary paperwork, then get to work :) 

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What is your fee?

• $150 for a 50- minute session. I have a limited number of sliding scale clients and student discounts, but all those spots are currently filled.

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Do you take insurance?

• I do not accept insurance at this time. However, many insurances offer out of network benefits for therapy. If so, I can provide you with a document you can submit to your insurance, and they may be willing to assist you with the cost. Please contact your insurance to confirm their policies.

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Why don’t you take insurance?

• Insurance requires that I diagnose individuals and, based on that diagnosis, they determine how many sessions they will cover. This is incompatible with my non-pathologizing approach to therapy, where I operate outside of the paradigm of diagnosis. Secondly, I feel strongly that therapy duration should be determined by the client and therapist; not by an external entity. 

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What is IFS?

• IFS stands for Internal Family Systems Therapy. Let’s break it down. Internal indicates a focus on the internal landscape. Oftentimes, I will encourage you to close during our sessions in order for you to connect more deeply to your inner world. It is surprising how little time most of us spend with our selves! Once we start turning our focus inwards, we are usually greeted (or bombarded with!) parts of us that have been eager for our attention

•  IFS posits that we all have “parts” to us, usually arranged as some form of strategic (and at one time, adaptive) self protection, but also including inner children or wounded parts eager to be illuminated. We often experience these “parts” as thoughts, feelings, visions, or sensations in or around our bodies. They tend to interact with each other; and create patterns both internally and externally in our lives.  This is where the “family systems” comes in. Just like a family evolves, and quite often gets “stuck”, in roles and patterns, so can our inner parts become stuck in roles that no longer serve them. I’m here to get you unstuck and create more space for your true “Self” to emerge, bringing with it a sense of inner wholeness and tranquility.

• There have been some fascinating studies that indicate IFS is effective in treating somatic conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis. Link for more info here.  

• I received my IFS Level 1 Training in spring 2021 under the brilliant guidance of Mary Kruger, and have been primarily utilizing this modality ever since. I am scheduled to complete my Level 2 Training in autumn of 2023, and I am very much looking forward to sharing my discoveries with you!

• More information on IFS can be found here: https://ifs-institute.com/ 

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Who is a good fit? 

• I work with adults (age 18+) residing in California. I am an LGBTQ+-friendly therapist, and have found IFS to be a model highly compatible with outgrowing a mindset of colonization and healing from the scars of oppression. 

• I enjoy working with a wide range of human beings, and I recognize the attempt to find our place in the world, especially amidst pain, trauma, and confusion, comes in many different shapes and forms. 

• Although I am open and enthusiastic about working with a wide variety of folk, you might be particularly interested in working with me if you are interested in connecting more with yourself.

• Additionally, I have specialized experience working with eating disorders, addictions, grief and loss, traumas, life transitions, spiritual seekers, and artists. 

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Who is NOT a good fit?

• If you are grappling with consistent and severe thoughts of suicide, I am not a good fit for you during this time. One reason being I recommend you connect with an in-person therapist for more hands-on assessment and treatment. Secondly, I am a solo practitioner with limited availability. 

• That being said, I am not afraid of working with parts that have suicidal thoughts and impulses, but if this is an overwhelming part of your daily life, I want you to be in the hands of a more readily available provider.

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What do you mean when you say “healing”?

• Through direct experience, I cannot ignore the fact that when you give feelings and sensations attention, they naturally deliver necessary information and transform. 

• Often, the parts of us that feel the heaviest, the most rejected, the most confused, and the most hurt, offer keys to our lives that actually deliver us into wholeness and self-understanding. This is what I mean by healing. 

• My job is to guide you, calmly and compassionately, more deeply into yourself, so you can cultivate your own self-compassion, and understand and experience yourself in a deeper way. I have come to believe that this work does spark realizations, release feelings in the body, and provide a deep state of relief. Furthermore, I have also come to the conclusion that this also benefits our species as a whole, directly or indirectly, as it promotes a paradigm shift in how we view ourselves, our lives, and our realities.