It's for trauma: It helps people get over bad memories that get "stuck" and cause present-day problems.

How it works: You briefly focus on the memory while your therapist guides your eyes (or uses other sensations) back and forth.

The goal: This "bilateral stimulation" helps your brain reprocess the memory, reducing its painful feelings and vividness, so it no longer triggers intense reactions.

The outcome: The memory becomes a factual part of your history, not something that feels like it's happening now, leading to faster healing for things like PTSD, phobias, and stress. 

IFS is a type of therapy that views the mind as made up of different “parts,” each with its own feelings, motivations, and roles. These parts aren’t “bad” or “good”—they’re just trying to help you survive and thrive based on past experiences. At the center of it all is your core Self, the calm, compassionate leader that can help your parts work together. Think of your mind like a family. Just as family members have unique roles and sometimes conflict, your inner parts can clash, too. IFS helps you understand and work with these parts to create balance and healing.

Creating a World: A client is given access to a tray of sand (sometimes with water) and a large collection of miniature objects like people, animals, buildings, nature items, and fantasy figures. They arrange these items to build a scene or a story that represents aspects of their inner or outer world.

The Therapist's Role: A trained therapist provides a safe, non-judgmental space. They observe the client's choices and interactions with the objects and then, together, they explore the meaning and significance of the created scene. The therapist may ask open-ended questions like, "What does this part of the tray mean to you?" to encourage self-reflection and insight.

Processing and Healing: By externalizing their internal world, clients can gain a new perspective on their struggles, work through conflicts, and explore potential solutions in a safe, contained environment. 

Mindfulness Part: You learn to pay attention to your breath, body, thoughts, and feelings as they happen, without getting swept away or judging them.

Cognitive Part: You learn to recognize that negative thoughts are just thoughts, not necessarily reality, and you see how they connect to feelings and behaviors.

The Combination: MBCT helps you catch those automatic negative thought spirals early on and use mindfulness to step back, creating space to choose a wiser response instead of just reacting.