The Liberation Institute https://www.liberationinstitute.org Mental Health in San Francisco & Portland Wed, 06 Nov 2024 18:12:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-libby-logo-1-32x32.jpeg The Liberation Institute https://www.liberationinstitute.org 32 32 Healing Masculinity:7-Week Process Group https://www.liberationinstitute.org/healing-masculinity7-week-process-group/ Thu, 31 Oct 2024 14:38:16 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7563 When: Monday’s November 11, 2024 through December 16, 2024

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

Where: TaborSpace: 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215

Suggested donation: $25-50 per weekly session, or what you can afford. No one turned away for lack of funds.  Money given helps people receive mental health services at Liberation Institute.

Unpack the effects of the patriarchy on our emotional lives, relationships, and self-worth through Bell Hooks‘ powerful book, The Will to Change in a safe, supportive environment.

This group is for anyone who is ready to explore healthy masculinity, emotional vulnerability, and personal accountability.

What you will I Gain from this group?
Learn to express emotions authentically and constructively.

Develop strategies for personal development and change.

Connect with peers on a similar journey toward self-improvement.

Bio: Pryor Shade is a veteran, educator, and artist who understands the struggles that we as humans can experience, trying to fit in, earn a living, access resources, develop relationships, and appreciate our own value as creative beings. Along the way I have learned a great deal about humility, about the need for curiosity and a desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. It’s not so much about having the right answer, but to help people share their story and feel heard, seen and valued. One of the greatest lessons I have acquired along the way is to get out of my own way: to let go of my agenda, and be an active participant in the process. No matter what the task, a collaborative approach tends to be far better than a mission executed by an army of one. I hope to help people who have had difficult life experiences and wish to develop a positive and affirming frame for moving forward.  Pryor is supervised by Dr. Shelly Stratton, PhD, LCSW #L7252. 

Clifford (Chepo) Henry (they/them) is a BIPOC, LatinX, queer, and non-binary therapist who believes in the potential for healing at any stage of life. They create a supportive and inclusive space that honors clients’ lived experiences and innate wisdom. Chepo specializes in working with neurodivergent individuals, LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, couples, and trauma survivors. They utilize a range of therapeutic modalities to address issues like anxiety, depression, and communication difficulties, with an approach focused on fostering growth, self-acceptance, and deeper connections. Supervised by Elizabeth Hoke Lic. (#T1440).

RSVP to pryor@liberationinstitute.org or chepo@resilientrootsgrow.com

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Dreams, Visions, and The Psyche https://www.liberationinstitute.org/dreams-visions-and-the-psyche/ Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:34:55 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7549 When: Monday’s October 8, 2024 through January 2025

Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm

Where: Google Meet

Suggested donation: $10 per weekly session, or what you can afford. No one turned away for lack of funds.  Money given helps people receive mental health services at Liberation Institute.

Join us for an enriching journey into the unconscious, where we will explore dreams, visions, and the mysteries of the mind through the lens of Jungian dream interpretation and Depth psychology. This weekly book group will first delve into Dreams by Marie-Louise von Franz, a close collaborator of Carl Jung, where we will break down and discuss each chapter weekly in detail.

Through guided discussions, we’ll interpret key themes and symbols from the assigned literature, relating them to our own experiences and inner world. Whether you are familiar with Jungian psychology or just curious about the rich world of dream analysis, this group offers a safe and supportive space for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the psyche.

No prior experience is necessary—just bring your curiosity and an open mind as we explore the depths together. Join us to connect with others on a path toward self-discovery and greater insight through the transformative power of dreams and literature.

Bio: Zach Schultz is a graduate student of clinical psychology at Pacific University and a training therapist at the Liberation Institute, supervised by Elizabeth Hoke (Lic #T1440). Prior to training through the Liberation Institute, he worked for several years running different evidence-based therapeutic groups in inpatient psychiatric settings. Zach’s theoretical orientation is rooted in depth psychologies, and he finds heart in helping people explore and understand their human experience within and beyond the bounds of common therapies. 

Aidan Lynch is a graduate student at Pacific University for Clinical Psychology who is supervised by Elizabeth Hoke Lic. (#T1440). Prior to working at Liberation Institute, Aidan has ran a variety of lucid dreaming forums and groups online as well as teaching lucid dreaming How-to Seminars within the Portland Metro area. His interests lie deeply within Transpersonal and Depth Psychology. With an extensive background in ethnobotany and archaeology, the study of plant medicines, altered states of consciousness, and dreams/dreamwork has always been a great point of interest.

RSVP to aidanl@liberationinstitute.org

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Expansive relationships: POLYAM/CNM/KINK/ALT RELATIONSHIPS https://www.liberationinstitute.org/expansive-relationships-cnm-kink-alt-relationships-therapy-group/ Mon, 07 Oct 2024 03:40:56 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7553 When: Tuesdays Starting October 8, 2024

Time: 6-7:30 PM

Where: via Zoom

Suggested donation: $10 per weekly session, or what you can afford. No one turned away for lack of funds.  Money given helps people receive mental health services at Liberation Institute.

To join:contact groups@liberationinstitute.org

This group is for people ages 18+ who are interested in and/or engaged in consensual non-monogamy (e.g., polyamory, open relationships, relationship anarchy, solopoly, swinging, etc) and/or BDSM/kink, or other consensual, adult relationship styles. All adults in CA are welcome.
Facilitators:


Evar Restad – Evar (they/them) is committed to supporting gender non-conforming, queer, and neurodivergent individuals through eclectic modalities including IFS, MBCT, and narrative therapy. With a background in film and art, Evar integrates creativity and intuition into their practice, empowering participants to explore their authentic selves and relationships.

Dawn Davidson – Dawn Davidson is a graduate of UC Berkeley, a certified coach and counselor, and the author of a self-published book on “KISSable Agreements” for people in polyamorous/CNM relationships. She is kink-knowledgable, and has been coaching polyamorous people and creating community for over 25 years, both online and in person. 
In 2021, Dawn became a Certified Zentangle®️Teacher (a meditative art form), and she expects to complete her Master’s in Counseling Psychology at Golden Gate University in 2025. Her work experience includes almost 2 years with the San Mateo County Pride Center, where she started and still maintains a monthly drop-in peer-led CNM discussion group. She is currently volunteering at The Liberation Institute where she is completing her practicum hours towards graduation and licensure. Dawn passionately believes that no matter who or how many you love, Love is ALWAYS okay!


Both Dawn and Evar are supervised by Paul Allen Jr, LFMT 121687

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A Weekly Parenting Group for Parents Ages 1-5 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/a-weekly-parenting-group-for-parents-ages-1-5/ Mon, 07 Oct 2024 03:22:36 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7546 When: Starting October 20, 2024 through January 19th, 2025

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Where: Liberation Institute office: 7831 SE Stark St #211, Portland, OR 97215

Suggested donation: $10 per weekly session, or what you can afford. No one turned away for lack of funds.  Money given helps people receive mental health services at Liberation Institute.

The darker months are coming, and that means you’ll be spending a whole lot of time inside with your kid(s). Take a breath this autumn, and step back to appreciate all the hard work you’ve done so far as a parent to young ones. Get some space each week that is just for you, a place to share the joys and the hardships of parenting. Each week, join other parents of kids one to five in laughter and commiseration, where we’ll collectively build our village and share resources for this journey of transformation that is parenting. This is a support group, led by skilled facilitators and fellow parents, to fill your cups and bond with other parents in the neighborhood.

Zach Holz is a father, a gardener, and a forager of wild things. He is currently a professional counselor trainee at Liberation Institute. He has past experience in facilitating groups of parents as they work to process and integrate their new identity as caregivers. He is perennially humbled by the deep personal transformation that parenting offers. He lives in Montavilla, with his wife and energetic toddler. Zach is supervised by Shelly Stratton, LCSW 7252. 

Melody McKee is a mother, educator, and life long learner. She is currently the assistant director at Liberation Institute. She has a degree in Child and Adolescent Development and a MA in Curriculum Development. Melody has built relationships and supported young people and families as a middle school teacher for over a decade. She lives in Montavilla, and is a mom to two busy toddlers who is just trying her best each day. 

How to sign up: 

Email Zach at zachh@liberationinstitute.org, or call 503-836-7350 ext. #723, to sign up. We look forward to sharing time with you!

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Grief & Loss Creative Process Group https://www.liberationinstitute.org/grief-loss-creative-process-group/ Mon, 07 Oct 2024 03:21:39 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7542 When: We will meet for 6 weeks on Tuesday evenings, from 10/15 – 11/19

Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm

Where: Zoom

Suggested donation: $5 – $25 per session.

Grief & Loss Creative Process Group: An expressive arts therapy group for processing grief & loss within a therapeutic space. We will explore themes of loss, death, & grief as a collective community with verbal processing as well as creative prompts. This group is open to adults having experienced the death of a loved one (at any point), or is actively working with anticipatory grief with loss of a loved one. LGBTQIA+ affirming. No previous artistic experience necessary. Those who are interested are encouraged to reach out to me for more information.

Contact: kp (she/he/fae): kp@liberationinstitute.org

Bio: kp (she/he/fae) is a therapist trainee, currently seeing clients at Liberation Institute and attending school at the California Institute of Integral Studies. kp has been doing grief work for over a decade in several capacities, is an experienced homebirth midwife, and has completed training at Final Passages for Death Midwifery/Death Doula work. Fae have a passion for grief work integrated into the creative process, and have published several zines with community grief artwork. He has also experienced long term crafting of clairvoyant skills and integrates that into intuitively based practice. kp is holistically oriented with roots in relational care, liberation work, transpersonal psychology, and a touch of magic. Having had a relationship with grief for 24 years, creative grief care is close to her heart and a core aspect of what informs her lifework and relationship with self, other, & the unseen.

KP Parks is supervised by Brad Byrum, License # T2185.

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Psychedelic Integration for People in Recovery https://www.liberationinstitute.org/psychedelic-integration-for-people-in-recovery/ Wed, 19 Jun 2024 13:47:17 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7494 When: Once a month on the Third Friday

Time: 515pm-645pm

Where: Tabor Space Library https://taborspace.org/library 

This community gathering invites people in recovery who are interested in, or currently integrating psychedelics into their healing practice. We will discuss how psychedelics impact addictive behaviors and risks of relapse.  We will explore relationships with altered states of consciousness, sobriety vs moderation, various recovery models, and systemic pressures leading to overconsumption and addictive tendencies.   The purpose of the gathering is to be in dialogue about these topics and how they impact our relationship to self, others, substances and altered states.

While we’re not requiring everyone to be sober or abstinent from all substances, we do ask that everyone attending the meeting not be engaging with whatever substance that triggers the addictive behavior.  Our intention for this monthly gathering is for everyone to have a confidential and safe space where people are able to self manage and discuss openly.  This group offers support for people who already have an active healing process around their addiction and are looking for a community to share it with and get support from.

This group is offered to the community in collaboration with Portland Psychedelic Society https://www.meetup.com/psychedelic/events/299239325/

RSVP to elizabeth@liberationinstitute.org

Facilitators:

Elizabeth Hoke is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Oregon who has over a decade of personal and professional experience with addiction recovery.  She is dedicated to helping people in need receive mental health services through Liberation Institute where therapy is provided for all on a sliding scale. Elizabeth also works with Dr. Rosonke at Rainfall Medicine, sitting with patients as they explore their relationship with addiction through the use of ketamine and psychotherapy. https://www.liberationinstitute.org/our-clinic/team/

Pryor Shade is a therapist trainee at Liberation Institute, veteran, educator, and artist who understands the struggles that we as humans can experience, trying to fit in, earn a living, access resources, develop relationships, and appreciate our own value as creative beings. Along the way he has learned a great deal about humility, about the need for curiosity and a desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. It’s not so much about having the right answer, but to help people share their story and feel heard, seen and valued. One of the greatest lessons he has acquired is to get out of his own way: to let go of his agenda, and be an active participant in the process. No matter what the task, a collaborative approach tends to be far better than a mission executed by an army of one.

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Veterans Process Group https://www.liberationinstitute.org/veterans-process-group/ Tue, 04 Jun 2024 16:13:39 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7465 .avia-image-container.av-lx0lcfgn-19ad499bc24433c627f54d9793d4827c img.avia_image{ box-shadow:none; } .avia-image-container.av-lx0lcfgn-19ad499bc24433c627f54d9793d4827c .av-image-caption-overlay-center{ color:#ffffff; }

This 12 week group is a closed process group for veterans who want to find more peace and contentment in their lives through community. We will use the book “No Bad Parts” to facilitate our conversations, learning to support the different parts of ourselves that have arisen from hurtful experiences. Participants can hope to gain self awareness and compassion, find solace in having a place to share experiences, and find tools to cope with difficult moments. This group is open to Oregon residents and had a suggested donation of $10.

Group time: Tuesdays at 9-10:15 am PST, held virtually via Google Meet.

Group Dates: Weekly June 18- September 3, 2024

Group contact/to join: pryor@liberationinstitute.org

Facilitator Bios:

Eshe Boyette is the wife of a veteran, a somatic-oriented therapist, and a believer in the resiliency of the human spirit. She is passionate about helping service members, first responders, and their families find mental health care that meets their needs. Her work as a yoga teacher, crisis counselor, and adolescent mentor, combined with the experience of her own recovery from trauma and chronic illness, gives her an authentic perspective to support and empower others. In her spare time, you can find her enjoying exercise, spending time with her husband, cats and dogs, and trying to teach herself how to play the piano. Supervisors: Eshe is supervised by Elizabeth Hoke, LMFT #T1440

Pryor Shade is a veteran, educator, and artist who understands the struggles that we as humans can experience, trying to fit in, earn a living, access resources, develop relationships, and appreciate our own value as creative beings. Along the way I have learned a great deal about humility, about the need for curiosity and a desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. It’s not so much about having the right answer, but to help people share their story and feel heard, seen and valued. One of the greatest lessons I have acquired along the way is to get out of my own way: to let go of my agenda, and be an active participant in the process. No matter what the task, a collaborative approach tends to be far better than a mission executed by an army of one. I hope to help people who have had difficult life experiences and wish to develop a positive and affirming frame for moving forward.  Pryor is supervised by Dr. Shelly Stratton, PhD, LCSW #L7252

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Trivia Night at Liberation Institute https://www.liberationinstitute.org/trivia-night-at-liberation-institute/ Thu, 28 Sep 2023 12:34:02 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7361 Date: Friday, October 6

Time: 6:30 PM

Location: Liberation Institute

Event Details:

Join us for an evening of intellectual fun and camaraderie at Liberation Institute’s Trivia Night! Test your knowledge and support a great cause—all while having a blast with friends and fellow trivia enthusiasts.

Event Highlights:

  • Trivia Time: Put your thinking caps on and get ready for some challenging questions that cover a wide range of topics. It’s your chance to shine and demonstrate your knowledge.
  • Hosted at Capitola Coffee Street: Our trivia night takes place at the delightful Capitola Coffee Street, a charming venue that provides the perfect backdrop for an engaging evening.
  • Team Play: Gather your friends and form teams of up to 6 people. Teamwork and collaboration are encouraged as you work together to answer trivia questions and win fabulous prizes.
  • Grand Prize: Compete for the top spot and a chance to win the $25 grand prize. The thrill of victory awaits the sharpest minds!
  • Free Entry: It’s not just about the competition; it’s about coming together as a community. Entry is absolutely free, so don’t miss out on the chance to join the fun.
  • Benefitting Liberation Institute: By participating in this event, you’re supporting Liberation Institute, a local non-profit mental health clinic dedicated to making a positive impact on our community’s well-being.

Event Contact:

For more information about the Trivia Night or to RSVP, visit us on Instagram at @capitolacoffeeppx.

Mark your calendar and bring your A-game to Liberation Institute’s Trivia Night. It’s an evening of friendly competition, learning, and giving back to the community. We can’t wait to see you there!

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Recovery’s Remedy: A Monthly Gathering for Addiction Support https://www.liberationinstitute.org/recoverys-remedy-a-monthly-gathering-for-addiction-support/ Thu, 28 Sep 2023 12:25:29 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7350 Addiction can be a formidable adversary, but the journey to recovery is not one that you have to face alone. “Recovery’s Remedy” offers a monthly gathering where you can find the support and camaraderie you need to take those important steps towards healing. Let’s delve into the details of this vital support group.

Time: Monthly gathering for addiction support, held on the first Tuesday of each month.

Contact: To RSVP, please email Elizabeth at elizabeth@liberationinstitue.org.

Location: You can find us at The Rhizome.

Who this group is for: “Recovery’s Remedy” is a supportive community designed for individuals seeking addiction support. Whether you are on the path to recovery or supporting a loved one, you are welcome to join this gathering.

How many times this group will run for: This group meets on a monthly basis, offering consistent and reliable support for those navigating the challenges of addiction and recovery.

“Recovery’s Remedy” serves as a beacon of hope and support for those on the journey to recovery. The focus here is on creating a safe and welcoming space where you will find the support you need. To join this monthly gathering and take steps towards healing and recovery, simply reach out to Elizabeth at elizabeth@liberationinstitue.org to RSVP. You don’t have to face addiction alone, and “Recovery’s Remedy” is here to remind you of that.

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Becoming a Home for our Selves: An Introduction to Voice Dialogue Facilitation https://www.liberationinstitute.org/becoming-a-home-for-our-selves-an-introduction-to-voice-dialogue-facilitation/ Thu, 28 Sep 2023 12:05:06 +0000 https://www.liberationinstitute.org/?p=7335 I am very honored to be joining the Liberation Institute this Fall along with my wife Maggie. In this piece, I’d like to share about a way of working that we have both trained in –Voice Dialogue–and why we love it so much. 

Truly, this practice has tenderized our hearts and minds, taught us a level of self-acceptance and self-love that we had not known before, and invites us to use every challenge in life as a way to deepen in understanding and forgiveness. And in addition to being a healing process, this practice can also be extremely beautiful–and honestly even quite fun. -Eric Rode 

An Example 

First, let’s give an example that we can work with together through this article. 

CLIENT: [Sighing, her shoulders collapsed] I work so hard all day. When I get home from work, I really want to do things that, like, matter–I mean I want to work on my music, meditate, read, exercise, cook a healthy meal–and–I really want to find a partner! I’m still alone at thirty six… But after work, almost every day, I end up just smoking some pot, eating just whatever is around, and then watching a bunch of TV. 

“I did this amazing psychedelic journey a few months ago when I felt so much love–I mean at one point I can only say I felt the upwelling of this pure, sacred compassion flow through me…I’m not, like religious, but it felt like deep kind of Motherly love was in my heart…and I felt so inspired…I was sure that after that experience I would just want to share my love in the world everyday through my music and through my relationships…but I’m totally failing and just falling back into the same old patterns. I feel like I’m making no real progress at all. 

What is Voice Dialogue? 

The way we practice it, Voice Dialogue is a present-moment-focused, somatically based way of contacting, understanding and integrating the many internal “selves” that make up each of us.

Through the process, we learn that we identify with some of our inner selves, and reject others. When we are feeling “stuck” in addiction, depression, anxiety, obsession, and so forth, it signifies that we are either rejecting an aspect of our inner experience, thus preventing it from unfolding naturally into true understanding, or that we are totally identified with an inner self, and as a result being thrown off balance. 

In the above example, as a Voice Dialogue facilitator I can identify at least four voices that are asking to be understood, and I am throwing in some initial hypotheses about them: 

The Pusher: This self is used to working very hard at its day job. When the client gets home, her Pusher wants to continue to work and make the most of her time. ❖ As her facilitator, it seems to me that this Pusher has been around for a 

long time, running the show. I wonder if perhaps she (the Pusher) fears wasting her time or not making progress, and maybe she learned in youth that anything truly valuable must be worked hard for–in other words, that true value is dependent on doing something. I wonder if the Pusher has turned the music, the meditation, etc., which began as inspirations, into simply more work projects–more shoulds. 

The Chiller: Though this self shows up most every day, the client is rejecting, or partially disowning its presence. But when she is exhausted after a long day, this self comes up and just wants to take the pressure off, to enjoy. 

❖ I am inclined to believe that the chiller is not an enemy, but actually holds an important gift for the client which she is so far not open to embracing. I might ask the Chiller: What is so nourishing about smoking pot and watching TV? Are you able to come out at work at all, or is relaxation basically impermissible at work due to the Pusher’s control? What did you think about that psychedelic experience? 

The Inner Critic: This voice makes our client’s work at understanding the Pusher and the Chiller a lot more difficult. Our Inner Critics are often at the center of keeping us in our old patterns; kept constantly under their evaluation as if they are unforgiving parent, it is hard for us to take risks and try something new . This voice is constantly telling the client how she is failing the Pusher’s demands–for instance, it says to her “Gosh, you really have totally failed to integrate what you learned on that psychedelic journey.” 

❖ As a facilitator I hypothesize that this voice is quite dominant, and creates a lot of the exhaustion which makes the client collapse entirely into the Chiller’s zone each night. 

The Compassionate “Loving Mother”: It seems that on her psychedelic journey, the client touched into a very beautiful and more disowned self–the archetype of the Mother who responds to the pains of the world with an abundance of love, inspiration, and beauty. 

❖ What keeps this self relegated to far off in the heavens, and what conditions in that psychedelic experience has allowed it to come forth? How might it be hard for the client to be open to this upwelling of compassion when she is so identified with working hard (Pusher) and being hard on herself (Critic)? 

Cultivating Understanding Rather than Attempting to Fix 

In Voice Dialogue we do not attempt to “fix” our selves. 

That might seem simple, but it’s pretty radical. How much of the day do we usually spend trying to manipulate our inner and outer worlds? 

Rather than try to fix, Voice Dialogue aims at broadening our understanding of what is happening in our inner world. When we cultivate this Center Presence which can hold all the tensions of opposites inside ourselves, we spontaneously move toward health, vitality, connection, and wisdom. This can be difficult and even frightening initially, because most of us lack the trust that in letting go of control our being will naturally find a state of balance–we think we need to control and manipulate our inner world. All of this is part of the beauty and challenge of the practice of Voice Dialogue. 

A Brief Glimpse of the Process 

Listening for Selves

First, the client comes in and shares what they are going through–this can include what is happening in their inner-world, in their relationships, work, or dreams–anything. As the client shares, the facilitator will be listening with a gentle ear for the different inner selves who are alive within the client–very often, there will be a conflict in the client between two selves who have opposite views on what is important and what the client should do. 

After talking some more and understanding the situation, the facilitator and the client decide on an inner-self they would like to hear from. When they are ready to facilitate a self, the facilitator asks the client to physically move over to either side in order to find a spot in the room where this self can be–this makes it a lot easier for the client to truly move into becoming and expressing as this self. This can sound a little strange or artificial, but we have found people quickly get the hang of it, and embodying different parts can become quite natural. If it feels unnatural, then this is itself super interesting information for us to work with–for instance we might ask who inside of us holds the belief that we are not “theatrical” types? Truly though, this is not theater nor performance, this is just letting ourselves consciously be the various selves who already inhabit our being. 

Exploring one Primary Self 

So, with this client in our example, we would probably start with the self that is most primary–the Pusher. We would allow the Pusher the space to speak in an uninhibited way. As she does, we are learning about why she thinks work is so important, where she learned that, what she wants to get out of her time after work, etc. This isn’t just mind-based talk therapy–we are not just witnessing the content of what she says, but actually spending time with self and getting to feel her energy. 

The Center: Separation from the Self 

After that conversation feels complete, the facilitator will ask the client to move back to what the founders of voice dialogue called “the aware ego process.” Since this is just a little clunky sounding, Maggie and I like to call this aspect of our being the Center. This is the place that can embrace all of the selves, and that can make conscious choices through holding all the conflicting desires and opinions. 

The Center is the essence of Voice Dialogue. The more we can learn how to embrace the selves and not be caught up in them, the freer we are and the more contact we have with what’s really true, and not just a conditioned belief of one of our selves which we invariably picked up from someone else. 

How Does Expressing the Selves Heal?: One Distinction from IFS 

We find that this modality strikes a beautiful balance between giving active expression to one’s selves and their emotions, and learning to not have to act out what the selves want, but to hold them in awareness and calmness. Sometimes it is really helpful to express–to let a judgmental self be witnessed being angry and critical, for example, or to let an afraid child part curl up in fear. Embodying these parts allows us to really feel them, rather than merely talk or think about them. 

Maggie and I both spent two years living and training at a Zen monastery, which was actually where we encountered Voice Dialogue for the first time. It was revolutionary for us to learn how to stop getting swept away in the current of worries, plans, and judgments, and simply abide as silent, loving awareness. 

However, as we sat for hours and days simply watching our thoughts and emotions, and studying ourselves, we noticed that some inner voices were really sticky–we kept seeing them again and again. It was very powerful for us to learn this practice in which we did not simply sit with them, but were able to embody them and express them–for this seemed to allow us to deepen our intimacy and acceptance of them, and recognize the ways in which we were holding these parts at an arm’s length by being our calm Meditator selves. 

In many ways, Voice Dialogue and IFS are extremely similar. One of the main differences is this emphasis on expression. Whereas in IFS the client speaks internally to the inner parts and then reports back to the therapist, in Voice Dialogue we actually get the chance to feel what it is like to be that self. By moving and speaking like the self, we are very often surprised; the part often is different than how we thought it was going to be. And when we move back to the Center, we are able to feel very distinctively how we can separate from this part of ourselves. We have great respect for IFS and draw on many of its principles–and we find there is a unique power to actively embodying parts of ourselves that we have been identified with or that we have disowned. 

How Does Abiding as the Center Heal?

So this active expression of the Selves can cultivate understanding and move stuck energy. But psychologists are rightly wary of catharsis without purpose; these emotional expressions don’t heal by themselves–what is really deeply healing is for these movements of emotion to be witnessed and understood by the calm, connected, compassion Center, who is not dominated by any of the desires, rules, or beliefs of any of the Selves. 

As children, when we had uncomfortable or overwhelming experiences, we needed our parents to hold this space of compassion for us. When, for many of us, our parents weren’t there to hold this space, it was too much for us to hold on our own, so we rejected the experience and in some way blocked it out. Voice Dialogue is a way of truly learning how to parent ourselves–to hold this space within. We learn that this Center has far more capacity to experience the pains and the blisses of life than we thought. When we, from the Center, embrace our experience, it unfolds naturally for us, and the deeper qualities of our soul–strength, joy, peace, compassion, self-value, can express themselves organically. 

This Center is a deep medicine we each need, and indeed we each are. Beyond us as individuals, our world is in such a state of polarization. The more we can find this tension-holding Center space within ourselves, the more we can support our communities, nations, and world in finding balance, reciprocity, and reconciliation. 

What Issues Can it Support? 

Consider checking out Voice Dialogue if you: 

-Want to live less from unconscious habits and start living from a place of freedom, choice, and awareness 

-Are attempting to integrate non-ordinary experiences into daily life (for instance you want to learn how the experiences you have had in meditation or with a psychedelic medicine can be embodied in your day-to-day experience 

-Notice your Inner Critic is often present judging you and attempting to control -Are working with patterns of shame, doubt, self-hatred 

-Are working with anxiety, depression, obsession, fear 

-Are feeling “stuck” in any kind of way, or are experiencing inner conflict of any kind -Are curious how the challenges of relationships can support deeper inner unfoldment

-Notice you often are judging others

-Are in the midst of life transitions or decisions 

-Want to contact a deeper source of motivation and inner-guidance other beyond following what you think you”should” do 

-Are curious about deeper spiritual unfoldment that is usually blocked by the patterned conditioning of these inner selves. 

You might especially like Voice Dialogue if you: 

-Are frustrated with how talk-therapy often keeps people in the head, talking about experiences, rather than experiencing more deeply 

-Want a kind of therapy that engages the body, the heart, and the mind and values all these three centers equally 

-Enjoy working with dreams (Voice Dialogue has a wonderful way of dreamwork) 

Email info.pdx@liberationinstitute.org expressing your interest in Voice Dialogue work to begin this journey today!

Author info:

Eric Rode 
Eric is supervised by Elizabeth Hoke LMFT T1440

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