Empowering Therapeutic Transformation with Sentur: A Case Study in Utilizing Internal Family Systems Tools
Article Summary
As a co-founder of Sentur and a therapist deeply committed to guiding clients on their journeys of self-discovery and growth, I understand the significance of the 99.5%—the time clients spend outside our therapy rooms each month. This blog post delves into how Sentur transforms this often-overlooked time into a wellspring of self-transformation. Through my personal experiences and insights, I'll showcase how Sentur enriches the spaces between therapy sessions, provides a unified path to self-guided healing, and offers solace during chaos with its "I'm Struggling" tool. Sentur's comprehensive resources empower clients to confidently and consistently navigate their journey of self-transformation.
Unlocking the 99.5%: A Journey of Self-Transformation Beyond Therapy Sessions
As therapists committed to guiding our clients on self-discovery and growth, we are acutely aware of the 99.5% – the precious time our clients spend outside the therapy room each month.
A staggering 458 hours of their waking moments are beyond our supportive offices.
This realization has sparked a mission within us at Sentur to ensure that every moment counts on their journey.
For those traversing the complex landscape of trauma and enduring struggles, the road from suffering to thriving is not a swift journey but a steadfast one. One that takes endurance and encouragement, and engagement. Just like embarking on a cross-country walk, each step counts. Self-transformation thrives when we engage with it consistently, not just 0.5% of the time.
As the Buddha says, “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines. But it is the one who endures that the final victory comes.” Our clients deserve the very best tools to encourage and equip them for the enduring journey of self-transformation.
The Sentur Solution: Enriching the Spaces Between Sessions
If your clients are anything like my clients, and my personal healing work, the spaces between therapy sessions, the 99.5%, can feel fragmented and uncertain.
This challenge resonated deeply with me, inspiring the creation of Sentur – a digital haven designed to seamlessly weave into daily life, amplifying the impact of the moments spent between therapy sessions. Imagine the 99.5% becoming a wellspring of awareness for your clients, deepening their connection with their inner world and integrating profound insights.
Sentur is more than a platform. Our comprehensive, accessible resource empowers you to bridge the gap between sessions, turning the 99.5% into a transformative force, walking hand-in-hand with your clients from suffering to thriving.
Confusion to Confidence: A Unified Path to Self-Guided Healing
In the realm of self-transformation, navigating the entire healing journey can be challenging. My clients were frustrated being faced with books, podcasts, trainings, movies, their work with me, journaling, parts journaling, and more that they are forced to integrate into their own journey of self-transformation seamlessly. ON TOP OF actually doing the work.
Sentur provides a unified haven where all aspects of their inner world can flourish. No longer scattered between journals, MP4s, podcasts, and videos, Sentur becomes the anchor for their journey, where parts, trailheads, self-energy, exercises, meditations, and education seamlessly converge into an inspiring, beautiful journey of self-transformation.
My clients have shared that this platform has transformed their work between sessions, allowing them to feel more confident, focused, and clear about their journey of self-transformation. It guides them step by step towards unblending in those tough times when we ALL need to be walked through some spaciousness. It has instilled unwavering trust in their capacity to heal and evolve. Just as the Internal Family Systems therapy underscores the presence of the Self, the healing energy within us, Sentur emphasizes your client at the center of their entire journey of self-transformation.
““Yes, there’s IFS books, videos, podcasts and therapy sessions- then there’s the work itself. This app is designed for actual practice. Its will help you to know and communicate with each part, help them unburden, collaborate and continually return to cultivating self-energy.””
Finding Peace Amidst Chaos: The "I'm Struggling" Tool
As therapists, we face chaos and triggers in our personal transformation journeys. Trauma doesn't bow to logic, even for us healers who “know what we’re doing”.
Sentur recognizes the importance of regaining peace amidst the turmoil, which led to the creation of the wildly popular "I'm Struggling" feature. This tool is a guiding light during distress, offering step-by-step support to transform chaos into growth and self-compassion. It will guide your client effortlessly through:
Stopping what they are doing
Assessing their self-energy
Offering a timed self-reflection to notice what is coming up for them while triggered.
Prompts the client through noticing the body sensations, beliefs, emotions, behavioral urges, images, and the PARTS that are coming up. (For those of you who are IFS therapists, this is the Find and Focus of the 6F’s)
Then your client is guided to notice how they feel TOWARD the part.
Custom meditations are given if your client is blended with a critical, avoidant, or numbing part, helping them to unblend and gain more access to Self. Or if your client is feeling particularly Self-led at that moment, they are given custom meditations to help extend Self-energy toward their experience.
All of this is then captured and digitally stored in the history of the trailhead(s) activated for your client so they can seamlessly come back to this work later on down the road with you or on their own.
Your client can then set a reminder, as we know consistency in connection is the KEY to continued trust in the inner world, to check back in with this trailhead. This is where the POWER of self-reflection comes in, when you client can circle back around to this activating situation when they are NOT triggered and see with new energy what they notice while also not forgetting what they felt about it when they were triggered.
Your client is then given the option for additional custom meditations to help them further unblend and access more energy.
A final self-energy assessment is given.
Your client is shown the benefit of their investment by having them be reflected back their increase in self-energy by spending a very brief amount of time turning TOWARD vs AWAY from the things going on inside them.
And that’s only 3% of the power of Sentur.
I've found comfort in knowing that I have a tool that I can recommend to them to support their journey and help them to unblend, befriend, and rediscover their Self during challenging times.
And this tool resonates profoundly with our Sentur community. It is one of the top 3 most widely used tools in Sentur, supporting individuals through their most challenging moments.
Sentur: Your Partner in Your Therapeutic Practice
Sentur has become a steadfast companion in my therapy practice, a seamless integration into my therapeutic process that ensures in-between moments for my clients are not overlooked. Here are some examples of how I use this in my practice regularly:
At the beginning of working with someone, and they are in the awareness phase of the ARC of self-transformation:
If they are new to IFS I encourage them to download the app and watch the IFS basics class. Saves me time in my office and gets their wheels turning.
If they are very IFS aware, as many of our clients now are, I have them download the app and start adding their trailheads. If they already know some parts, I have them start adding parts.
At the end of an IFS session:
Most often at the end of an IFS session, we ask the parts that the client spent time with to share a bit about what they might need from the Self. 95% of the time it's more time with Self. More witnessing, more curiosity. So after they have opened their eyes and we are wrapping up I will encourage them to add this part (if they still need to add it to Sentur) to add it to Sentur, or update the part with new information that was gained. If an unburdening happened in the session, the part's new unburdened personality profile is begun, and then a whole NEW journey gets to unfold for that part, but that’s for a different blog post.
At the beginning of an IFS session:
My clients are coming in more curious and confident during their time with me for 4 reasons, I believe:
They have increased trust in their inner system.
They have spent time connecting with their inner world between sessions, increasing inner trust in their system, making them more unblended and Self-led when they show up.
Increase their confidence in their Self-energy, not mine.
In the beginning, many clients are still most of the time thinking, “I don’t have this self-energy that you speak of,” so they borrow ours. And that is great. And necessary. And not a final place to live. Sentur has allowed my clients to slowly but consistently find their own experience of Self-energy and bring that more in session with the mini exercises, the externalization of the mapping, and the daily Senturing practice.
They feel clear about a path forward.
Sometimes, even amid the best-laid plans, it can feel like 52-card pick-up for my clients with their next step forward. My clients feel like they have a clear path forward and don’t have to “think” as much about putting one foot in front of the other. The “My Journey” section of the app helps them to feel “ok, I’ll just do the next right thing on my path” instead of figuring out what the hell kind of path they are on.
They feel calm knowing there is “one” thing to do between sessions.
Now, we know that there is not just “one” thing to do between sessions, but at least they know there is one place for them to know instead of having to say, “What was that book she wanted me to read?” and then saying to themselves “I don’t have time to read a book, I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom most days.”. Now, they know they can invest in their journey of self-transformation from the palm of their hand with as little or as much time as they have. And they seem to like that.
Seizing the 99.5%: Your Client’s Path to Empowerment
As your clients stand at the crossroads of transformation, we invite them to honor the moments that shape their journey. Being a hope merchant to the truth that sustained healing stems from small, consistent steps. The 1%, as James Clear likes to put it.
Their journey of self-transformation belongs to them, and with you and Sentur together, they have access to wrap-around support 100% of the time. Not just 0.5% of the time.
We believe in your client's brilliance, worth, and capacity to heal and grow. We believe in your brilliance, work, and gratitude for everything you do and who you are to the people you see.
As a therapist, you know self-transformation is hard. We’re here to help. And we’re here to help you help your clients.
Let Sentur be your therapeutic partner and empower your clients as they take those 458 hours, the 99.5%, and transform, step-by-step, into moments of profound growth, healing, and self-discovery.
Onward in healing and transformation,
Sarah