Clinician Spotlight: Stefani Misiph, LMHC
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a transformative model of therapy that embraces multiplicity. IFS accepts that each of us has a multitude of parts and a core Self and that healing lies within. By learning to accept and understand all of our internal parts, our relationship with ourselves and others changes in positive ways.
The IFS Telehealth Collective is delighted to introduce you to Stefani Misiph, LMHC. Stefani sees clients in both Massachusetts and Florida and is this month’s featured clinician. She joins us from her home in Florida to chat about supporting clients in befriending their rage, integrating play, and more.
Q: Welcome to the team! We know you’re a fan of IFS. Tell us how you approach your work with clients.
Stefani Misiph: I believe building a relationship with my clients is the most important piece in therapy. I follow the client’s lead while offering a bit of curiosity to help explore the workings of our inner system. It’s a true pleasure to work with individuals and all of their parts. I truly believe there are “no bad parts.”
Q: Tell us a little about your professional background.
SM: I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, expressive therapist, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor. I’ve worked with children, adolescents, families, and adults for over 20 years and bring this breadth of experience to the IFS Telehealth Collective. My background in expressive arts and Play Therapy is very helpful in working with adults who may have unresolved struggles from childhood.
Q: Finish this sentence: “The therapeutic relationship is...“
SM: ….everything! It is so important to have trust between therapist and client.
Q: Are there any areas of interest you specialize in?
SM: One area of particular interest is in helping people work with their rage. As a mom of two, I’ve learned firsthand how intense rage can feel, and I wish society normalized this more. I love supporting clients in finding ways for their rage to be an asset rather than seen as a problem. Another specialty of mine is offering therapeutic services in Spanish, as I'm bilingual.
Q: What are some internal conflicts you notice in a lot of your clients?
SM: I find that a lot of my clients have learned that “parts are bad”, which leads to negative self-talk that shows up in therapy sessions. I really enjoy working with the parts that may seem problematic and helping explore their needs.
Q: What is it about IFS that speaks to you?
SM: I love the externalization of parts. It has always made sense to me to make our struggles more three-dimensional so that we can see all of the sides of them. IFS does this for me, and I feel honored to support clients in finding ways to better understand their own parts.
Q: What is a favorite analogy that you use with your clients that seems to be helpful to them?
SM: I once heard the analogy of helping make our triggers slide off of us like we are a Teflon pan instead of sticking to us like velcro, and the analogy stuck! We will still have the triggers but, once we get to understand them better, we find that they don’t have to keep us stuck.
Q: What personal experiences drew you to this field?
SM: As a child, I witnessed my younger brother experience anger, frustration, and isolation due to challenges with his hearing as well as behavioral and learning issues and feelings that arose about having been adopted. I felt drawn to be a helper and knew I was destined for this work when I regularly found myself in the corner of a preschool classroom with the kids who needed extra support.
Becoming a play therapist has given me the gift of being able to use play, metaphors, art, movement, and music to help others work through their challenges. This approach has blended so well with IFS and externalizing the parts. Using expressive modalities can help our parts (especially young ones) express themselves when words may not be present.
Q: What social issues, population, or clinical concerns are you passionate about?
SM: Working with anger and the exploration of ways it shows up in parenting, and in other aspects of life is something that I find fulfilling. As a parent myself, I have often found myself very critical internally when it comes to anger and rage. However, in IFS, I have developed more compassion and support for these parts and think that as a society, it would be so helpful to normalize anger and how it shows up in everyday life.
Q: What ways do you access Self-energy?
SM: When I need to feel grounded, I often imagine myself at the beach — feeling the sun beaming down on me — laying in the sand, and listening to the waves and wind. Imagining these different sensations helps me to be present and Self-led.
Q: One final and very important question, what is your favorite way to play?
SM: I really love coloring, doing puzzles, and playing outside with my kids. I also LOVE children’s books and am always looking for new ones to add to my collection.
Does Stefani Misiph, LMHC, sound like the right fit to help you explore your angry, wounded, and playful parts? If you are based in Massachusetts or Florida, contact our Client Care Coordinator or call 503-447-3244 to schedule a consultation.
Contact our Client Care Coordinator or call 503-447-3244 if you live in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, or Oregon to be matched with a well-trained IFS clinician. IFS Telehealth Collective is the place for your healing and Self-transformation.
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