Friends of the Collective Spotlight: Michelle Glass
We are so delighted for you to get to know Michelle Glass (she/her), CIFSP.. Michelle has created Daily Parts Meditative Resources to not only support the unblending process, but also enhance integration along one's IFS healing journey. The IFS-TC team seconds Michelle's gratitude for her parts and her own healing journey that has inspired healing in others. We feel equally appreciative that she's taken the time to talk with us today about her work and give us insight into what she's working on next.
Thank you, Michelle, for being a Friend of the Collective and for sharing your work with our community!
Do your services operate under any particular name?
The Listener, LLC
Tell us briefly about yourself and how you discovered the IFS model.
Almost twenty years ago, I was healing from a childhood wrought with trauma. Three years into Hakomi therapy, one day my counselor used a completely different approach with me. I recall that session was deeply impactful and I thought, “this is what I’ve been waiting for” and it was perfect for me. Later I came to describe it this way: “IFS was the keys that unlocked the chains that bound me.” After the session was over, I asked her what she did differently. That’s when she told me she used IFS. I immediately research all I could about it and within a few months I found myself at Esalen with Dick, which would later become an annual occurrence for me. The rest as they say, is history.
Please describe your work as an IFS therapist and how long you have been working with the Model.
As a Certified IFS Practitioner (Level 3), I am fortunate to live in one of two states that allow for practitioners to provide counseling—as long as we don’t assess, diagnose, or treat mental disorders. In my mind, that’s perfect for IFS. Over the years I have seen clients who really want to understand themselves and their histories better. Many have come with complex trauma histories, and many are therapists (or other practitioners) themselves. Formally or informally, I’ve been using the Model for almost twenty years.
Is there something in particular about working with IFS that excites you?
Everything! But here are a few favorites:
It’s non-pathological approach. It frees us from limitations placed upon us and one another.
That IFS is more than just a therapeutic tool, it is a way of life. When we adopt the lens and language of IFS in our everyday interactions, our lives and the lives of others change in radical ways.
The power of unblending has been terrific to experience and witness. When an individual can gain any amount of distance from their feelings or thoughts to be with them instead of in them, they gain clarity and calm (and other 8Cs). These parts of them finally begin to get what for years they’ve longed for.
When two people (or more) in any type of relationship (intimate partners, business colleagues, the therapeutic dyad, or others) take the IFS U-Turn to unblend from their parts and speak for them it shifts the dynamic or relationship. It provides much more connection and clarity (and other 8Cs). It brings forth a refreshing breath of fresh air for what historically may have been very stagnant and the impact we have on one another is different.
True and lasting healing is possible with the Model. The deep Self-to-part connection, witnessing, unburdening, retrieval of qualities, and retrieval of parts out of the past finally brings the true healing that so many parts have needed often for decades. It is not a simple crutch or Band-Aid (that needs replacement continually), instead it is a deep surgical process where when done correctly we are left with an elegant scar that no longer oozes or is painful (no longer holds activation from the past).
When we remain connected with our parts/systems over time, we are aware of the complex inner landscape that is unique to each of us and we live our lives from a well-spring of inner resource that is our birthright. This powerful energy comes not only from our Self and Self leadership but also from the innate qualities/talents/skills that our unburdened parts bring to our lives. This is at the heart of my work and creation of the Daily Parts Meditation Practice®.
I believe in the sophistication and simplicity of the IFS Model. I believe it is complete all on its own. • The cornerstone of the Model is that the therapist/practitioner is engaging with clients in the seat of Self (Self-energy / Self-leadership) rather from any well-intentioned, hard-working part. This feels remarkably different than other therapies to be in either seat of client or therapist/practitioner trusting Self knows the way forward.
The IFS U-Turn process affords therapists/practitioners an enlightening and kind approach for tending to their counter-transference with clients. When these trailheads are taken and a therapist/practitioner heals their parts, they can return to their clients with a greater ability to welcome clients from themSelves.
Oh my, did I say I was going to give a few… I digress… ;)
Tell us about the IFS-inspired resource you’ve created that is featured on Friends of the Collective?
Daily Parts Meditation Practice®: A Journey of Embodied Integration for Clients and Therapists – Six tools of integration for in-between IFS sessions is offered in this book. Two of the tools are additional products you can purchase to benefit from:
1) Parts Catalogue Cards (where you can capture all the unique pieces you learn about your parts and the important elements of their unburdening processes); and
2) The Daily Parts Meditation Practice® MP3 of six meditations to deepen your inner connections and remain connected. All of these are also available in Spanish and through my website or Amazon.com and the IFSI Bookstore. https://thelistenerllc.com/store/
“The tools of the DPMP® are new skills I’ve been waiting for since Level One training.”
~ Anonymous
Sentur app – many of my tools are now inside the incredible IFS-inspired app called Sentur. Once you have gone through an IFS unburdening, simply toggle your part to ‘unburdened’ and Sentur will set you up with the DPMP® process – both for the Daily Post-Unburdening Maintenance and the DPMP® Original meditation process. For as little as 0.15¢/day you can have an almost-therapist in your hand at any moment 24/7. https://www.sentur.app/
20-Hour Comprehensive IFS Introduction for Psychedelic Facilitators – if you have yet to get into an official IFSI Level One training and are a current psychedelic practitioner, come learn the basics of IFS and how to utilize it with clients for all three stages of medicine journeys: preparation, journey day, and integration. Available a few times a year, please express interest in my online webform. https://thelistenerllc.com/contact/
FREE Live Monthly Collective Unburdening Circle – available every last Tuesday of the month at 4pm Pacific and now a European-Friendly Time every other month on the last Wednesday of the month at 9am Pacific. Come gather in community to spend a long meditation witnessing a known part of you (who has no more than a 5 our of 10 intensity) and unburden a portion (or more) of what they carry.
DPMP® Evergreen Courses through LifeArchitect. Two options available: DPMP® for Therapists/Practitioners and DPMP® for Clients. Come learn for yourselves and clients the six tools of integration for between IFS session. For therapists/practitioners, there are three tools you can utilize with clients for yours and their benefits.
“The tools of the DPMP® are new skills I’ve been waiting for since Level One training.” ~ AnonymousPodcast interviews with Michelle Glass: Several to choose from to hear a bit more about my history, perspectives, and thoughts about healing and IFS. https://thelistenerllc.com/interviews-michelle-glass/
What inspired you to create your products/services?
Honestly, it was two-fold:
1) Dick telling me he found my tools to be incredibly inspiring and useful and 2) over the years hearing from people who are benefitting. His request for me to speak at the IFS conference birthed the DPMP® book and resources. Then as I received emails or social media message about how positively impactful the DPMP® was, that gave me more energy to find other ways to get these tools into the hands of anyone who wanted them. It warms my heart tremendously to know that what benefitted me and my healing process is now helping others. It’s more than a dream come true to know that I have had this kind of impact on the lives of others. I’m thrilled other IFS colleagues have asked to collaborate with me to bring my tools into your hands! Thank you!
Who would benefit most from your IFS resources and how can people access your product/service?
Both clients and therapists/practitioners. For therapists/practitioners, these are tools that can deepen your own inner awareness of your systems so that you can become better IFS therapists/practitioners and you can use some of these tools directly with clients for their benefits. For clients, it can boost your integration along your IFS healing journey. You can find out more about each product/service on my website: https://thelistenerllc.com/.
Please describe any future plans or next steps for your service/product that you would like to share.
More DPMP® tools and resources to come in the Sentur.app.
I’m currently creating a modified DPMP® specific for psychedelic journeys. Stay tuned…
Future workshop on Unburdening: The Threshold to Thriving (along with colleagues)
We’d love to hear a success story or positive feedback you’ve received from someone who has experienced your IFS resource.
As I mentioned before, I regularly receive emails or social media feedback about the positive impact the DPMP® is having on people’s lives. Here are a few testimonials:
“The tools of the DPMP® are new skills I’ve been waiting for since Level One training.” ~ Anonymous
“The DPMP® strengthens relationships between Self and part, but also between parts. These deepened parts relationships allow protectors to give more space and for the healing work to access more deeply hidden exiles.” ~ Anonymous
"When I open up my PCCs, I feel the unburdening all over again instantly. I feel that this deepens my integration.” ~ S.M.
"The DPMP® is a nice, solid skeleton on which to drape the substance of our journey of healing and integration to wholeness, with some fun wrapped in!” ~ Donald Peterson
"I originally purchased this book to enrich my own personal journey and have since introduced the DPMP® to my own clients. DPMP® is now an integral part of my trauma-informed PHP, helping so many in developing and maintaining relationships with their own parts! ~ Clare Brown
Success story: A longtime client had been making slow, but steady progress. They were introduced to the tools of the DPMP® in our work—mainly my providing Parts Catalogue Cards and Parts Maps along the way but did not take advantage of them. It wasn’t until they began utilizing the DPMP® tools on their own, especially the meditation and Parts Catalogue Cards for integration did their healing take great strides forward. They had much more access to Self and had much more perspective along with deepened Self-to-part relationships.
What is your favorite IFS aligned quote, poem, song, book, TV show or movie? Why?
Favorite IFS aligned Quote: So many quotes that are my favorite, but I'll go with this one.
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each one's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all our hostility.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Why? I like this because it is an invitation to pause, unblend and get curious about the other person. If we are fortunate to witness their sorrow and suffering, it’s natural that our hearts soften.
Favorite IFS aligned Song: Everything by Alanis Morissette
Why? It’s a beautiful message to the various parts we have. (I actually like many of her songs for similar reasons.)
Favorite IFS aligned TV Show: The United States of Tara
Why? Toni Coletti portrays the various parts of herself in terrific detail. You get to see the uniqueness of each of her parts along with the impact of their burdens/blending on her life and the life of her family. It is great fun to see the inner world displayed so clearly externally. One of my favorite pieces is when we get to meet her part Shoshana Schoenbaum, but I won’t spoil the plot. You’ll have to watch for yourself and see if you enjoy that as much as me.
Favorite IFS aligned Poem: The Guest House by Rumi
Why: It welcomes all our unexpected visitors.
Anything else you want readers to know?
I feel deeply privileged to be sitting in the seat of practitioner/alternative counselor after so many years as client—to be giving what I have received is the gift of a lifetime.
Regarding the DPMP® my parts say, “We are blessed that our healing has created healing for others and we feel your appreciation and love in each of our parts’ hearts.” ;)
I love collaborating with my colleagues to bring more tools of integration to the public. I’m fortunate to have such a rich network!
I am not taking new clients, my practice is full.
How can people learn more about your offerings and stay in touch?
Click the icons below to be directed to my social channels.
We’re so pleased to be able to offer this resource and see our IFS community connected in a new way. Visit the Friends of the Collective page to browse the current profiles or submit your own! For the full step-by-step guide to creating your entry & advertising on our site, start by downloading this PDF.
