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Affirming and compassionate therapy for trauma and relationships in Denver, CO.
 
 
Photo of marble vases and a grey background. Are you struggling with trauma, anxiety or depression? Learn how parts work therapy in Denver, CO can provide you with the support you deserve.
 

Parts Work Therapy in Denver, CO.

Parts work therapy is about recognizing our wholeness. Trauma makes us feel disconnected from our identities, roles, beliefs and relationships. When we push aside a piece of us or label it as “bad”, we coach our bodies and minds into believing that only some of us is okay, deserving, or loveable. The more we shame this part, the more we reinforce an unsustainable ideal: the person we “should” be according to people in our lives, society, or that critical voice inside our heads.

Why is it important for all parts of us to be recognized and normalized? The poet Walt Whitman famously said, “I am large, I contain multitudes”. Each one us does indeed contain multitudes of emotions, beliefs, thoughts, responsibilities, and personality traits. 

We feel most free, at peace, and authentically ourselves when all of our parts are allowed to exist without judgment. 

Trauma often casts a negative light on behaviors, emotional responses, or ways of being that we needed to survive or are simply true to who we are. Carrying shame with us on a daily basis creates symptoms of imposter syndrome, sadness, anxiety, and physical distress. With parts work therapy, we can work to melt this shame and normalize and validate all parts of your humanity.

 
 
 
 

What’s it like to be in parts work therapy?

Being in parts work therapy doesn’t ask anything more of you than the traditional, trauma-informed talk therapy CZTG specializes in. Many people find that parts work therapy is one of the gentlest, most compassionate, and sensical ways to talk about trauma! Why is that so? Because when we isolate the impact of trauma from ourselves into a “part”, we remind ourselves we are not our trauma. 

Parts work begins in the very first session as your therapist learns about your identities, experiences, and beliefs (i.e. all parts of you that contribute to how you see and engage within the world). As therapy continues, your therapist will notice with you what parts are more celebrated, validated, normalized, or utilized, and which ones are talked down upon, dismissed, ignored, or shamed. They will also help you notice when and how certain parts emerge, what purposes they serve, and what emotions, thoughts, and body sensations show up with them. 

A core goal of parts work therapy is simply seeing the parts for what they are: parts. Not “good” parts or “bad” parts, but components to us that fluctuate with time and circumstance. If we can see them without judgment, we can identify them when they arise, understand their core need, and fulfill it without criticizing or ignoring a part of ourselves in the process.

 
 

Parts Work Therapy Can Support You With:

creating Self-Compassion

Processing past Trauma

Healing insecure attachment styles

Reconnecting with Joy + balance

Developing Coping skills

resolving Relationship Conflict

Relieving anxiety and depression

Nervous system regulation

discovering your authentic self

 
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honoring your parts as protective mechanisms.

To manage trauma’s upheaval, we adopt certain survival strategies- which we refer to at CZTG as protections. To endure the trauma as it was happening and/or after it happens, parts of us arrive in defense with the goal of experiencing as little pain as possible. While this can be effective in the moment or temporarily, the continuation of these protections can make us feel stuck and “out of control”.

For example, someone who experienced physical abuse as a child may have learned to “numb out” or “shut down” when voices were raised in anticipation of pain.

While this was necessary when they were young, “numbing out” and “shutting down” as an adult in a safe relationship is no longer needed and can create so much pain and disconnection. Parts work helps us track how we have learned to cope with past painful experiences and bring understanding to their purpose, the need underneath them, and how to fulfill that need in a more adaptive way. 

 
 
 
 
Picture of red flowers in white vase. Parts work therapy in Denver, CO can help you heal your inner child and move through anxiety and depression. Connect with a Denver parts work therapist today!
 

Healing your inner-child through parts work therapy.

As adults, we turn to ourselves, friends, family, partners, and community to fulfill our needs. When we are children, we have fewer support systems. It is our caregivers who we turn to most for physical as well as emotional support. 

If our caregivers make us feel like:

  • Our needs are too much

  • They are never present

  • We are “selfish” 

  • They don’t care 

  • Their mood is a rollercoaster and we are along for the ride….

We learn to cope as older children and adults by:

  • Masking our emotions and needs

  •  Avoiding trust in others

  • Overly relying on others in our lives

  • Depending upon others for best judgment

  • Becoming absent or overwhelmed when others need something from us

Inner-child parts work therapy examines how our caregivers showed up for us (or failed to) and how we learned to adapt to that style of care. We learn to show compassion for our younger selves and how they responded to adversity, and we can also uncover needs, longings, desires, and emotions that our caregivers did not leave room for. Inner-child parts work therapy also helps us learn how to self-soothe and meet needs in a way that is appropriate for our adult bodies and relationships.

We can learn to let go of coping strategies that once served us but no longer do, and develop coping strategies that fulfill our needs in a healthy and holistic way.

 

Parts work therapy helps heal trauma, anxiety, and depression.

Trauma - or its symptoms, i.e. anxiety and depression - reprioritize or change our roles, identities, and personality traits. When some or one part of us is always “on” because it’s stuck in “trauma time”, we can’t connect with emotional or bodily input from other parts of us. This may mean that we feel like we only live on one side of the emotional spectrum, and/or that only some identities or beliefs are okay. In some cases, trauma doesn’t allow certain parts of us to exist at all anymore. When aspects of ourselves are denied or overemphasized, we cannot be fully present, regulated, or authentic.

Living with disconnection from all sensations, emotions, roles, and values within us is like trying to swim and hold our breath at the same time: emotional, mental, and physical overload is the result.

This is where parts work therapy in Denver, CO comes into play. By acknowledging our parts and their unique functions, we’re able to identify the unmet needs and past experiences that lie underneath and are the source of pain, outlining our roadmap towards healing.

 
Photo of dried floral in vases. Inner child healing is vital after experiencing childhood trauma, and parts work therapy in Denver, CO can help. Reach out today!
 
 
 
 

Our Unique Approach to Parts Work Therapy in Denver

The CZ Therapy Group motto is healing through connection. When all else feels uncertain or unsafe, your relationship with your parts work therapist will be a non-moving, non-criticizing home base for all parts of you. We believe that trauma is unraveled through unity, solidarity, and acceptance. AKA, healing is a team effort! Our therapists promise to offer all parts of you a supportive, non-shaming and non-abandoning home. 

In a parts work therapy session, you may:

  • Understand the “why” behind actions, emotions, and thought patterns

  • Remove shame from identities, ideas, or reactions others have placed upon you

  • Feel more in control and aware of conflicting or co-existing emotions

  • Discover how to fulfill emotional and physical needs in non-harmful ways

  • Develop bodily calming mechanisms 

  • Experience greater acceptance for all components of you!

 
 
 
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CONNECT WITH A DENVER PARTS WORK THERAPIST

 
 
Photo of Denver parts work therapist Jordan Kurtz. Are you looking to heal your inner child? Explore how parts work therapy in Denver, CO can offer support and help you move past trauma.
 

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my favorite aspect of parts work therapy

Through validation and curiosity, we can coax a "dark part" out of hiding. Once it's in the open together, we begin to see it's not as defining or awful as we imagined it to be. That redefined perspective is freeing.

What you can expect in parts work therapy with me

Your body gets to be part of the equation too! Identifying how specific parts are also accompanied by changes in heart rate, breath, and other sensation allows us to feel more aware of and in communication with our bodies and minds. 

 
 

lindsey gallop

My favorite aspect of parts work therapy

I love how creative parts work therapy can be. It allows us to find unique avenues to go near emotions and process past experiences that can otherwise be too difficult to reach.

What you can expect in parts work therapy with me

Parts work therapy with me is slow, intentional, insightful and compassionate. I believe that the path towards healing is through understanding and showing compassion to all parts of ourselves, not through criticizing them. Through this process, we’re able to illuminate what our parts need in order to heal.

 
 
 
 

Some “parts” we might work with in parts work therapy.

Younger Self

These parts are typically thought of as those under the age of 18 and are divided into multiple age groups (teenage you, little you, etc.) However, even the person we were yesterday counts as a “younger” self! Younger selves are not always synonymous with our childhood selves, so some therapists may instead use language like “former selves”. 

When working with younger parts, we typically focus on experiences or narratives that were traumatic within your childhood, your relationships with your caregivers, how your needs were met or not met, and the impact of all of these factors in the present day.

Protective Parts

These are the parts of you that learned how to keep you safe during times of trauma/unmet needs. Though these parts develop in childhood, many of us experience our protective parts showing up in our adult lives too. This is because protective parts are survival strategies, and anything our body learns as a survival tool becomes hardwired into our nervous systems. All manifestations of protective parts are valid- remember, these are the tools that helped us survive in times of need! However, our adult lives look different than our childhood lives. Parts work therapy helps us recognize what served us when we were younger as well as helps us create protections that are more adaptive to our adult selves.

Oldest, Wisest Present Day Self 

This is the part of you that is resilient and capable of meeting the needs of your younger self. This part is adaptive, strong, and represents your most grounded and authentic self. In therapy, we work to connect with this part of you, bring it to the forefront, and utilize its strengths to help the past parts of you find healing.

 
 
 
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Photo of candle and CZTG logo. Parts work therapy in Denver, CO can help you heal from childhood trauma. Work with a Denver trauma therapist for inner child healing today!
 
 

How reconnecting with our “shadow parts” helps us heal.

Our “shadow parts” encompass feelings, beliefs, and reactions we consider unacceptable and therefore, consciously and unconsciously hide away. Doing so creates layers of shame within that distort our self-worth and grasp of our capabilities.

The invisible weight of denying parts of ourselves creates physical and emotional pain such as:

  • Body tension

  • Heaviness and fatigue

  • Panic and anxiety-related symptoms

  • Depression

  • Mental fog

  • Low self-esteem 

On the flip side, those who are aware of and tolerant towards all parts of themselves experience:

  • Increased stress tolerance

  • Confidence in sense of self

  • Increased self-compassion

  • Coping mechanisms that do not create further bodily or mental harm

  • Increased connectivity in relationships 

 
 

Blog Posts: Parts Work Therapy in Denver, CO.

01.

what is parts work therapy and how can it help me?

02.

all about parts work therapy for trauma

03.

how parts work therapy helps people with anxiety

 
 
 
 

Get Started With Parts Work Therapy in Denver

 
 
 

1. Reach out to schedule a free 20-minute consult call at CZTG.

2. Connect with the Denver parts work therapist of your choice via a phone consult.

 

3. Begin your process of exploration, healing, and growth.

 
 

Other CZTG Offerings: Therapy in Denver, CO.