Chana Halberg (she/they)

I attended Naropa University and received a degree in Somatic Psychology. In my own journey of healing, I found myself unable to progress without accessing the body and all that was stored within. Communicating with the body, as well as attunement to trauma and the nervous system, is the foundation of my therapeutic approach. In my years of practice as a therapist, I have been brought back time and again to the innate wisdom every human body holds.

Internal Family Systems has been a major part of my own healing journey and it is my favorite way to work with clients. Working with parts is a creative and effective way to find the root of what is causing suffering in one's internal system. In IFS, the concept of 'Self' is what really brings the power. Self is described as a powerful and undamageable entity within that has the capacity to heal our deepest wounds. Helping clients access Self is my motivation and honor.

Internal Family Systems has been a major part of my own healing journey and it is my favorite way to work with clients. Working with parts is a creative and effective way to find the root of what is causing suffering in one's internal system. In IFS, the concept of 'Self' is what really brings the power. Self is described as a powerful and undamageable entity within that has the capacity to heal our deepest wounds. Helping clients access Self is my motivation and honor.

Parenting can be an extremely taxing experience resulting in stress and conflict. When parents are struggling it can be because they need help with how to respond to certain behaviors a child is exhibiting and/or because their own wounds are being triggered by their child's behavior. Therefore, my approach in working with parents is a combination of coaching and a blend of therapeutic modalities to uncover the deeper layers of what is impacting the parent-child dynamic.

The children I work with struggle with a range of issues including tantrums, anger management, trauma, anxiety, depression, and emotion regulation. In therapy I focus on the child's strengths as well as their struggles. I use a child-directed play therapy model which teaches children emotion regulation tools through modeling. Parent involvement is vital to a child's success in therapy and I include parents in the therapy process through coaching and parent-child interaction therapy.

Working with teens requires an eclectic set of skills. In my experience with teens, the recipe for successful therapy is a safe trusting relationship. To build that I combine a play therapy approach with Internal Family Systems and Somatic Therapy work. I provide many options to work through the discomfort some teens experience in the therapy process. Art, play, movement, and nature are some modalities which allow teenagers to more easily explore their experience.

Play Therapy has been researched as the most effective modality for treating children. Children communicate through play, and in child-centered Play Therapy the therapist enters into the child's world, responding with validation and reflection to provide relief from the symptoms which brought the child to therapy. The therapist then models responding in a regulated way to the child's play, so that the child can acquire tools to support themselves in regulating their own emotions.