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Episode Description
At five years old, Crystal Hines learned about grades and thought, “This is a way out.” That drive carried her through foster care, a full college scholarship, grad school, and a solo move to Colorado with no job and no connections. Years later, deep in her own healing, she realized something bigger. She became a therapist to help her own little parts heal.
In this episode, hosts Ashley Charbonneau and Morgen Villegas talk with Crystal, an EMDRIA-approved trainer and consultant and an approved IFS clinical consultant, about what trauma work really takes. She shares how EMDR and IFS changed her life as a client first. She explains why she doesn’t care about “big T, little t” trauma. And she talks about trying to change two toxic systems at once. (The systems won, so she built her own.)
IN THIS EPISODE:
How Crystal defines trauma, and why support matters more than the event itself
What it’s like to work as a school-based therapist in community mental health
Why so many therapists are craving their own deep work
Her thumbs up, thumbs down, and middle finger to the therapy field
GUEST BIO:
Crystal Hines, LPC, is the founder of Align Therapy and Consultation and the creator of IFS-Informed EMDR. She is an EMDRIA Approved Trainer and Consultant and an IFSI Approved Clinical Consultant with more than 14 years of experience in trauma work. She offers therapy for therapists, consultation, and training programs for clinicians who want to blend IFS and EMDR.
A complex trauma survivor with an ACE score of 10, Crystal found EMDR and IFS as a client first. She believes each person is the expert on their own healing, and that therapists living sustainable lives can change the world.
Crystal’s Links:
Transcript
Welcome and Guest Intro
Morgen V.: Welcome to The Art of Being a Therapist, the podcast where we talk about what it actually means to do this work.
Ashley C.: Not just the theories, interventions, and clinical skills, but the messy, meaningful, awkward, and very human parts of being a therapist.
Morgen V.: Cause being a good therapist isn't about having all the answers, and you can probably hear from our previous episodes, it's about staying curious, continuing to learn, and figuring out how to show up authentically for the people we work with, while also figuring out how to take care of ourselves along the way.
Ashley C.: We're Morgan and Ashley, two therapists having the conversations we wish more therapists were having.
Morgen V.: And today, we have the great honor of having Crystal Hines with us. She is a recognized thought leader who actively contributes to the advancement of mental health practice through her presentations, published resources, and educational workshops. She is trained at the highest levels in EMDR, so eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, as well as IFS, which is internal family systems therapy.
She holds credentials as an EMDRIA-approved trainer and consultant and an IFCT-approved clinical consultant. Crystal's style as a healer is rooted in intuitive wisdom informed by her own lived experience. She's open about being a complex trauma survivor with an ACE score of 10, and she embraces the value of being a client herself.
She believes that each person is the expert of their own life and healing journey, and is passionate about empowering others to tap into their inner knowing.
Ashley C.: Woo-hoo. So- Welcome, Crystal. Let's start with perhaps how did you initially come to this work, and what has your career looked like?
Crystal H.: Oh, my goodness.
Thank you both so much for having me here. I love what you're doing, just talking to therapists about the real stuff around being a therapist. And thank you for that, that lovely intro and welcome.
Crystal’s Origin Story
Crystal H.: I was a really sensitive kiddo in an environment that did not support me very well. So I was super intuitive, and I actually...
The first thing that I wanted to be when I was little was, Morgan, I don't know if I've ever told you this, was a pet psychologist. But I didn't know if that was a thing that existed for real. So I felt so connected to animals, cats in particular, that I felt like I could understand them and communicate with them, and my sensitive little heart just wanted to help them and was like, "I'm gonna be a pet psychologist."
And then realized along the way I didn't totally understand what that would look like. And so in my early teen years, I was like, "Oh, I could be a therapist." And then that comes from my CPTSD complex upbringing where I would learn to be super intuitive and how to read people and anticipate things happening and was like, "I know how to help people."
But really, ultimately became a therapist- I learned in the last five years became a therapist really to help my own little parts to heal. That's the truth of it, but didn't realize that until you get deeper in your own work.
Morgen V.: I love that you're already naming those younger ones of you, and that really speaks to how you're holding space for therapists now in the work that you're doing.
And so curious to hear maybe even a little bit more about becoming that therapist and then really bringing in this IFS and EMDR world to your work. Just for full disclosure and just very joyfully shared that Crystal is a mentor for me in my IFS and EMDR journey, has been extremely pivotal in helping me to find out more about myself so that I can have a sustainable practice and a sustainable life.
And so just really so excited for you to share some nuggets with our listeners, too.
Crystal H.: Thanks. Thanks, Morgan. Yeah, so the middle, the messy middle of actually becoming a therapist, and I'm still in the middle, too. But I... What parts do I wanna share?
Education and Foster Care
Crystal H.: I went straight from high school into college. I did not take a break.
I learned at a young age, in order to get out of the situation that I was in with my family system, that I could make good grades, and I could work really hard, and I could get a scholarship, and then I'd have more choice and autonomy and ability to make my life what I want it to be. I actually realized that when I was five.
I'm like, I learned about grades, and I was like, "This is a way out." Which is pretty incredible to see that. I feel really grateful that I was able to have this, like, external outside perspective. So definitely a striver, worked super hard in school. I was in foster care for a short amount of time as a teenager as well.
And in Florida, is where I grew up, this kinda surprises me still to this day. Florida actually has, or did, a full scholarship for youth who age out of foster care if you have a certain GPA and other making sure that you're, like, following the rules and not getting in trouble, that kind of thing. It's a lot of high expectations for youth who are in foster care who are struggling.
But I was one of those like, overachievers. And so I met criteria, actually, for the scholarship and got a full undergrad paid for, like 100%, which is really incredible, honestly, because I don't know. I would've just gotten school loans. That's what I would've done, to be real. But that was huge. It was huge.
So went to undergrad, majored in psychology. Surprise. Loved it, right? Trying to understand myself better and other people. And then- Was like, I'll keep going and become a therapist. But in my undergrad time, I remember feeling when I was learning Psych 101, like learning stuff about psychology, I definite- I know a lot of therapists feel this way.
Was like, "Oh my gosh, they're talking about me. I am so messed up, all these feelings inside." So when I first started to feel that was in undergrad. But then, yeah, actually my first therapist I s- saw that was helpful was in, when I was in undergrad too, which is cool to think about. Anyway, so then got my master's degree in counseling, in mental health counseling at Florida State University, and continued actually going a clinical PhD track and almost did that, but didn't have enough research experience and they were like, "You should do this master's program first and get some research experience."
And then along the way I was like, "I don't wanna do that. I'm good. Let, I'll just be a therapist for a bit and then reconsider that at some point."
Ashley C.: Talk about the power of education, and I'm wondering if that played a role in some of the services you provide now, which is consulting or building training programs or supporting consultants become better consultants.
Yeah. And I appreciate you mentioning the scholarships available to foster youth. I did a deep dive a couple years ago about the McKinney-Vento Act because I took in my sibling and- Oh ... they were considered unhoused or lacking stable housing, and qualified for a lot of funding in Colorado, essentially as you, it sounds like, experienced to get college covered.
Mm-hmm. And so it was really Amazing, truly, to see people who have created this pathway for youth who lack the stability and resources and money to pursue college on their own.
Crystal H.: Yeah. Thanks for sharing that, Ashley. I don't know a ton about the resources in that, in Colorado with that since I grew up in Florida.
But same situation happened with my sisters. My middle sister ended up... My youngest, so I'm the oldest, surprise, surprise. Me too. I know, right? Oldest daughter over here, right? Yep. So I have two younger sisters and the youngest, essentially there were no more foster placements, and she was not old enough to age out.
And I was very focused on getting myself out of the toxic stuff that we grew up in and was in undergrad in another part of Florida than where my sisters lived. And then my youngest sister ended up living with the middle sister, who then became her ward of the... No. What do they call that? Guardian. But her legal guardian.
Mm. She became her legal guardian as she aged out. So yeah, similar over here, Ashley. I appreciate that resonance and that lived experience. So that, what you were asking about the education piece, the importance of that, I, the, I've always liked education spaces because it's felt like a resource for me, and I understand that's not true for everybody.
But for me, it really was a, a strong resource. It was a place that I felt safe outside of my home, right? It was a place that I felt safe and had other community and connection and a path forward. So that's always been a resource for me. And I've also just always liked teaching, and my master's program actually was also a specialist in education, so an EdS.
So we, our program was in the School of Education of Florida State, which was a cool addition to my experience. And then I did school-based internships. I said there were multiple schools that I was in, but my internship in grad school was school-based. And then my first job when I moved out to Colorado was a school-based community mental health in CO, Jefferson County.
JCMH is where I worked. That's where I started my career, was working in schools. So I've had this education kind of track and path really from the beginning, and to teach.
Moving to Colorado
Crystal H.: So When I graduated with my master's degree, there was a lot of very stressful things that I was experiencing within my family system.
And I won't go into d- the detail of that, but I had this big hit of clarity that I needed to leave Florida. And there was not a good future there if I stayed, for many reasons. And it was April of 2011 when I graduated with my master's, and it was, like, literally that month when I'm thinking ahead of, okay, what am I gonna do next?
And I was 24, 'cause I didn't have any breaks in school. I just kept going. So 24, April 2011, graduate with my master's degree. My family system stuff is a shit show. I'm like, "I'm getting out of here," and decided I was gonna move west and go to somewhere west, big city that's more progressive, more opportunities.
I grew up in a rural part of Florida. So gonna go west. And July of 2011 is when I moved to Colorado. So it was literally April was like, "I'm getting out of here." And then I had a few months to, oh, I don't have a job. I don't actually have any people or connections out west. So I was looking at Denver, Portland, and Seattle Were the three cities I was considering, and I'd never been to Colorado before, but had been to Portland and Seattle and just loved the vibe of those cities, and progressive and out west.
Anyway, I applied to jobs, of course, 'cause I'm still in that striver, achiever energy, applying to jobs. And it was just a timing issue. My lease was coming up to an end. I'm like, "I'm not renewing. I'm not staying here." I asked my friends, it, "Does anyone wanna come to Colorado with me?" So ultimately, I picked Colorado because it was the closest drive, and I was driving from Florida.
I picked Colorado because of the drive and because of the sun. Those were my two decision factors. And back when Craigslist was a thing, I found a roommate on Craigslist who was actually a decent, great human luckily. Uh, because 24, moving out to Colorado by myself with no family and no connections. But a very strong knowing and intention, determination to start fresh.
So did it and moved to Co- Oh, on my drive, I actually had the phone interview with the school-based position at JCMH. I was, like, on my drive doing this phone interview, and then they scheduled me for a real interview that first week that I got there. And I had such excited energy, right? This fresh energy.
And the person who ended up hiring me told me later they were like... They hired three people and out of 90 applicants for this position, and it was, I know. And it was a school-based position, so it made sense with my internship. So I did have some experience, but I'm fresh out of college. And she was like, "The energy that you brought, that fresh, excited energy, that passion also for the work," she said, "that's why I hired you."
And so I got that job the first week that I moved here and worked there for six years at one school, surprisingly. I was able to be in one school for six years, which is kinda rare 'cause of funding. So yeah, that's an exciting little tidbit of how I made it to Colorado.
Ashley C.: I love that because I was not supposed to move to Colorado, and I literally was driving through Denver and was like, "I'm not moving to Los Angeles."
And literally had a week to figure out how to cancel a lease in LA, how to figure out graduate school and not move to LA before I traveled with my brother for several weeks. And so when you were talking about that, I was like, "How have I never met Crystal before?" I
Crystal H.: know. I feel like so many things in our lives are similar.
Therapy in Schools
Ashley C.: To bring it back, I- Yeah ... I've never worked in schools, but I've had supervisees who have worked in schools. So what do you think are some basic things for people to know in terms of d- really the difference between working outpatient, inpatient, other levels of care versus in schools or in a school system?
Mm-hmm. And what makes a good therapist in that system?
Crystal H.: That's a really good question. And yeah, Ashley, I've, I've known about you for a long time and somehow our paths have never crossed. I don't know how. But I'm excited that it is now. So yeah, my position was school-based community mental health, which is different from a school social worker or school guidance counselor, where it is a clinical therapy position where the community mental health agency is my employer.
They hired me to provide outpatient therapy, but within a school community. So it's similar to someone going to a outpatient office for therapy, but it's happening in the community of the school. And so it's tricky in the school because not everyone understands what your role is as a therapist. Like, how are you different from the school social worker or the psychologist or the guidance counselor?
And so there's some education that has to happen for the school staff around the role as I'm doing actual clinical therapy here, and this time has to be protected, and it's confidential and all of those things within the school system. So there's some education that has to happen for the staff and some buy-in.
And the program that I did still exists. It's grown since I was there from 2011 to 2017. It was Title I schools. The funding that they got would go to pay for mental health therapy services in their school, for the schools who determined that was part of their value and what they wanted to bring to their school communities.
Every single year, our job was up for debate essentially, not by the agency itself, but by the schools and what funding they had. And luckily, I, my school continued to really invest in that, and I stayed there for six years full time in a K through 6 school, which I loved it so much. And halfway in, three years, I was like, "This isn't sustainable.
I gotta figure out a way out." But also loved it, loved being part of the school community, the teachers, the families, the kids, and then also being part of the community at JCMH, the community of my colleagues there. But- Both of these systems are toxic in so many ways. And so to be a good therapist in these kinds of systems, you have to learn how to navigate two different toxic systems.
And to be hon- there's just not, there's not enough support, period. There's not enough support, and so being able to build community, stay connected, also advocate for yourself and your needs within both of the systems is essential. Can I talk about Enneagram for a minute? Okay. So being an eight on the Enneagram, which is like a challenger, right?
Really likes to disrupt systems and question people in positions of power and authority. This was very difficult for me and was really humbling, but I don't love that word. I kept having this reality check of I keep trying to change these systems, the community mental health and the school district within at least my building that I worked in.
I kept trying to change these systems and kept getting knocked back down. Like, there's too many people in these positions of power with too much toxic- structures in place, but the eight-ness in me is, "I can do it. I can fight against this. I can make these changes." And repeatedly, I learned hard lessons about that.
Not that I didn't make an impact, of course I did, but had to learn you, you can only do so much before you have to choose yourself and get out of there.
Ashley C.: Yeah. I'm also an Enneagram 8, and I didn't know my Enneagram type until well after I left systems.
Crystal H.: Same.
Ashley C.: And that actually really helped me heal from a lot of the trauma and stress I experienced while working in systems, because it helped me understand myself, for one, a lot more.
But just as you said, I wanted to change systems and kept coming up to the reality that I couldn't, or I couldn't- Yeah ... in a big way.
Crystal H.: Yes.
Ashley C.: And that was the system's fault, not my fault, and I wanted to know why I kept getting so upset at systems I couldn't change. Enneagram typing really helped me understand why I kept repeating those same patterns.
Crystal H.: Yes.
Morgen V.: So interesting, 'cause as a two I'm, like, a conflict-avoided person, and it was harder for me to advocate and figure out what to do in those systems. And so I, yeah, I'm just loving this conversation, though, of just, like, how differently we might show up in toxic environments and, like, how much parts of us might be creating something that can maybe help us stay longer or not, right, depending on our Enneagram type.
But anyway, just circling back, Crystal, I ... When the second you named two systems, I just felt this fragmentation of all of my parts. That's happened to me before when I've worked in two systems as well, and just, like, how hard that can feel. And so- Yeah ... you started to notice that. You started to notice that the ways that you wanted to change things were not budging in the ways that, in the way that you had wanted.
Then what happened? What, what ended up being the catalyst?
Leaving Systems, Building Practice
Crystal H.: Yeah. So a few things. I knew it wasn't sustainable, and- Was like, "I'm gonna start a side business, side private practice," like many therapists do. This isn't sustainable. I'm gonna start this side business. I'm like, "I have no idea how to do that, but I'm gonna figure it out."
I tend to be the person that builds the plane as you're flying it, and I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna figure this out." That was in 2014. I started gathering with colleagues. That's a strength of mine is when I realize a need that I have, especially a need with community, I like to create groups. So I created a group of us where we would meet once a month to support each other in business, and it was-- I led it, but it was free.
It wasn't something that I got paid for 'cause it was like, "I really need this help. Come, come be with me and figure this out together." So did that, and at the same time, I was getting closer to a colleague that I worked with at JCMH on the school-based team. And we realized that at first we were, like, opposed to each other.
We're very opposite people, but learned that the two of us were really passionate about working with trauma, and we could get really excited when we would talk about the things we were learning when we got EMDR trained and just all the stuff that we were learning about healing trauma. And she and I got closer and closer in that passion to heal trauma.
She was starting a side practice as well, and then we were like, "Why don't we just start our own center, our own trauma healing group practice?" And then we started meeting, and we met for a year. We called it pre-marital business coaching. We met for a year to make sure that we'd be a good partnership because we were so different.
So we did some of that, and then created a business plan together. And we initially planned to start part-time at JCMH, part-time building our group practice. But the summer of 2017, the end of that school year, we had a team meeting, and the, our supervisor basically told us that our benefits were getting cut, so our pay was going down.
And she and I were like, "We could just go work at Starbucks. Let's get out of here." And back then I didn't have children. I wasn't married. I had more resources with time and energy. The potential to make more money, right? So- We put in our two weeks notice that day, and we were like, "We're out. We're not gonna do this job for less money.
Are you freaking kidding me?" So we were like, "We'll work at Starbucks. We're gonna figure this out." So she and I, in 2017, just went full force into a group practice around he- healing and recovering from trauma. So we had EMDR, IFS, yoga, acupuncture, massage, energy healing as all the good stuff that we were bringing to help with trauma recovery.
And for us, we were super passionate about the lived experience of therapists and our own healing journeys, and many pathways to healing, that it's not just one thing, right? And as much as you can incorporate the body, the better. So we had this whole trauma healing group practice in Broomfield. So yeah, that was the catalyst.
Trauma EMDR and IFS
Ashley C.: How do you define trauma, and how has your definition changed over time?
Crystal H.: Oh, that's interesting. I define trauma as anything that has happened to us that when we think about it in the present day, it still causes activation of some kind. It's still, it's stuck, where it, we still have some kind of emotional reaction or thoughts or body sensations when we think about that experience.
And that all of us are innately capable and do heal and recover from trauma all the time. So we all experience adverse things, and what matters is how many resources a person has during the time of the trauma. Were they left alone in it? You're gonna have more traumatic symptoms from that. Did they have support and community when they were experiencing the trauma?
Then that is gonna likely impact them differently. And so it's about how many resources someone had during the time of that. I don't give a fuck about big Ts and little ts at all. When we learned that when we were earlier on in our careers, big T, little ts, none of that matters. It's whatever you experience, is it still causing you distress today?
And were you alone in it, or were you lacking some kind of resource, not any fault of your own, but because of the things that you've lived through? So yeah, that's how that's changed a little over time. And back to we're all hi- hardwired to heal and recover is so hopeful and exciting to me, just from my own lived experience and what I've seen with clients.
And for me, EMDR and IFS have been my pathways. Would love to talk a little bit about that, too.
Morgen V.: Yeah. You're really alluding to your own experience of perhaps y- you know, healing despite a traumatic experience at work, right? You had your coworker, you formed your business. You left that traumatic scene, that toxic space.
Yes, would love to hear more about what, what ensued after that.
Crystal H.: Yeah, so a lot of this is parallel, like it's all happening at once. So 2011, going back to that, when I moved out to Colorado, had beliefs that in order for me to be a good enough therapist, I would have to be in therapy the rest of my life, is what I believed.
And so I moved out here. I had heard about EMDR very briefly in grad school, by the way, which was hardly even looked at. We hardly talked about trauma at all in grad school in my program. And we, like, had, like, one little paragraph in a textbook of this is one of the trauma treatments. And back then, I was like, "That's dumb.
How are you gonna follow my fingers and think about something?" I was like, "That's ridiculous," when I was in grad school and first learned about it, but they didn't spend any time talking about trauma anyway. I had some buy-in by the time I came to Colorado and was looking for my own therapist. I knew that EMDR had research behind it, and that was the only thing.
That was like, oh, this helps heal trauma, and there's research to support it. So I specifically looked for an EMDR therapist and got really lucky that I found- An amazing therapist who was hugely impactful for me in my healing. So October 2011, I'm like, "All right. I'm gonna be in therapy the rest of my life.
Let's go." And she was like, "You could choose to be in therapy for the rest of your life, but EMDR actually gets to the core root of pain, and you can actually heal from this stuff." And I was like, "Oh, whatever." I definitely super protected, super guarded, really had never dropped in to do some deep healing work until that therapeutic relationship.
So started doing EMDR as a client, and it was hugely transformational, and my therapist also was my first secure attachment person, and that was an explicit thing that we talked about too, once that felt safe enough to go there. Relationally, that was very healing for me to have that consistent safe relationship, uh, which used to be very vulnerable to say out loud, so it feels good that I can say that now in this kind of public way.
That was so important to, to have. She was my first true secure attachment person. So that relationship has meant a lot. But so did EMDR as a client, and then 2015 was like, I think I can get trained in it. So I was, like, four years in as a client, I can get trained, but was so nervous because of my complex trauma.
So I worked a lot with my therapist on, what should I work on as the client? Really stressed about having to be the client in the EMDR training. And we picked something I won't share. But of course, it was something kinda silly, but of course, it went back to early attachment stuff, and I had the big emotional reaction.
But it was good to have that experience in the training space 'cause I learned what that's like from the client perspective. And my trainer was really supportive and helpful, so it was good. Not to say that everyone's experience in the EMDR training space is gonna be that way. I luckily was attended to very well, and I had my therapist as a support, and it was all good learning for me.
So Became obsessed with EMDR because of my lived experience, and then professionally was loving it. I'm in community mental health, school-based.
Ashley C.: I'm like, "
Crystal H.: Ah, someone help me. I don't know how to do this with kids. I need help." So started getting consultation in EMDR through what JCMH offered. I met Rebecca Case through that actually, who became my consultant.
So I've been really on a deep dive studying EMDR since 2015, and just love to learn and continue learning. And then alongside that, when I dropped more into my attachment work in EMDR as a client, my therapist was not fully IFS trained, but had Dick Schwartz come to her grad school program and teach them about IFS.
And so she started doing parts work with me, and then I'm like, "Oh my goodness, what are these parts?" And I became obsessed with that concept, and was like, "I need to learn anything I can learn about parts work", and tried different parts models. And IFS was the thing that resonated the most, and I was able to get on a wait list back then.
That was 2017 when I got on the wait list. Also created a group to learn IFS, 'cause I create groups. Did, like, a peer group. And then did my level one training in 2018 and then similarly obsessed. Hugely transformational. Did a deep dive in IFS. And so because of my lived experience as a client, having these two integrated, my brain automatically was like, "Oh, this goes with this.
This goes with this. This goes..." and created my way of how I like to integrate IFS and EMDR. Yeah
Ashley C.: As a consultant, what, or a trainer or someone who builds groups, builds trainings, all the things-
Crystal H.: Yeah ...
Ashley C.: what trends are you seeing in terms of strengths of therapists and also themes related to what we might be missing?
You mentioned grad school tapped out trauma in one sentence or EMDR in one sentence. So I think our generation of therapists, that was a big gap that at least resonates with me. But now, fast-forward about 15 years it sounds like for both of us, what gaps are you seeing between grad school and by the time someone does a program like yours?
Crystal H.: Yeah. That's a good question. I still feel like there are gaps in understanding trauma, to be honest, 'cause I now have the privilege of training new therapists in EMDR, and some people are fresh out of grad school or still in grad school. At all levels of experience who come to basic trainings. But it still does feel like a gap in understanding what trauma is, and a gap in that you don't have to have a PTSD diagnosis to benefit from EMDR.
There's still this medical model kind of way of being within mental health that, I don't know, keeps maybe new therapists and just therapists in general from dropping into more of the human-to-human connection and relational space, and understanding that lots of things can be a trauma, I'm doing that in quotes, for a person.
It doesn't have to fit the DSM way of seeing it. So in general, needing to think outside the box, be more creative, be more connected to your own wisdom, that still is missing, in my opinion. It's
Morgen V.: really where I think your services and your offerings come into play and help, I think, so many therapists have a pivot in their own clinical work, is because they're taught such a pathologizing way of- Yeah
being in the room, that EMDR and IFS, I feel it can take a role of depathologizing, humanizing, and honestly alchemizing the magic and the brilliance that I believe exists within each therapist. Yes. Within the reason why we do this work, it's not just because we want to sit across from someone and listen.
We want to hold a container that feels like it has integrity and ethics and value. And so these skills that you're naming are just so incredibly powerful for people to, I think, lean into and understand that, yes, there's evidence-based work, there's the studies, there's research, there's all the things, but it also is a portal.
It's a pathway to, to again connecting with ourselves as humans rather than as robots, which is like that corporate toxic mentality that you were alluding to earlier.
Crystal H.: Yes. Morgan, could not have said that any better. Absolutely, yes. I do think- And this could be my bias because this is my niche, I only work with therapists now, that many therapists are craving this, are craving coming back to themselves and their humanness and their wisdom and being in community with others and are really facing the systems that are in place for mental health therapists.
This is not good. This is not sustainable. We want something better. And so that's really encouraging for me to see that many therapists are craving that
Morgen V.: And you really live that, right? You formed groups to try to get out of the school-based work. That helped. You formed groups to form your other business.
You formed groups to form this business. It's like this is what I name for folks, too, is lean on the people that you already know. Reach out to the networks of folks that you already have. Maybe don't go with that mentality of I need to be all alone in this work and have a silo. Yes. I'd love to hear more about your offerings. You-- I feel like your entire vision, right, is unsiloing and- Mm-hmm ... you know, creating a space for people to really be seen and known.
Offerings and Closing Takes
Crystal H.: Oh, thank you, Morgan. That's another great way to say it. And this will relate to my offerings, but I wanna say what I think makes a good therapist is a therapist who is willing and invested in looking at themselves and doing their own deep work.
And so one of my main services is therapy for therapists who actually wanna do the deeper work. And when I say deeper work, no shade on CBT, DBT skills-based things. All of that is really essential and important. I actually-- the first therapy I ever had was CBT, and it freaking blew my mind. I was like, "I needed that."
So no shade at any of that. We need that, and if therapists come and need that in my business, we can show up wherever they're at. But ultimately, we're about getting to the core root of the pain, and EMDR and IFS is how we see a potential way of getting to that. There's lots of ways, but EMDR and IFS is our way of doing that here at Align.
So therapy for therapists. I have different process groups for therapists, just a space to be with their own parts and connect with each other in community. IFS process groups. I have a IFS informed EMDR certification program for people who are also obsessed in IFS and EMDR, or at least curious. So a certification program and a consultant and training program as well with the IFS informed EMDR lens.
I also do some coaching, some supervision, some tarot. I do a lot of things.
Ashley C.: Oh, I love all of that. I love all of that. Is there anything else you would like to share with our listeners?
Crystal H.: I think I wanna say I'm also a mama. I'm a mama of three little girls. Yeah. And so there's that side of things as well, being an entrepreneur and a therapist and a parent.
There's a lot of-- lots of layers there.
Morgen V.: Yeah, but just speaking, I think, to the way that you show up as a human in the room, but also as a professional, right? Just that there's... It's not like we can put that down and not be a mom. I don't know. Right. I can't, I can't. So yeah, appreciate you- Yeah ... bringing that in.
Thank you so much for what you've shared today. Aw. Like, just very touched and moved by the opportunities that you've had, and that you've been able to essentially multiply and imbue upon our community. And so before we let you go, we have our closing question. It's a one thumbs up, one thumbs down, and one middle finger to the therapy field right now.
So something that you like, something that you don't like, and then something that you're kinda saying
Crystal H.: F you. Okay. F you to oh, goodness, how big can I go? I'm gonna go big. Big. Go big. F- Go big. Yeah. F you to the older white men who are leading so many modalities and are gatekeeping things in a level that makes it inaccessible for therapists to get trained in.
I could go so much bigger than that, but you can read between the lines there, so F you to that. A thumbs up to therapists being more real. More real, more human, wanting to connect. Thumbs down to the continued medical model way of doing things and the corporatization of mental health and insurance companies.
Huge thumb down.
Ashley C.: good. Yeah. Crystal, thank you so much for being here and sharing about IFS, EMDR, your lived experience, running a business, all the different parts of yourself. Thank you.
Morgen V.: And thank you to everyone for listening to The Art of Being a Therapist: The Space Between Training and Real Life. If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow or subscribe, leave us a rating or review, and share the episode with someone who might appreciate it.
It really does help people find the podcast. Take care of yourselves. And take care of each other.
