IFS Therapist in Petaluma, CA | Parts Work & Trauma Therapy

IFS therapy works for depression in Petaluma and Sonoma County residents because it engages the internal parts maintaining the depressive state directly rather than targeting symptoms from the outside. Depression is rarely just a mood. It is almost always a system of internal parts -- the part that withdrew to protect against further hurt, the part that lost hope after sustained difficulty, the part that carries old grief or shame that never had adequate space. IFS works with each of these parts directly, understanding what they are protecting and what they need, which produces movement that behavioral activation and cognitive restructuring alone often do not sustain. Learn more about IFS therapy.

EMDR therapy for anxiety and trauma in Petaluma works by processing the specific experiences the nervous system has stored as unresolved threat. For Sonoma County residents who lived through the 2017 and 2019 wildfires, the traumatic stress of those experiences -- the evacuation, the loss, the sustained uncertainty -- can continue to affect current functioning in ways that are difficult to connect to the source without a structured process for doing so. EMDR processes those stored experiences at the neurological level, allowing them to integrate rather than remain as active responses that fire in the present. More on how EMDR works for trauma.

Telehealth therapy in Petaluma makes consistent weekly sessions achievable without adding a commute to an already full day. Petaluma residents who commute south for work are already spending significant time in the car. Adding a therapy appointment that requires driving to a provider in Marin or San Francisco turns what should be a manageable weekly commitment into a two-plus hour round trip. Sessions from home, Wednesday through Friday, with a licensed LMFT specializing in IFS and EMDR removes that friction entirely. Most clients notice meaningful change within 12 to 20 sessions.

IFS reaches the internal parts driving anxiety, depression, and relationship patterns at a level that insight-oriented approaches often do not -- engaging each part directly rather than examining patterns from the outside

EMDR processes trauma and stuck experiences at the nervous system level, producing change where talking about the same experiences repeatedly has not

Online therapy for Petaluma and Sonoma County residents means no commute south into Marin or the Bay Area -- sessions from home on a schedule that fits around work and family

Marcus works with adults 18 and older -- anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout, grief, relationship patterns, and life transitions

Private pay with superbills for PPO reimbursement -- $210 for 45 minutes, $280 for 60 minutes

Free 15-minute consultation before any commitment

The consultation is 15 minutes -- a direct conversation about what you are dealing with, what you have already tried, and whether IFS and EMDR are the right fit for your specific situation. No forms, no obligation. If working together makes sense, the first full session maps the internal parts most active in creating the difficulty and begins building a direct working relationship with them. Sessions are 45 or 60 minutes via secure telehealth video, Wednesday through Friday.

IFS sessions work with specific internal parts directly rather than discussing patterns from a narrative distance. The anxious part, the depressed part, the self-critical part, the part that avoids, the part that carries old pain. Each part developed for a reason. Getting curious about what each is protecting -- rather than trying to suppress or argue with it -- is what produces the kind of internal shift that changes how patterns operate rather than just how well they are managed.

EMDR sessions are structured around specific experiences or clusters of experiences the nervous system has not fully processed. For Petaluma and Sonoma County residents whose anxiety, depression, or PTSD has roots in wildfire trauma, loss, or other specific events, EMDR provides a structured path through difficult material that does not require extensive verbal narration. The bilateral stimulation activates natural processing capacity in a way that allows stored responses to update. Most clients notice meaningful change faster than they expected because the work happens at the neurological level rather than the narrative one.

Getting started is simple. Click the button below to schedule a free 15-minute consultation, or use the contact form to reach out with questions. I typically respond within 1-2 business days.