What happens when therapy stops being about techniques — and starts becoming about you? In this deeply reflective episode of Notice That, Bridger and Jen are joined by therapist and trainer Jessica Downs for an intimate conversation exploring the inner life of therapists, professional identity, and the personal work that inevitably emerges beneath clinical practice. Together, they explore the hidden motivations that draw people into helping professions, the illusion of the “next training” as a solution to therapeutic stuckness, and the moment many therapists encounter when professional development turns into personal reckoning. This episode moves beyond theory into experience, as Jessica guides a live experiential exercise inviting listeners to connect with younger parts of themselves — demonstrating how EMDR principles, ego state work, and imagination can foster integration and self-compassion. Themes explored include:Why therapists often chase new modalities or trainingsThe relationship between burnout and unresolved inner dynamicsCountertransference and the therapist’s personal historyEgo states and parts work through an EMDR lensThe role of suffering in human experienceIndividuation, identity, and professional evolutionHealing as wholeness rather than symptom eliminationThis conversation is slower, more inward, and intentionally reflective — an invitation to pause, notice, and reconnect with the parts of yourself that brought you into this work in the first place. In This Episode, We DiscussThe unconscious reasons therapists become therapistsWhen “helping people” isn’t the whole storyCapitalism, continuing education culture, and therapist insecurityInternal imagery and symbolic work in healingParenting, therapy, and mirrors of the selfJessica’s “spotlighting” ego state exercise (follow along included)The La Loba myth and reclaiming lost parts of self About Our Guest — Jessica Downs Jessica Downs is a trauma therapist, EMDR clinician, and co-founder of Iris Training Collective. Her work integrates EMDR, ego state approaches, symbolism, and depth psychology to help therapists reconnect with authenticity and wholeness in both personal and professional development. Resources & LinksIris Training CollectiveLive Well Counseling Center (Grand Junction, CO)Notice That PodcastBeyond Healing trainings and consultation opportunities See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Notice That

Jen Savage and Bridger Falkenstien

Collecting the Bones: Ego States, Self-Work, and the Therapist’s Inner World with Jessica Downs

FEB 19, 202663 MIN
Notice That

Collecting the Bones: Ego States, Self-Work, and the Therapist’s Inner World with Jessica Downs

FEB 19, 202663 MIN

Description

What happens when therapy stops being about techniques — and starts becoming about you?In this deeply reflective episode of Notice That, Bridger and Jen are joined by therapist and trainer Jessica Downs for an intimate conversation exploring the inner life of therapists, professional identity, and the personal work that inevitably emerges beneath clinical practice.Together, they explore the hidden motivations that draw people into helping professions, the illusion of the “next training” as a solution to therapeutic stuckness, and the moment many therapists encounter when professional development turns into personal reckoning.This episode moves beyond theory into experience, as Jessica guides a live experiential exercise inviting listeners to connect with younger parts of themselves — demonstrating how EMDR principles, ego state work, and imagination can foster integration and self-compassion.Themes explored include:Why therapists often chase new modalities or trainingsThe relationship between burnout and unresolved inner dynamicsCountertransference and the therapist’s personal historyEgo states and parts work through an EMDR lensThe role of suffering in human experienceIndividuation, identity, and professional evolutionHealing as wholeness rather than symptom eliminationThis conversation is slower, more inward, and intentionally reflective — an invitation to pause, notice, and reconnect with the parts of yourself that brought you into this work in the first place.In This Episode, We DiscussThe unconscious reasons therapists become therapistsWhen “helping people” isn’t the whole storyCapitalism, continuing education culture, and therapist insecurityInternal imagery and symbolic work in healingParenting, therapy, and mirrors of the selfJessica’s “spotlighting” ego state exercise (follow along included)The La Loba myth and reclaiming lost parts of selfAbout Our Guest — Jessica DownsJessica Downs is a trauma therapist, EMDR clinician, and co-founder of Iris Training Collective. Her work integrates EMDR, ego state approaches, symbolism, and depth psychology to help therapists reconnect with authenticity and wholeness in both personal and professional development.Resources & LinksIris Training CollectiveLive Well Counseling Center (Grand Junction, CO)Notice That PodcastBeyond Healing trainings and consultation opportunitiesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.