Welcome

Justine Wiercimok, MA, J.D. (LLM), MBACP

My name is Justine Wiercimok and I am the IFS therapist.

I offer a safe space to help you to understand challenges and where the emotional pain comes from. I focus therapy on working with core wounds. Core wounds are the reason why you might experience fear & anxiety, they can be a source of feelings of shame & abandonment which often lead to confusion, conflicts, and feelings of “unsafety”, especially in meaningful relationships. Further causing destructive behavior towards yourself/your body. In our work together, we will use the pain as a guide and catalyst for healing, self-discovery, and self-realization. Ultimately leading to a fulfilling and joyful life.

Why IFS?

In IFS, we take a look at the different parts of you - even the parts that can be challenging, like parts that feel worried, depressed, or angry. The goal is not actually to get rid of these parts - even though that is a natural reaction most of us have when facing unproductive feelings and behaviors. Instead, we seek to understand the parts: how they are trying to help, what they are afraid of, and what they are communicating. Much like a relationship with a person, you develop a relationship with your parts. Acknowledging them and building trust with them allows them to naturally and easily quiet down or take on new roles. I have found that this approach works especially well when other modalities have plateaued. 

Training, Qualifications & Experience

I am a Registered Mental Health Counsellor and Certified Life Coach with over 13 years of professional experience working with individuals, groups, couples, children, and adolescence.

I specialize in IFS and Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Psychology and am certified in a multitude of therapeutic modalities; I incorporate training in IFS, Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt, Psychodynamic, Meditation, Inner Child Work, codependency awareness, Attachment, Mindfulness, Non-violent communication, body-mapping, equine-facilitated therapy, primal and birth therapy, and more. While I currently reside in London, I have spent several years facilitating and co-facilitating workshops and retreats in 11 countries and worked in private practice in Denver and New York City. 

As a law graduate, I worked and lived in many areas of natural disaster, conflict, and poverty, where I encountered acute human suffering, and witnessed the power of human resilience and transformation. A life-long vision of “building bridges not barriers between people and cultures” led me to shift my work into the realm of Counselling and Therapy. Aspiring to gain knowledge and qualifications, I graduated from Naropa University in Boulder, CO, USA, with a master's degree in Mental Health Counselling.

Other Areas of Counselling / Specialties

As a horse lover, mountaineer, and motorcycle rider, I incorporate Western Psychology and Eastern Mindfulness with a deep connection to Nature and passion for adventure, into my work with individuals, couples, children, and groups. My intention is to support YOU to discover inner strength and clarity, whilst providing you with tools you can use to create healthy, loving relationships.

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What is an Eating Disorder? Where do the challenges with food, body image, body weight, and other possible addictive behaviors come from?

An addiction (challenges with food/body weight) is a mechanism that shows us where we don't live our life aligned with our true self (our values).

This often happens when we:

• live accordingly to some dogmas, social or familial conditioning

• do not have tools to process emotions/grief

• cannot set boundaries or we set them in rigid ways

• choose safety and comfort over our true desires

• believe shameful voices 

• push away our needs

• have a wounded relationship with our wants and desires, when we snatch at them or restrict

We need to learn skills to be able to manage and incorporate them into our lives!

Challenges with food and body image issues may arise when we:

• don't see our inner beauty and how precious life is

• are so focused on ourselves and do not see the magic of life

• are disconnected from our bodies: from the breath, from feeling our belly, and from listening to the heart

This is an embodiment practice, a meditation. 

The healing is being reflected in the way we relate to ourselves, others, and life itself. When our heart resides in a place of compassion, and not from control or rigid boundaries (i.e. restricting), but we have the skills and awareness to set sensible boundaries, which manifests as holding space. 

The healing does not stop when you don’t have a certain addiction anymore; if you don't do the inner work, the addiction will manifest in a different way (i.e. sex addiction, work addiction, coffee addiction). The healing starts when you claim who you are in a deep way: when you claim your SOUL & claim FREEDOM. As you step on the journey of healing you will also notice the clarity of what you meant to do in this WORLD and have the courage to walk that path.

What if your addiction was a gift that intends to bring you back on track?  

I have just opened a new online therapy group for women (max 8 participants) who would like to heal their relationship with food and their body, as well as transform co-dependency issues. 

Please contact me for more information, I can be reached by email at justinewiercimok@gmail.com

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