Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivette.
Hi Ivette, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
To give credit to how I got to where I am today, I think it is important to start with where I come from. I am a first-generation Guatemalan American who was born in Inglewood, CA. My parents, like much of the Hispanic population, left behind a life they knew in hopes for a better life that would endure for generations – starting with me.
Throughout my life, I witnessed my parents navigate adversity through perseverance, strength, and having a work ethic that was unmatched. While these characteristics are wonderful, it also came with there being no room for the vast range of emotions to be expressed. It was all productivity and doing what needed to be done – survival. I grew up understanding that success was a way of honoring my parents’ sacrifices, even if I didn’t fully understand the path ahead. I was learning to pave the way as I went.
Home life and school life were different. At home, the atmosphere would fluctuate between “being okay” to anger being palpable. It was a dance of either or. This came with the belief and expectation we do not talk about our problems – even if we feel it or know it is present. We just keep going. School, on the other hand, was predictable, safe, and an escape. It was the way I had experienced a sense of control while growing up.
Fast forward to college, I got accepted into nursing school. While it was challenging, it was also a great distractor – the challenge of it. I excelled and drowned myself in studying for the NCLEX. I actually did memorize the Hurst Review Book, which is insane when I recall. But this spoke to how survival it was for me to pass. This was my light at the end of the tunnel – a way for me to move out and experience freedom while also honoring my parents. That was my thought.
I had been working as a Labor and Delivery nurse for several years before COVID happened. Working at the hospital meant quarantine was not an option. I was overworked, stressed out, and continuing to remain in survival mode. This accumulation led my body to experience panic – uncontrollable panic. I couldn’t breathe, had outbursts of crying spells, felt numbness and tingling in my extremities, experienced rapid heart rate, an impending sense of doom, and dizziness. I didn’t stop, so my body took on this task. The Ivette that was on-the-go and productive was no longer present, not because I didn’t want to be, but because I physically, emotionally, and mentally couldn’t. I sought help from a therapist who was trained in EMDR Therapy. I held the tappers in each session, one in my right hand and the other in my left, while moving my eyes left and right in sync with the vibrations to begin processing all that had accumulated silently throughout my life that was stored in my body.
Trauma – that was a word that felt weird to hear and say out loud for me. Was it possible I endured trauma throughout the course of my life? How could that be if what I went through is ‘normal’ in my culture? It’s all I’ve known. Through balancing American and Guatemalan culture to being on-the-go the majority of the time to surviving home life to adjusting to change all while achieving and succeeding so well. So well that all you’d be able to witness are the certificates, medals, handshakes, and diplomas; not the adversity and having figured life out alone even as a child.
My entire life story, including my own experience in EMDR Therapy, redirected me to going back to school in pursuit of my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health. I began my private practice, The Internal Dialogue Therapy Co., with a technique called “messy action”. This went against my nature of hating risks with the intent to play it safe and be composed. I was afraid and anxious with the “what ifs” recycling in my mind. And although I did not know the outcome of how this leap of faith would go, I knew this: I had proven to myself time and time again that I am capable of hard things. I have the evidence in my family lineage of this. I wasn’t entering this journey alone – I have God, my ancestors, my current support system, and everything else passed down to me to help me with this crazy thing called life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a first-gen and the eldest daughter comes with much expectation without having the support, answers, or guidance of experience. All of my family learned as we went to adapt, discover, and explore.
One of the biggest challenges was financial hardship. This was present throughout my entire childhood and teenage years. While the expectation was always for me to obtain a degree, I had no idea how we would fund that. When the time came for me to apply for colleges, I scavenged for scholarships and am so grateful to have received them due to having been among the top of my class.
I could also say the same about starting my practice – I had NO idea how to do such a thing. Starting a business?! Insane. I found myself researching and having a desire to learn more about the “how can I make this happen” part.
This theme and cycle of having visions and goals without having the key on how to do it was dominant. I am fortunate to have seen how my family created their lives out of their sacrifice to come here. “When there’s a will, there’s a way,” my dad would often say.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The work that I do is inspired by my life and much of what I witness many first-gens navigate through. I call us the Cycle-Breakers. The ones in the family that want to do life differently, are not in agreement with generational patterns, and are ready to break free from roles and expectations placed on them by others in order to honor themselves and live a fulfilling life.
I work with individuals navigating unresolved trauma, especially wounds rooted in childhood experiences and family pattens across generations. Many of my clients are high-achievers or caretakers who appear to have it all together, but inside feel the weight of family expectations, emotional neglect, or cycles of pain that repeat themselves. I’m passionate about empowering young adults and beyond to live fully, honoring their unique values and experiences. As a trauma-informed therapist, this approach acknowledges the impact trauma can have while remaining conscious to provide care and support that is responsive to unique individual needs – all while remaining attuned to your nervous system responses.
I integrate depth-oriented modalities that acknowledge and integrate mind, body, and soul such as Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR Therapy) through a polyvagal and psychodynamic framework.
Breaking cycles can be difficult – it is not impossible. This is the start of releasing what isn’t yours to carry, reclaiming your voice, and creating space for healing with clarity and authenticity.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Like trauma, healing is also something that can be passed down from generation to generation. To me, this challenges and relieves the pressure behind us, as humans, needing to heal every part of ourselves in this lifetime. I approach my work with the belief that every part of a person—whether we fully embrace it or not—deserves recognition for the role it played in helping us survive some of our hardest moments. We are a sum of our parts and we don’t need fixing; we, instead, need integration.
Pricing:
- Individual Sessions (50-Minutes): $145
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theinternaldialoguetherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinternaldialoguetherapy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Internal-Dialogue-Therapy-Co/61580154448655/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-internal-dialogue-therapy-houston
