“This style of therapy is more impactful than anything I have experienced before. Other psychotherapy models effectively brought past experiences into consciousness so I could understand them but I felt as though I kept recycling through the same patterns albeit at higher levels. While I got a lot of interesting and useful insights, it took me a long time to identify and change my unconscious behaviors. This new type of work connects me to my experience in the present moment forcing me out of reliving the story from the past. It enables me to go straight to the heart of the ‘reality of the moment’ rather than my ‘interpretation of the past’.”
“I am getting conscious awareness of my unconscious patterns in advance of repeating them and I am able to make conscious choices about what response I want to make. In the past, I was unconsciously run by my reactive patterns because I didn’t realize I had repeated them–yet again–until after the fact. It feels like I am re-wiring outdated circuitry within myself. Beatriz guides the session to the edges of my consciousness and expertly leads me to unknown territory. Beatriz is the only person who has been able to meet and match my full power enough to lead me to this depth. She is role model of a Diva who powerfully holds dynamic tension as well as a safe loving space. I feel lighter, freer and hopeful about the future.”
Marci
“Through the work with Beatriz Winstanley I have grown the abilities to live a joyful life.
In our work together I learned the skills to observe my unruly mind and have consequently developed personal agency over it. With Beatriz’ guidance I built the internal mechanisms necessary to receive life, joy and love and defeat my fears which blocked such fullness. We grew my effectiveness in choice; the facility to choose what I want over old programming of ‘shoulds’ and ‘donts’, so that I now have the freedom to create my own existence with my own intelligence.
This work was extraordinary and always productive. The Therapy is dynamic and results-orientated with Beatriz’s delivery of it being highly skillful, of deep compassion and great strength.
With rich gratitude for your knowledge and care Beatriz.”
Nicola
“Terry,
What has helped the most is becoming vulnerable, and opening up myself, and letting people see me for who I am. Getting in touch with my feelings, and being able to feel my anger, sadness, stress, whatever, they were all the same feeling [in the past]. Now I can differentiate between what I am feeling. It feels so much better to be on solid ground emotionally. Then I can help. I have learned to always question my own feelings, I used to give advice based on what I thought was right rather than based on what I was feeling or what my daughter was feeling.
I really appreciate all the help you have given me. I cannot thank you enough. [tears] I did not expect this when I came here, but it has really been beneficial. You have changed my life.”
Sam
“Glorious Beatriz:
I am standing in my power, as I’ve never done before my therapy with you.
Standing in my power, neutrality, centeredness and action without being overwhelmed by the shame and guilt that always robbed me of owning my power. No tears, no histrionics just me in my own authority!!!! I can act on my power and each time I do this it gets better and less strange.
I always think of our work together and I thank goodness that you exist.
I can have friends now; I can expose myself in all my beauty and be able to receive love, joy and passion in my life.
I look forward to a beautiful life. Thank you.”
Nora
“Terry,
What has changed the most is my ability not just to stop and to be present with the situation, but to see at a deeper level what is going on, and to just be more myself and even not have to understand it, and not have to control it.
Friday night, my wife got really angry with me for being sick. and for going to bed at 7 pm. I had had the flu for about 3 weeks. It sounds silly, she was just saying ‘I want time with you.’ My natural response six months ago would have been to fly off and to say, ‘are you kidding me, this is ridiculous!’ But, Instead I just kind of sat and just let her be, and listened. It was amazing to be present like that, and listen. There were some deeper thoughts, not just what is going on right now, but what am I feeling and what do I think she was feeling. And how can I support and love her. She said things that really hurt me when she was angry at me. That is really hard to hear. Right now I feel it too, [cries], but I think the tears is really more compassion for her.”
Doug
“Beatriz,
Before our work together I was so defended against positive feelings – I can’t tell you what a change it has been in my life to have access to joy! I smile so much more. I have deep appreciation for your help, and I think everyone I am in contact with would too if they knew your role in it. I am a happier, warmer person all around. I didn’t even know I was cut off from loving, happy feelings until you showed me. I am still amazed that that is true! Again, I don’t know how to say what it means to me to have had this whole other side of my being revealed. Thank you.”
Jana
A patient’s perspective of CIMBS
Background I am a 58-year-old woman with a history of emotional abandonment, neglect, and abuse. After years of psychological/emotional study and therapy, including EMDR and other trauma modalities, I had decided I was done with therapy and was going to live happily ever after. After some months, I realized that even after all the deep and difficult therapy I still had a strong feeling of unease within myself. A health practitioner I was seeing told me that he had done CIMBS therapy with Beatriz Sheldon and that it had been “life changing.” Life Changing. That got my attention—I was ready for my internal life to be changed!
CIMBS vs Trauma therapy I have great respect and appreciation for my trauma therapist, and know that the work helped me tremendously. During the course of treatment I went from having ongoing panic attacks to relative emotional stability. While clearly beneficial, trauma therapy can be destabilizing and excruciatingly painful. For someone like me, with a lifelong trauma history, it is neither possible nor desirable to process each traumatic event.
What I learned from Beatriz is that CIMBS is designed to create new, positive neural pathways. Rather than reinforce the pathways of trauma, we paid attention to the here and now, and what the mind-body is communicating in the present moment. The key differences as I experienced them are that trauma therapy’s goal is to reduce negative effects of traumatic events, and CIMBS’ goal is to create reality-based positive beliefs.
I attribute the unique power of CIMBS to the following aspects:
- Staying in the present moment
- Focusing on real-time, body-based expressions of trauma
- Being in active connection with the therapist
- Providing enabling experiences to heal oneself
Trauma Therapy vs. CIMBS
- Event Focused vs Healing Focused: Undesirable and impossible to process every single event
- Negative event vs Positive Self-Belief: Traditional therapy reinforces negative neural pathways
- Past vs Present: Traditional therapy uses the present pain-body as access to the trauma, but then delves into the past and therefore out of the present. CIMBS is always focused on present-moment awareness.
- Indirect Healing vs Direct Healing: Traditional therapy doesn’t directly address negative self-beliefs. CIMBS uses present-moment body-based awareness to identify and rewire negative self-beliefs.
- Role of the therapist: In trauma therapy, the therapist provides guidance and acts to ensure emotional safety. In CIMBS, the therapist provides active interaction, so that instead of revisiting entrenched neural pathways on your own, you are creating present-moment positive pathways in connection. This seems to me to meet the most basic of human needs—to be felt, seen, and understood.