Monique Vazire - about me

   I am a psychotherapist (licensed Mariage and Family Therapist) in private practice in Mountain View, with a MA in counseling psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto (www.itp.edu)
   I have worn many other hats before in my life: I was a teacher back in my home country - France - I also owned an antique store for a while and taught Philosophy as well. In the US, I have worked at a translation company, I started my own business then sold it before going back to school to study psychology, my first love, after my kids were grown and gone to college.
   The experience I gained working with individual adults, couples, children, and adolescents taught me that everybody is different, we all have a unique way to see and interact with the world and others. Being a mediator with parents in custody disputes at the San Jose Family Court mediation program taught me that we all try to do our best from where we are and our point of view is always "right" from our vantage point. Counseling people addicted to drugs and alcohol at the residential drug program at the Salvation Army in San Jose taught me that addiction does not define a person.
   Working with women victims of domestic violence at the Support Network for Domestic Violence and being a Child Advocate for foster children showed me that victimhood can be overcome.

The Internal Family Systems model of therapy trained me to see and believe in the intact source of wisdom and compassion in each of us that we call the Self. The goal of therapy is to help those parts of us that worry, judge, project, fear, or can't trust, to understand their true nature: well-being and worthiness. They can then relax and trust that the Self can take over the leadership of our life. Learn more at www.SelfLeadership.org. I have been trained at the Hakomi Institute of San Francisco as well. www.HakomiCalifornia.org
With degrees in Philosophy, Linguistics, and Literature from France and a strong interest in multicultural and multi-ethnic relationships, I have lived and traveled in several countries.

I am currently a Program Assistant at the San Francisco training in the Internal Family Systems model of therapy, founded by Richard Schwartz, offered every year for therapists by the Center for Self Leadership based in Chicago. See more details at www.SelfLeadership.org

I have translated the Internal Family Systems Therapy book by Richard C. Schwartz into French and I am assisting in the IFS trainings on-going in Caen, France. See trainings and workshop schedules at www.SelfLeadership.org. I am interested in spirituality, particularly in the Law of Attraction as explained by Abraham, a non-physical entity inspiring Esther & Jerry Hicks. Visit them at www.Abraham-Hicks.com

You can see my profile in www.PsychologyToday.com and in

www.GoodTherapy.org.

I am a member of the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists www.camft.org and www.scv-camft.org