heart of us by Kai Thigpen
welcome, little one. you have always been here / & now here you are.
Practitioners of internal family systems psychotherapy approach their client's needs with an understanding of the mind as a composite of subpersonalities fulfilling different roles. Individual parts may harbor the pain of traumatic events, seek to protect a person from further harm, or engage in problematic behaviors to obscure difficult emotions. These coexisting pieces act with positive intentions but often lead to dysfunction. Internal family systems methodology works to bring balance by recognizing and healing these aspects of the psyche, developing positive relationships with the core self underlying their presence.
In heart of us, Kai Thigpen draws upon their professional work with IFS to explore the multiplicity of experiences held by a therapist and client as they collaborate on a path of growth. Respective features of each are depicted on the page as they manifest in life—through thoughts, memories, and sensations. Thigpen captures the vulnerability, embodiment, and change made possible by honoring our many parts as "the spinning slows down / just a little bit / & it is magic / magic."
For every copy sold, Another New Calligraphy will donate $1 to Project LETS, a national grassroots organization creating peer-led mental health care structures for transformative, liberated healing.
Read an excerpt published in Impossible Task.
88 pages, handmade and numbered • 2024
welcome, little one. you have always been here / & now here you are.
Practitioners of internal family systems psychotherapy approach their client's needs with an understanding of the mind as a composite of subpersonalities fulfilling different roles. Individual parts may harbor the pain of traumatic events, seek to protect a person from further harm, or engage in problematic behaviors to obscure difficult emotions. These coexisting pieces act with positive intentions but often lead to dysfunction. Internal family systems methodology works to bring balance by recognizing and healing these aspects of the psyche, developing positive relationships with the core self underlying their presence.
In heart of us, Kai Thigpen draws upon their professional work with IFS to explore the multiplicity of experiences held by a therapist and client as they collaborate on a path of growth. Respective features of each are depicted on the page as they manifest in life—through thoughts, memories, and sensations. Thigpen captures the vulnerability, embodiment, and change made possible by honoring our many parts as "the spinning slows down / just a little bit / & it is magic / magic."
For every copy sold, Another New Calligraphy will donate $1 to Project LETS, a national grassroots organization creating peer-led mental health care structures for transformative, liberated healing.
Read an excerpt published in Impossible Task.
88 pages, handmade and numbered • 2024
welcome, little one. you have always been here / & now here you are.
Practitioners of internal family systems psychotherapy approach their client's needs with an understanding of the mind as a composite of subpersonalities fulfilling different roles. Individual parts may harbor the pain of traumatic events, seek to protect a person from further harm, or engage in problematic behaviors to obscure difficult emotions. These coexisting pieces act with positive intentions but often lead to dysfunction. Internal family systems methodology works to bring balance by recognizing and healing these aspects of the psyche, developing positive relationships with the core self underlying their presence.
In heart of us, Kai Thigpen draws upon their professional work with IFS to explore the multiplicity of experiences held by a therapist and client as they collaborate on a path of growth. Respective features of each are depicted on the page as they manifest in life—through thoughts, memories, and sensations. Thigpen captures the vulnerability, embodiment, and change made possible by honoring our many parts as "the spinning slows down / just a little bit / & it is magic / magic."
For every copy sold, Another New Calligraphy will donate $1 to Project LETS, a national grassroots organization creating peer-led mental health care structures for transformative, liberated healing.
Read an excerpt published in Impossible Task.
88 pages, handmade and numbered • 2024
Kai Thigpen is a therapist, poet, and human who was raised in France, Sweden, and occupied Turtle Island. They now live in occupied Lenapehoking, erroneously known as Philadelphia, with their partner and two fluffy cats. Kai was nominated for the Best New Poets anthology, shortlisted in the Fatal Flaw poetry contest, and their poetry chapbook habitat was published by Illuminated Press in 2023. They can be found reading, gardening, or at www.kaizthigpen.com.