Ali Pagán Williams LICSW, LCSW

Attachment theory discusses how our earliest relationships with our caregivers influences all relationship dynamics for us moving forward. Attachment work means recognizing those dynamics and healing attachment wounds. IFS is attachment theory taken inside ourselves. Attachment is core to the work I do.

Grief and loss includes the death of people we love, as well as grief and loss associated with any ending- of a home, a relationship, an identity. Making room for grief and all the feelings associated with it allows for us to process through so many things that keep us stuck and weighed down in our lives. I have received extensive grief support training through What's Your Grief, as well as from working in the Bereavement Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

Shame and a harsh inner critic are behind so much of our struggles. Getting to the root of the shame is key to healing, and finding ways to be kind and compassionate with the shame is how I orient myself in my work. For myself and the clients I’ve worked with, practicing internal kindness to all parts of ourselves has been key, and why my practice is called Kindness Inside.

Attachment theory discusses how our earliest relationships with our caregivers influences all relationship dynamics for us moving forward. Attachment work means recognizing those dynamics and healing attachment wounds. Attachment is a bedrock of the work I do, by turning towards the attachment wounds with compassion.

Internal Family Systems is a framework that highlights how we are all comprised of multiple "parts" (feelings, impulses, beliefs) and healing comes from turning towards our parts with curiosity and compassion rather than turning away from them or trying to get rid of them. This allows for these parts to feel heard and understood for the role they've served, and allows for the parts to soften when they feel ready. I completed my Level 1 training for IFS in 2025.

Somatics means body- which is where emotions, trauma, and grief (all of our parts) are held. I believe healing has to include the body, so I make sure checking in with the body and including the body is incorporated into the work I do.