RENEWAL WITH SUZANNE
Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) online for adults and couples—specialising in self-doubt, the inner critic, and healing intergenerational patterns, with deep experience supporting women over 50.
From Self-Doubt to Self-Trust:
A Guide for Midlife Women
The Self-Trust Toolkit
The Self-Trust Toolkit: A gentle, IFS-based path for women over 50 who are ready to quiet the inner critic—without fighting, forcing, or "thinking positive."
You've been second-guessing yourself for so long, you've forgotten what it feels like to just...know.
To make a decision without that knot in your stomach.
To speak without editing yourself mid-sentence.
To rest without that voice saying "You should be doing more!"
Maybe you recognise this voice:
"Who do you think you are?"
"You should be better by now."
"Be careful. Don't get this wrong."
"You're too much... You're not enough."
You've probably heard it for decades. It shows up when you're trying to rest, when you're making decisions, when you're with family, at work, even in your most private moments.
And here is what makes this so exhausting: that voice doesn't just criticise. It questions every aspect about who you ARE.
The way you apologise before you've done anything wrong.
The constant mental calculation: Is this okay? Am I okay? Will I be too much if I ..?
The editing yourself mid-sentence because maybe you shouldn't have said that, maybe it was wrong, maybe---
You're tired.
Tired of constant vigilance. Tired of never feeling like you can just...BE.
THE PROBLEM (Why Nothing Else Has Worked)
Here's What Most People Don't Tell You:
That critical inner voice didn't appear out of nowhere.
It formed years ago--maybe in a family where emotions were too much or not welcome at all. Maybe in a school where being visible invited commentary you learned to avoid. Maybe in a workplace where competence was the only safe position.
Somewhere along the way, a younger part of you learned to read the environment quickly and adjust accordingly. Be less. Be more. Just...be different than you are.
That early vigilance became your inner critic--a voice trying to prevent judgement, rejection, or humiliation before it could land.
And it worked. For a while.
But now? That same voice is keeping you small. Keeping you from the very things you long for--peace, clarity, the ability to trust yourself again.
Why "Being Kinder to Yourself" Hasn't Changed This
You've probably tried:
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Positive affirmations
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Self-compassion exercises
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'Not listening' to the inner critic
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Telling yourself 'I am enough'
And maybe they helped for a moment. But then the critic came back, sometimes louder than before.
Here's Why:
You can't think your way out of this. You can't positive-affirmation yourself into self-trust. You can't just "be kinder" to yourself and expect decades of self-doubt to dissolve.
Because that critical voice isn't just a thought pattern. It's wired into your nervous system. It's a part of you--one that's been working overtime to protect you, even when protection isn't what you need anymore.
It lives in your body. In that tightness in your chest when you sit down to rest. In the knot in your stomach when someone asks you what you think. In the restless energy that won't let you be still or calm when you want to be.
Real change happens when you stop fighting that voice and start understanding it.
THE SOLUTION (WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT)
The Shift That Leads to Deeper Change
There's another voice inside you. One that is steadier, kinder, wiser.
You may have felt it at moments--maybe in nature, with a loving pet, or in a quiet morning, or in those rare instances when you just knew what was right for you.
Most women have felt it. But many have never learned to stay connected to it. To call on it when it is needed.
That's what this toolkit teaches you.
Not how to silence the critic. Not how to "fix" yourself. But how to access the part of you that can meet the critic with presence instead of panic or shut-down.
In Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS), we call this the Self. I've started calling it your Inner Guide. It's the inner aspect of you who can witness the critic without being swept away by it. The inner presence that can turn towards what's been rejected inside with curiosity instead of shame.
When you learn to connect with that voice--and strengthen that connection--everything shifts:
*Instead of lying awake replaying that conversation for the hundredth time...You notice the thought, acknowledge it, give it space but don't get pulled into its story.
*Instead of that pit in your stomach when someone asks you what you think...
You feel...steady. Like you can trust yourself to handle whatever comes next.
This isn't about performing a confidence you don't feel. It's about reconnecting with this inner presence that has been there all along--but just overshadowed and pushed to the background.
What's Inside The Self-Trust Toolkit:
This is a collection of simple, supportive PDF guides, with audio and video practices to guide you through inner explorations. You can return to any of these whenever self-doubt starts pulling you off-centre.
1. The Steady Self Within
A simple way to reconnect with the qualities that already support you--even on difficult days.
This guide helps you notice where calm, clarity, and compassion are quietly alive in your life, so you can lean into them when things feel tight or pressured.
2. The Inner Guide Worksheet
This practice helps you touch the part of you that doesn't argue, panic or criticise--the part that know how to meet your life with warmth and perspective.
As you explore this worksheet, you can begin to sense a voice inside that believes in you, especially in moments when doubt feels louder than confidence.
3. Mapping the Moment: Critic--Body--Guide
A practical tool for those moments when self-doubt flares unexpectedly. This mapping process shows you how to track what's happening inside as it's happening- so you're not swallowed by the critic's voice. It gently guides you back toward choice, clarity, and a kinder inner tone — even in charged moments.
4. Inner Guide Exploration Journal
A reflective journal that encourages you to notice the quieter strengths you’ve carried for years: your insight, your courage, your ability to stay present.
These prompts help you see the parts of yourself that self-doubt can easily overshadow — reminding you of capacities that are still here, still intact, still yours.
5. Short Video
Two inner explorations that you can experiment with to build more self-awareness and access to the Inner Guide.
6. Audio Practice
A gentle awareness exercise that helps you pause, sense your body, and meet the critic with steadiness instead of urgency.
This practice makes it easier to access your Inner Guide in real time — especially when emotions run high.
Everything Is Designed to Be:
✨ Gentle — No digging up trauma, no forcing breakthroughs, no overwhelming yourself
✨ Practical — 15-20 minutes at a time, whenever you need it
✨ Repeatable — Return to it whenever self-doubt intensifies or life gets hard
You get instant digital access. Use it on your phone, tablet, or computer. Work through it at your own pace. Come back to it as often as you need.
WHO THIS TOOLKIT IS FOR:
This Toolkit Is for You If…
You're a woman in midlife moving through a season of transition—retirement, empty nest, the end of a caregiving role, or a shift in identity, or simply the quiet realisation that they way you've been living isn't sustainable anymore.
You're ready to:
→ Feel grounded in who you are, rather than who you've had to be
→ Make decisions from your own knowing, not from fear or doubt
→ Stop disappearing inside your self-criticism
→ Become your own source of steadiness and support
You're not looking for a quick fix of a "5 Steps to confidence" formula. You want something real, something gentle, something that honours the complexity of being human.
This toolkit is for women who:
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Have tried positive thinking and know it's not enough
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Are tired of fighting with themselves
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Want to understand why they feel this way, not just how to 'fix' it
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Are ready for a different relationship with the voice inside
This toolkit might not be for you if...
you're looking for:
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A quick fix or overnight transformation
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Someone to tell you exactly what to do
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A surface-level 'think positive' approach
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Deep trauma processing (this is a self-guided resource, not therapy)
Your Investment:
$27 AUD
Instant, lifetime access to all pdfs, audio and video guides.
(Total value if purchased separately: $97.00)
This is the 2025 price--in 2026 the Toolkit will move to $37.00
About Suzanne
Why I Created This
I'm Suzanne — a psychotherapist, IFS practitioner, and someone who has spent more than 30 years immersed in Buddhist practice.
Over time, I began to notice something that quietly threads through the lives of many women
I work with:
A steady undercurrent of self-doubt, even in women who are thoughtful, capable, and deeply committed to their lives.
The inner critic often takes centre stage — pointing out flaws, warning of mistakes, or questioning whether it's safe to be seen. Beneath that voice, though, there’s another presence that rarely gets the space it deserves: a calmer, wiser part that responds with warmth rather than fear.
The Self-Trust Toolkit grew out of wanting to make this steadier presence easier to reach. Not through pushing or forcing change, but through small, grounded practices that help you meet your inner world with more kindness and awareness.
This work is shaped by Internal Family Systems therapy, informed by decades of contemplative practice, and created for women who want a gentler, truer way of relating to themselves — especially in the moments when self-doubt feels strongest.
If you’re longing for a more compassionate, clear, and honest relationship with yourself, this Toolkit offers a place to begin that feels real and doable.
Ready to Begin?
If you've been searching for a calm, clear, compassionate way to finally quiet the inner critic—without fighting yourself or forcing anything to change—this is your starting point.
The voice you've been waiting for wasn't missing. It was simply overshadowed.
It's time to hear it again.
Instant digital access • Lifetime use • Work at your own pace
Real change never begins with force. It begins when we turn towards what's been rejected inside... with the kind of presence it's been waiting for all along.