Marlee Brunton, LICSW. Psychotherapy for individuals, children, couples, and families, grounded in Internal Family Systems and cognitive behavioral therapy. In person in Montpelier and by telehealth across Vermont.
Most of what brings people to therapy, anxiety, shutdown, conflict at home, a critic that never quiets, makes more sense when you stop treating it as the enemy. In my work, we look at what's actually happening: the shutdown mid-conversation, the argument you replay for days, the anger that shows up before you've even registered what upset you. We get curious about what that response is protecting you from, and what it's been carrying on its own.
I work with adults, children, couples, and families. I bring the same close, attuned attention to each, and I build the work around the person in front of me rather than a fixed protocol.
Change tends to come when a part of you feels understood, not managed.
I'm a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Song Bird Psychotherapy, a private practice with an office in Montpelier, Vermont, and telehealth for people across the state. I work with individuals, children, couples, and families.
My work is rooted in Internal Family Systems and cognitive behavioral therapy, and I keep studying both. I've completed IFS Level 1 and Level 2 training, and I support participants as a Program Assistant with the IFS Institute.
Somatic integration is a growing part of how I work. Emotion and protection show up in the body before they show up in words, a tight chest, a held breath, a jaw that won't unclench, and I bring that awareness directly into sessions rather than staying only in conversation. Tracking what's happening physically often opens a faster, steadier way into the parts work itself, and helps a part settle in a way that talking alone sometimes can't reach.
I'm also trained and certified in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI). This training grounds my work in preparation and integration around psychedelic experiences, held within the same IFS-informed frame I bring to the rest of my practice, so the insights that surface have somewhere real to land afterward.
I bring calm, unhurried attention to every session. You set the pace, and nothing has to be rushed or forced.
Instead of fighting the parts of you that feel stuck or painful, we get curious about what they protect and what they've been carrying.
Insight matters, and so do tools. We build skills you can use between sessions, in the middle of a hard week.
Everyone has an inner cast. Some parts push, some protect, some carry old hurt. At the center is Self: calm, curious, and already there.
Click a part to say hello.
A piece of your inner world with its own feelings, beliefs, and job. The one that overthinks, the one that shuts down, the one that snaps. Every part is trying to help, even when it doesn't feel helpful. You are not broken. You are crowded.
The calm, curious center that is already in you. It doesn't need to be built. It gets crowded out by stress, then comes back when your parts feel heard. Signs it's present: curiosity, steadiness, compassion, a little more room to breathe.
IFS understands the mind as made of parts, each with a role and a good intention, and a core Self that can lead. Therapy becomes a relationship between you and your parts.
CBT brings structure and practice: seeing how thoughts, feelings, and behavior loop, and testing new responses between sessions.
The body often knows before words catch up: a tight chest, a held breath, a jaw that clenches. Somatic work brings that awareness into the room, so parts can be met through sensation as well as story.
IFS and somatic work show what a pattern is protecting and where it lives in the body. CBT gives you concrete ways to change it.
You don't have to hold it all by yourself.
There is no wrong door. Choose the one that sounds closest to what you're carrying, and we'll figure out the rest together.
Anxiety, perfectionism, self-criticism, and the quiet exhaustion of always being the capable one. Sessions blend parts work with practical skills.
Start herePlay-informed, developmentally paced work that helps kids name big feelings, with caregivers brought in so change carries into home life.
Start hereUnderstanding the protective patterns each person brings into conflict, and building communication habits that hold under stress.
Start hereSend a short message about what's bringing you in. I'll reply to set up a first conversation.
We talk about what you're carrying, what you've already tried, and whether this feels like a fit. You set the pace.
We name your goals and begin, weaving parts work with practical skills you can use between sessions.
Sessions are self-pay. I can provide a superbill you can submit to your insurance for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Coverage varies by plan, so it's worth checking with your insurer.
I see people in person at my office in Montpelier, and by video for people located in Vermont, so you can meet in whichever way works best for you.
Licensed in Vermont. Founder of Song Bird Psychotherapy, a private practice with an office in Montpelier and telehealth across the state.
Completed foundational training in Internal Family Systems.
Completed advanced IFS training, deepening work with protectors, exiles, and somatic integration.
Trained and certified in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, with preparation and integration work grounded in the IFS and CBT frameworks above.
Supporting participants in IFS trainings through demonstrations and small-group practice.
IFS is a way of working with the mind as a system of parts, each with its own role and good intention, led by a calm core Self. Instead of fighting the parts of you that feel stuck or painful, we get to know them, understand what they protect, and help them relax.
We talk about what brought you in, what you've tried, and what you hope changes. You don't need to share more than feels comfortable, and you set the pace. By the end we'll have a sense of whether this is the right fit and where to begin.
My practice is self-pay. I can provide a superbill so you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement from your insurer. Coverage varies by plan, so it's a good idea to check with them directly.
Yes. Work with children is play-informed and paced to their development, and caregivers are brought in so what happens in session carries into home life.
A first conversation is a chance to ask questions and see how it feels to work together. There is no pressure to decide anything.
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