Internal Family Systems

As a Level 2 trained IFS therapist, I believe there is nothing "wrong" with you! I view each problem as a burden that part of you has taken on, likely at a young age, as a way to help you cope with overwhelm. By nurturing your relationships with these parts, you will learn to access your true Self - a place of wisdom that embodies curiosity, calm, courage, confidence, creativity, compassion, connectedness, and clarity.

I use the book Self Therapy as a companion guide for working with clients in IFS sessions.

We are multifaceted beings and Internal Family Systems or IFS takes a deeper dive into your internal family system of parts. During our sessions together, I will support you in exploring the many parts of you and how they came to be. We may find that our parts may be acting as protectors from past traumas and fears, leading to avoidance behaviors and preventing healing. We may find that they are reactive and impulsive or we may find the ones that are hidden and exiled away due to shame.

I am in the process of receiving training and certification in Internal Family Systems therapy.

IFS views the mind as made up of relatively distinct sub-personalities, each with its own unique viewpoint and qualities. Sub-personalities consist of wounded parts & parts that try to control & protect you from the pain of these wounded parts. IFS focuses on healing the wounded parts and restoring mental balance & harmony to better connect you with your core Self, a concept that describes the confident, compassionate, whole person that’s at the core of every individual.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps clients move through difficult times by becoming familiar with all "parts" of ourselves. Have you ever felt like, "part of me wants to do this thing, but another part of me doesn't want to?" If so, then you were experiencing an internal conflict between your parts. IFS helps us get to know our parts and the roles they play in keeping our internal system balanced.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is like understanding that your mind is made up of different characters, each with their own thoughts and feelings. IFS therapy helps you get to know these parts and find balance among them by tapping into your core Self, which is like the wise and compassionate leader of the group. Through guided conversations and mindfulness, you learn to communicate with your different parts, leading to greater self-awareness, harmony, and resilience.

Internal family systems is a theory of personality that we are all composed of different "parts" of ourselves instead of one unified personality. This modality resonates with me after years of hearing clients naturally say "well part of me thought 'X' and part of me thought 'Y.'" IFS is an intuitive form of self healing that helps clients expand their self compassion and self awareness.

IFS is pivotal in my approach as a psychotherapist due to its profound understanding of human complexity. IFS allows us to see we are all made of various "parts" or facets that we develop throughout life - and allows us to engage with and get to know these parts in a compassionate, supportive way. This way, we can integrate ALL the beautiful parts of you (even the frustrating ones!) to live in better alignment with yourself.

IFS was developed by Richard Schwartz PhD in the early 1990s and has since been listed in the National Registry for Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. In the model’s name, Internal Family Systems, lies the belief that we all have a psychological system made up of a constellation of parts (or family members) that are in need of reconciliation. We approach the following topics from an IFS framework: Chronic Stress, trauma, anxiety, depression, anger issues, self-esteem, grief.

I have been practicing Somatic IFS for the past seven years in various contexts. I have received both education and specified training in IFS.

We all have different parts of us that we use to navigate life. By learning more about these aspects we can become better equipped with tools, honoring our intentions, and cultivating inner harmony. I use various linguistic and meditative practices to help us be curious and compassionate towards parts that might feel overworked, misunderstood, or raw.

I am newer to IFS, however parts work is incredibly useful for those who have experienced traumatic events, depression, anxiety, and a host of other struggles.

I integrate an IFS framework with many clients.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) can be incredibly supportive to working with our complex and multitudes of feelings individually with the goal of integrating them back into our whole self. IFS coupled with Holistic Therapy, Attachment Theory and Nervous System Support is the most immediately effective and long lasting approach I have found in my work with clients.

Certified IFS Therapist

We all have a deep need to feel safe, loved, and belong. If you've ever felt like parts of you are in conflict, IFS supports the various "parts" of you, such as your inner child, inner teenager, inner adult, and inner critic to feel seen, understood, accepted, and integrated so that you can feel aligned, clear, and empowered in your choices. I utilize a somatic approach to IFS, following the body's felt sense to connect with, welcome, and integrate all parts of you into wholeness and thriving.

Sometimes it feels like we have many conflicting parts of our internal world. This can lead to feeling a lot of confusion and self doubt. Using Internal Family Systems, I can help you untangle what may feel like a jumbled mess in your mind so that you can get to know your true Self and all the “parts” of yourself, especially the protective parts of you that can sometimes get in the way of your goals.

IFS is a relatively new approach that's been found to be very effective for trauma. It involves "parts work" or finding and exploring parts of ourselves that can show up as feelings, emotions, thoughts, sensations, personality traits, and opinions. Working through these parts' protective qualities will take you to more vulnerable parts that carry the trauma. IFS uses a process called "unburdening" to help you heal those parts.