IFS: We All Have Parts
Compassionate Healing from the Inside Out
As a therapist specializing in developmental and attachment trauma, I’ve found Internal Family Systems (IFS) to be one of the most transformative approaches for healing emotional wounds. IFS offers a powerful way to understand yourself—not as broken or damaged, but as made up of many valuable parts that are trying to help you survive.
I’ve completed professional training through the IFS Institute and I am taking the first step toward certification. I regularly integrate this model into my work with individuals seeking deeper healing and self-understanding.
What Is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
IFS is a gentle, evidence-based therapeutic model developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. It’s based on the idea that we all have an internal system made up of different “parts”—aspects of our personality that carry different roles, emotions, and histories.
Some parts of us carry pain or vulnerability. Other parts manage or protect us by working hard to keep things under control. Still others may act out in ways we don’t fully understand—outbursts, perfectionism, people-pleasing, avoidance, inner criticism. IFS helps us get to know these parts with curiosity, not judgment.
At the center of this system is your self—a calm, compassionate, wise inner presence that has the capacity to heal and lead your system from within.
How IFS Helps
Many of us have been taught to silence or reject parts of ourselves—to feel shame about our anger, grief, fear, or needs. IFS offers another way. Instead of pushing those parts away, we turn toward them with empathy and begin to understand their protective intentions.
This process can lead to profound shifts:
- Unburdening long-held emotional pain
- Soothing anxious or reactive parts
- Transforming inner critics into inner allies
- Reclaiming joy, creativity, and confidence
IFS is especially effective for clients healing from:
- Childhood trauma or neglect
- Attachment wounds
- Emotional or relational triggers
- Inner conflict or shame
- Anxiety, depression, and self-doubt
What IFS Looks Like in Therapy
In an IFS-informed session, I’ll help you gently connect with your inner parts—often through mindfulness, dialogue, and somatic awareness. We move at your pace, honoring your nervous system’s wisdom. My role is to guide, support, and trust your inner system’s innate ability to heal.
Many clients describe this work as “meeting themselves for the first time”—with kindness instead of criticism.
Why I Use IFS
I’ve chosen to incorporate IFS into my practice because it aligns so deeply with how I understand trauma and healing. It honors your wholeness. It trusts your inner wisdom. And it offers a roadmap for lasting change—not by fixing symptoms, but by healing the parts of you that carry pain, protect you, and long to be heard.
If you're curious about exploring IFS therapy, I’d be honored to walk with you on this inner journey.