Internal Family Systems

Internal family systems, or IFS, is a transformative type of therapy that believes we are all made up of several parts or sub-personalities, some of which are wounded. These wounded parts can carry painful emotions such as anger and shame. The goal of IFS therapy is to restore balance and harmony within the internal system by healing the wounded parts and learn to manage inner conflict in healthier ways.

I am currently engaged in the comprehensive Stepping Stone course from Canada's Internal Family Systems Counselling Association, and will pursue the IFS Institute's training as soon as it becomes available.

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

IFS is a journey of seeking internal peace and harmony. Internal systems can become unbalanced as a result of trauma, systemic racism, attachment injuries, and other painful experiences. When internal systems become unbalanced, different Parts influence one another in harmful and unproductive ways. An IFS therapist supports the journey to a harmonious system, where all Parts are connected and collaborative. And a harmonious internal system supports harmonnious external experiences.

Our minds are actually made up of sub-personalities. We may have our "work part" or "romantic part" and our work will be to get to know these different parts and understand what they do for our internal system. IFS believes we have an inherent self that can lead these parts in healthy ways by showing them compassion and a sense of self-leadership. This therapy will help the parts begin to trust the self. *IFS Informed

I draw largely from Internal Family Systems therapy and the belief that we all have parts of ourselves that cause us to think, feel and behave. While good intentioned, these parts can take over, making us feel like we are flawed or broken. By learning their good intentions we can find new ways of relating to and interacting in the world. I find that each IFS session results in insight and growth and is a gentle way to move toward deep healing and observable change.

Parts work is an essential component of treating trauma as a whole, due to our human tendency to dissociate to varying degrees. This is a gentle, respectful, yet powerful approach.

IFS works with the different ages parts of each of us that exist internally. Through building relationship with, releasing emotion, and building attachment to the hurt parts of us we can learn to trust ourselves. IFS is so helpful in reparenting ourselves.

We each contain a multiplicity of parts within our own psyche. IFS is evidence-based and is a compassionate approach to healing trauma.

Internal Family Systems is a powerfully transformative, evidence-based model of psychotherapy. We believe the mind is naturally multiple, and that is a good thing. Our inner parts contain valuable qualities and our core Self knows how to heal, allowing us to become integrated and whole. In IFS all parts are welcome.

I have taken several courses in grad school that teach IFS. Using IFS means that we'll address the different parts of yourself to get a deeper understanding of you as a whole. We'll look at how those parts may be helping or hindering yourself or your other parts and try to integrate the parts.

I am trained in IFS, a new, empowering approach to therapy that focuses on our various "parts" and seeks to understand and harmonize the mind. I find this an extraordinarily powerful tool that is not pathologizing and helps create a trusted, healthy internal system with our best Self at the center.

You may not know what is keeping you stuck in the feedback loop of anxiety and depression. As an IFS oriented therapist, I will help you identify the parts of you that are keeping you stuck and help you return to self-leadership. Like coaching a team, I will help you learn the players (parts) on your team, teach them how to work well together in connection and flow and ultimately lead them to victory. That victory will be indicative of healed trauma, strong self-knowing and authenticity.

This is like inner child work for the intellectual - IFS gives us language to conceptualize the different "parts" of ourselves that have developed distinct roles in maintaining our wellbeing. Identifying your parts can help us recognize the effects of trauma and internalized beliefs from childhood, and provides you an empowered way to change your internal system.

Aligning the parts of ourselves with loving, compassion, and acceptance of self.

Together we will explore the past challenges that have created discomfort in your current day-to-day. We will discuss the various parts of yourself that have held on to experiences and have created protective behaviors to continue functioning. I believe that we all have parts within us that experience and respond to difficult situations and events in different ways. Within our work, we will discover your various internal parts and help them to function more successfully.