Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)

IFS helps you unburden wounded parts, update old protective patterns, and heal from the inside out—so every part, including your inner child and attachment wounds, can feel seen and free to grow.

Healing from Within:
Internal Family System (IFS)

Have you ever felt like different parts of you are in conflict? One part wants to rest, while another calls you lazy. Maybe a part of you wants to speak up in relationships, but another is terrified of confrontation.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy helps make sense of these inner tensions. Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, IFS is a therapeutic approach that believes that the multiplicity of the mind is like a system. In this system, each Part has its own role, emotions, and purpose. Like members of a family, these parts can disagree or clash—but all of them are trying, in their own way, to protect and be there for the Self.

When these parts become extreme or disruptive, it’s often because they carry burdens such as trauma, internalized beliefs. IFS takes a non-pathologizing approach, viewing these parts not as problems but as protectors doing their best to help us cope.

Rather than trying to suppress or control these parts, IFS encourages us to turn toward them with compassion and curiosity. Through this process, we begin to understand their fears, release their burdens, and reconnect with our core Self, allowing healing to unfold from within.

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How Can IFS Help You?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can be especially helpful for those navigating trauma, family of origin issues, anxiety, eating disorders, intimate relationships, attachment wounds, the pressure of being a high achiever, cross-generational trauma, or systemic oppression.

IFS helps you feel more at peace with yourself. It is like turning down the volume on the inner critic and giving space to the parts of you that are simply tired, scared, or trying to protect you. We all have parts, maybe an inner child longing to be seen, or a protective part that steps in to avoid getting hurt again. Sometimes these parts get stuck in old roles or patterns, doing their best to help, even if it does not always feel helpful.

In IFS, we do not fight with these parts or try to get rid of them. We slow down, get curious, and listen. At the center of all these parts is your Self, a calm and compassionate inner presence that knows how to lead and heal. When your system begins to feel safe, these parts can begin to let go of the burdens they have been carrying, sometimes for years.

IFS works not just through insight but through real, felt change in the body. Many clients notice that they feel lighter, more grounded, and more connected to themselves, not just mentally but physically too. As you build a relationship with your parts and Self, things begin to shift. There is more self-acceptance, less inner chaos, and a deeper sense of wholeness.
You are not broken. You are not too much. Every part of you has a reason for being there. In IFS, we create a space where those parts can feel safe enough to soften, speak, and heal.

IFS × Art Therapy

Rewiring the Brain, Healing the Parts

Art therapy is more than just creative expression—it’s a powerful tool rooted in neuroscience. When we engage in art-making, we’re not only expressing ourselves but also rewiring the brain. The act of creating art stimulates the brain’s neuroplasticity, enhancing the capacity of our internal parts to heal. Healing through art is especially important for our preverbal parts, the ones formed early in childhood, when we didn’t have the language to express our feelings.

The sensory experiences of creating, touching, moving, and visualizing help bridge the connection between the mind and body, creating deeper access to healing that words alone cannot reach. Whether through drawing, painting, or other forms of expression, art can help free the parts that carry the burdens.

How Do IFS and Art Therapy Work Together?

Externalize Your Inner Parts – Bring your inner parts into physical form, making them visible and easier to engage with.
Unlock Your Self-Leadership – Use creative expression to access the leadership and wisdom of your core Self, fostering compassion and clarity.
Visualize Preverbal Parts – Work with the preverbal parts that hold early childhood burdens, helping them feel seen and heard through art.
Connect to Suppression & Dissociation – Ground your experiences in the body, helping you process and reconnect when parts are dissociated or disconnected.
Stimulate Healing Through Sensory Movement and Somatic Awareness – Combining knowledge from neuroscience and biology, engage in sensory stimulation to help release and access deep parts of your inner system, promoting somatic healing.
Witnessing – The act of creating and viewing your artwork is a powerful form of self-witnessing, honoring the parts of you that have long been overlooked or ignored.