Internal Family Systems
(IFS Therapy)
What is IFS Therapy?
IFS Therapy helps you understand and care for the different parts of yourself that carry emotions, memories, and protective roles. Instead of pushing them away or feeling overtaken by them, IFS creates space for curiosity and compassion so these parts can feel acknowledged and supported as valuable aspects of you, not problems to “fix.”
Through this inner work, patterns like self-criticism, avoidance, or overwhelm can begin to soften. As your system finds more balance, it becomes easier to experience calm, connection, and a stronger sense of authenticity in how you live and relate to others.
I’m Erin, an IFS Therapist
Serving Houston, Ann Arbor, and folks across Texas & Michigan.
When life leaves behind pain, shame, or complicated feelings, it can be hard to make sense of why certain patterns keep showing up.
Have you ever noticed yourself thinking, “A part of me wants to go out, and a part of me wants to stay home in pajamas”? It can feel like a tug-of-war with different parts of us pulling in opposite directions, each trying to do what’s best, even if it leaves us stuck or exhausted.
That’s where I can help as an IFS therapist.
In IFS Therapy, every part has a voice and a reason for being there. Together, we welcome them and hear them out so they don’t have to fight for control or attention. This helps your system feel steadier and ready to engage with life’s challenges AND its joys.
Why is IFS Therapy So Effective for CPTSD and ADHD?
IFS helps you notice and work with the different parts of yourself that carry emotions, memories, and protective roles. By meeting these parts with curiosity and compassion, you can reduce the intensity of overwhelming feelings and gain more clarity about why certain patterns keep showing up.
IFS is different from traditional talk therapy because it doesn’t just analyze thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and try to push you to change them. Instead it helps you meet and dialogue more gently with the parts of yourself that are driving those patterns and holding those experiences so you and your system get some space, relief, and understanding.
Because IFS is one of the most accepting and non-pathologizing approaches, it can accommodate your unique experience. This makes it especially helpful for ADHD and CPTSD, where strong emotions, trauma responses, and neurotype differences can be addressed in a way that respects YOUR system and supports sustainable growth.
IFS therapy helps you understand and befriend your parts, and build more self-trust.
It supports your system in transforming old patterns, finding relief from internal conflict, and moving toward a more balance and harmony.
EMDR for Anxiety
How Can IFS Therapy Help You?
IFS supports you in noticing and caring for all the different parts that shape your experience.
IFS for Anxiety and Depression
IFS helps you notice and relate to the parts of yourself that carry worry, sadness, or self-criticism, allowing emotions to feel more manageable and less overwhelming.
By relating to these parts with curiosity and care you can reduce self-doubt and find more steadiness, clarity, and confidence in daily life.
IFS for Trauma and CPTSD
IFS lets you help parts that hold past wounds and connect with parts that protect you from more pain, making memories and emotions feel less overwhelming and triggering.
By building trust with these parts and connecting with your core Self, you can create a greater sense of safety, calm, and resilience in your day-to-day life.
IFS for ADHD
IFS helps you notice parts that react to struggles with focus, organization, and overwhelm, Seeing these parts clearly can make patterns easier to understand and reduce inner tension.
By understanding how these parts show up, you can respond to strong emotions and sensitivities with compassion, and approach challenges with greater ease and insight.
How does IFS Therapy Work?
Building a Safe-Enough Base
Before exploring inner parts, we co-create a calm, grounded base. We learn to orient, resource, and pace so that exploring doesn’t overwhelm your system.
Mapping & Identifying Parts
We access internal parts, called protectors and exiles, and bring awareness to their feelings, fears, roles, and stories.
Unburdening & Transforming
With the support of your core “Self,” parts are invited to release burdens (like pain, shame, fear) and move into healthier, less extreme roles in the system. This can be a deeply healing transformation.
Integration & Self-Leadership
Eventually your Self can be more of a leading force in your internal system. Parts become collaborators rather than drivers. This creates the conditions for living with more coherence, balance, and internal harmony.
Learn more about the origins and research behind IFS therapy here.
What IFS Therapy Can Help With
IFS was developed to help you understand and care for the different parts of yourself, including those carrying pain, protective roles, or old wounds. It has been widely applied to address many types of challenges and difficult life patterns.
In fact, part of the beauty of IFS is how open and adaptable it is. It can meet you wherever you are and work with whatever you bring into the therapy room.
Here are some possible issues IFS may be able to help you with. If something here resonates (or you notice something missing), please reach out and ask how IFS could support you.
Anxiety or depression
Overthinking & decision paralysis
Shame & guilt
Self-criticism
Perfectionism
Procrastination
Burnout
People-pleasing & boundaries
Rejection sensitivity
Emotional overwhelm or reactivity
Shutdown, freezing, or dissociation
Distraction or numbing
Trauma memories & wounds
Grief & loss
Stress in the body
Identity & belonging
What to expect during IFS Therapy
1. Settling in
We start by slowing down and noticing what’s present in the moment such as thoughts, feelings, or body sensations. There’s no pressure to get it “right,” just space to arrive and see what shows up
2. Getting curious
Together, we gently explore whatever part of the experience feels most important. This might be a strong feeling, a repeating thought, or a reaction to something in life.
3. Meeting parts with compassion
As different “parts” of you show up, we make room for them. The focus is on listening, understanding, and creating a sense of safety for every part.
4. Building connection
Through curiosity and care, we begin to notice the relationships between parts of you and your deeper Self (the grounded, compassionate presence that’s always within).
5. Supporting next steps
We close by noticing what feels meaningful from the session and what the your parts need moving forward, so you leave with more clarity and connection to yourself.
The 8 C’s of Self Energy
Calm
Curiosity
Clarity
Compassion
Confidence
Courage
Creativity
Connectedness
Learn more about the 8 C’s here
My Unique Approach to IFS Therapy
-
IFS invites curiosity and creative exploration in how you relate to your parts. There’s so much room to experiment with how you engage and interact with your parts and there is no one “right” way to do it.
Your insights, experiences, and imagination are all valuable resources in the process. Whether it’s using imagery, stories, movement, or sensory awareness, you get to bring your creativity into the work and discover what supports your system best.
-
The adaptability of IFS Therapy allows room for systems that process information differently or experience executive challenges. Sessions can shift to match how your attention, energy, and focus are showing up, so the work feels accessible and meaningful.
This approach creates space for the ways folks with ADHD feel, think, respond, and experience the world so your strengths, strategies, and insights can naturally emerge as part of the work.
-
While I’ll be there to guide and support, your system gets to be in the lead. I bring my own calm, steady presence to help your parts feel more safe and supported so that over time you’ll be able to cultivate that same steadiness within.
What we focus on and how we move through it is collaborative, prioritizing what your parts are needing most, and helping you start to build or reinforce more self-trust along the way.
-
IFS therapy naturally blends with other tools and practices you may already be using or find helpful, like mindfulness, self-compassion, EMDR, somatic work, or polyvagal-informed approaches.
Because IFS is so open and welcoming to whatever you bring into session, it lends itself well to integrating these approaches in a way makes sense for you.
Which parts might we work with in IFS therapy?
Everyone’s system is unique, and the parts we notice may go by many different names. Here are some of the parts that often show up in the people I work with.
The Inner Critic – That harsh voice pointing out flaws or mistakes, often leaving little room for self-compassion.
The Perfectionist/Overfunctioner – The part that pushes to keep going, stay in control, or always “do more,” even when exhausted.
The Overwhelmed/Scattered Part – The sense of too many thoughts, responsibilities, or feelings at once, making it hard to focus or feel steady.
The People-Pleaser/Masker – The part that hides needs or true feelings in order to be accepted, avoid rejection, or keep the peace.
The Numbing/Checking Out Part – The instinct to shut down, scroll, dissociate, or disconnect when things feel too heavy.
Frequently Asked Questions About IFS Therapy
You’re IFS-curious and you have questions about it! If these FAQs don’t scratch the itch, you are welcome to reach out and we can chat more about if IFS Therapy could fit for you.
-
In IFS, “parts” show up as the different thoughts, feelings, and inner voices, or sensations we all carry within. Some protect us, some hold old wounds, and all of them are trying to help in their own way. While this may feel similar to the idea of multiple personalities, in IFS it’s more of a way of understanding the natural complexity inside each of us.
We sometimes describe parts by the role they take on in our system:
Managers work to prevent pain or danger from happening again. They try to keep you safe, organized, or in control using the strategies they’ve learned.
Firefighters act quickly to soothe or distract when emotions feel overwhelming.
Exiles hold painful memories or emotions that were too hard to face when they first arose.These labels are tools, not rules. We use them if they feel supportive to your system but we can also notice and work with parts without naming or categorizing them.
-
In IFS, “Self” is the core of who we are. It’s calm, compassionate, and undamaged, no matter what we have lived through. It is not another part of us but a steady inner presence that can relate to all of our parts with curiosity and care.
Self is often recognized through qualities like clarity, courage, creativity, and connectedness. Even when parts feel overwhelming or hard to access, IFS holds that Self is always there, waiting to be uncovered.
Therapy helps create space for Self to gently take the lead so our parts no longer have to carry everything alone.
-
There is no set timeline for IFS therapy. Some people notice shifts after only a few sessions, while others find that the work unfolds more gradually over time. The pace depends on what you are bringing in, how your parts respond to being seen, and what feels safe for your system.
IFS is not about rushing or forcing change. It is about creating lasting healing by building trust with your parts and strengthening connection to your Self. We go at the speed that feels right for you.
-
While no therapy can guarantee specific outcomes, IFS often improves relationships by helping you connect more consistently with your Self, the calm and compassionate center inside you. When you are leading from Self, it is easier to respond rather than react, communicate needs clearly, and feel less defensive or protective.
As you practice relating to your parts with care, you naturally model that presence for others, whether a partner, child, or close friend, creating space for more understanding, connection, and mutual respect. Many clients notice that this shift invites others in their life to engage in a more open and self-aware way as well.
-
IFS is recognized as an evidence-based therapy and has shown promise in helping with trauma, depression, PTSD, chronic pain, and other challenges. Its approach aligns with what we know from neuroscience about memory and emotion processing, including how past experiences can be safely revisited and integrated.
Many clients also find that IFS resonates with long-standing wisdom traditions that emphasize self-awareness, compassion, and inner balance. This combination of emerging research and deep, human-centered practices gives IFS a strong foundation for helping people connect with themselves, relate to others more fully, and work through difficult experiences in a supportive way.
-
Many people worry about revealing parts they dislike or feel ashamed of. In IFS, all parts are welcomed without judgment, even those that feel uncomfortable or bad. Every part has a role and a reason it developed, and therapy helps create space for these parts to be understood and cared for. It is also completely normal that some parts may remain hidden or that you may not feel ready to show them to others. We do not need to force them out of hiding before you are ready. Approaching all parts with curiosity and compassion is part of the path to healing.
During EMDR processing you will have the option to start and stop whenever you want, to pick which memory to follow, and which supportive resources to pull in. You can choose which objects can be in the room with you or bring in your pets as support. While tapping, you’ll be able to choose where you tap on your body, and the speed and pressure.
-
It is very common to feel unsure or stuck when first exploring parts. Some parts may be hidden, protective, or hard to notice. In IFS, we move at a pace that feels safe, gently exploring what is present without pressure. Even small moments of noticing or curiosity can build connection over time, and you do not need to fully find every part for the work to be meaningful.
