IFS Therapy Texas

and Michigan

What is IFS Therapy?

IFS Therapy helps reduce the intensity of emotionally charged memories that create distress in our mind and body. By using your innate capacity to heal, EMDR helps you to trust your mind and body to show the strengths and strategies necessary to take steps for an aligned, authentic life.

EMDR helps to turn scary, hurtful, or infuriating memories into just another experience you’ve had or simply another line in the story of your life. EMDR doesn’t erase its importance, it just takes all the charge and intensity out of it so you have more freedom to BE who you are and experience your wonderfully weird life

Erin, an IFS therapist based in Houston, TexasTexas sits on the edge of a sofa surrounded by plants.

I’m Erin, an IFS Therapist

Serving Houston, Ann Arbor, and folks across Texas & Michigan.

When you’ve experienced a lot of challenging life events, it can be hard to know how to move forward, especially if this is all you’ve ever known.

You may try to shove down the pain, and avoid the memories for a LONG time, but eventually it catches up to you. It wreaks havoc on your body, daily life, relationships, and well-being.

That’s where I can offer help as an EMDR-trained therapist.

EMDR is a wonderfully creative modality that I can use to support you in overcoming depression and anxiety, heal your past traumas, and reduce the shame of ADHD.

Why is IFS Therapy So Effective for Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, and ADHD?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR helps activate pathways of your nervous system and enter a state of mind where you can access painful memories, thoughts, or beliefs without feeling them on full blast.

EMDR is a different way of being with your painful experiences than talk therapy. It can be used as an alternative to talk therapy or as a supplement. It allows difficult feelings, emotions, and memories to be less overwhelming so you don’t stay stuck in them.

Additionally, EMDR allows us to fluidly adapt the steps to fit your needs so that we are targeting what is most painful for you and what will have the greatest impact on your well-being.

IFS therapy helps you lessen overwhelming emotions, grow your capacity for self-kindness, and tap into your strengths to move through adversity and discomfort.

EMDR for Anxiety

How Can IFS Therapy Help You?

Every Adult with ADHD has different and valid experiences who may need different support along the way. 

IFS for Anxiety and Depression

EMDR therapy can help lessen the overwhelming symptoms of anxiety and depression, help you feel less reactive, and feel better about who you are.

EMDR therapy supports you in untangling self-doubt and gaining clarity so you can work with your capacity to direct your energy toward the things that matter most.

IFS for Trauma

EMDR therapy provides you with the tools to process your trauma and regulate your nervous system so you can feel less impacted by painful traumatic experiences and more grounded, empowered, and aligned.

EMDR taps into our natural healing process and restores more flow so you feel less distressed by traumatic events.

IFS for ADHD

EMDR for ADHD can help bolster executive functioning, reduce intensity of shame and rejection sensitivity, and increase your natural strengths for managing your ADHD.

EMDR helps leverage your creativity, grow your self-compassion, and uncover authenticity within yourself and in relationships so you feel more belonging, safety, and self-worth.

How does IFS Therapy Work?

Building Safety & Stabilization

Before exploring inner parts, we co-create a calm, grounded base. We learn to orient, resourcing, and pacing 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 (pain, shame, fear) and return to healthier, less extreme roles in the system. This is a deeply healing transformation.

Integration & Self-Leadership

The goal is for Self to take the lead 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.

IFS Therapy helps with a variety of issues and concerns

IFS was originally designed to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories, but over the years has been applied to effectively address a whole wide range of issues.

While this list is by no means exhaustive, it’s a pretty good snapshot of how I might use EMDR to support your therapeutic treatment plan.

If you see something here that you struggle with (or you notice something that’s missing!), please reach out and ask how EMDR could help you.

EMDR for Anxiety

  • Anxiety & Panic Disorder

  • Phobias

  • Depression 

  • PTSD

  • Impulse Control

  • Generational or Lifespan Trauma

  • Social Anxiety

  • Body Image Issues 

  • Grief and Loss 

  • After Sexual or Physical Assault 

  • Sleep Difficulties & Nightmares 

  • Executive Dysfunction 

  • Dissociation

  • Self-Esteem

  • Guilt and Shame

  • Supporting decision making/problem solving

  • Chronic Pain

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 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

  • EMDR is an evidence-based method that’s built on a particular structure, yet we can get very creative with how we approach it. 

    I’m continually blown away by how creativity shows up during EMDR. You can pull from your internal resources, such as powerful symbols, helpful imagery, grounding sensory information, desired emotions, or values to guide you in EMDR processing.

  • We can fluidly move through the components of EMDR to adapt the process to fit your needs. How EMDR flows and what comes out of the process is so wonderfully specific to each person and it’s kind of beautiful.

    In the process, you get to pull from all of your life experiences that have been most helpful, meaningful, and significant to you to help you along the way. This shows up especially within the context of neurodivergence and neurodiversity because there is space for different brains and nervous systems to flow in their own way.

  • Simply put, EMDR helps you trust yourself. EMDR guides your nervous system to lead you down the path you need to traverse the journey of reprocessing. EMDR shows you that you already possess the resources you need to show up for yourself in support of your healing.

  • There are so many ways to apply EMDR principles and incorporate them into other therapy tools and sessions. EMDR often overlaps with other theories and modalities. It also lends itself to integration with things  like self-compassion, parts work, somatic work, etc.

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 you don’t see your question here, please get in touch so we can talk it out and see if IFS is the right fit for you.

  • This is completely normal and something we can work with in EMDR. When we have ongoing or chronic stressors, it may be hard to point to one particular memory. In EMDR, we have a tool called a ‘float back’ that helps us trace back emotions or body sensations to locate the memories we need to focus on during EMDR therapy.

  • Yes, online EMDR has been shown to be just as effective as in-person EMDR.  We are still able to do all the phases of EMDR, while you’re in the comfort of your own home. You can simulate bilateral stimulation (BLS) by tapping on yourself, while guided by an EMDR-trained therapist.

  • The short answer is: it depends. The duration of EMDR therapy varies based on your unique circumstances. It's influenced if you’d like to focus on a single experience or stressors that were ongoing and frequent. If you experience chronic or complex trauma (or C-PTSD), it might take a while to untangle your ingrained patterns. However, EMDR can still accelerate the process compared to other modalities.  


    Your readiness to engage in EMDR, the presence of coping skills and resources, and levels of support can influence and possibly shorten the length of your EMDR therapy. Above all, we’ll go at your pace using the approaches most suited to your specific needs.

  • While revisiting painful memories can be challenging and distressing, it is a crucial part of EMDR. Traumas and distressing material can get stuck in your nervous system if it is “undigested” or not fully processed. It continues to show up in your present-moment lives because your body cannot tell it’s reacting to a threat that’s no longer there.


    EMDR helps you reprocess these painful memories so that they are no longer causing impact in your present day. For some, facing memories that they’ve been avoiding for years can bring about emotional release and feel empowering. It’s important to know that you will not be bringing up painful memories without the support and tools to reprocess them.

  • You don’t have to share anything you aren’t ready to. During EMDR particularly, you have the freedom to create deep and lasting change without getting specific about the pain of these difficult memories. During an EMDR session, I’ll assist you in restructuring the way you respond to the triggering thoughts and memories by creating a supportive container  for you at every step of the experience.

  • Yes! There are multiple avenues that offer you choice and control during EMDR. When we are determining which memories or difficult emotions to target, you will be able to choose where we start and which feel the most important to tackle first. 


    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.

  • Chances are, you already possess so much strength and capacity for your own healing. While assessing readiness for EMDR is unique to each individual, I will take into account the level of support you have, your coping skills, and any gaps we can fill to get you ready for EMDR processing.  Preparing for EMDR is actually part of the EMDR process, so we will approach it with the same care as we do during other parts of EMDR reprocessing.

Tap into your strengths for healing and growth

Loosen the grip of ADHD overwhelm, anxiety, depression, and trauma