IFS Therapy
In Berkeley & online throughout California
Compassionate healing from the inside out.
Do you want more from therapy
… than just talk?
You’ve heard that there are therapy approaches that focus more on the body and your emotions.
You’ve tried talk therapy, but it doesn’t work for you.
You want to get therapy to help with what happens inside you when you’re anxious or triggered.
It’s possible to understand & harmonize your mind & body.
IFS focuses on developing Self-Compassion for all the aspects of our personality.
In IFS (Internal Family Systems), we will work together to help you identify and deepen your understanding of the various parts of your internal world. Using Self-Compassion and focusing on things like the negative voice you hear in your head or your body sensations, you can find relief from symptoms of anxiety and trauma.
A typical IFS session
with me:
IFS Therapy sessions often include a short meditation period toward the beginning of the session – a quiet time – to help allow your internal world to become more apparent and accessible.
After this period I’ll ask questions designed to help you identify any parts of yourself that have been active recently. An example might be if you’ve been struggling with an inner critic part during the week in regards to your work.
The goal of the session is for me to guide you toward developing more compassion toward yourself and these parts, even an inner critic part, through learning more about why they’ve been so present during your week. IFS theory holds that our protective parts are acting in our best interest. If we’re able to be curious and compassionate, we can learn why.
A successful IFS session will result in an increase in your self-compassion and your ability to strengthen your relationship with these protective parts.
Imagine …
Your mind is quiet.
You’re able to complete your tasks and make your decisions. You’re able to slow down your heart rate, calm yourself, and sleep. You feel refreshed and can make clear decisions.
Your internal critical voice is on vacation.
It’s so peaceful that you’re able to focus and easily make good decisions from your most wise, intuitive Self.
You feel connected.
You feel at ease in the world and go out with your friends. You’re making new friends and are happy in your relationships. You’re able to put time and energy into your relationships and are making new friends. You have the energy to swipe!
You feel the Self-Compassion you’ve heard about.
You feel calm and at ease. When you don’t, you’re able to use your Self-Compassion to feel better.
You’ve Healed in a Profound Way.
You’ve healed to the core of yourself and don’t feel agitated as you walk through the world, even when you are triggered, remembering uncomfortable, terrifying, or shameful things that have happened to you. Or people who have hurt your soul.
Find freedom from anxiety, stress, fatigue, hypervigilance, and internal judgment.
IFS Therapy Takeaways:
Deepening your self-compassion
Quieting your internal voices.
Relaxing your body.
Strengthening your ability to move through the world without feeling triggered.
Increasing peacefulness.
Connecting to joy.
FAQS
What others have wondered about IFS Therapy.
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Internal Family Systems (IFS) uses Family Systems theory - the idea that individuals cannot be fully understood in isolation from the family unit. IFS views a person’s internal system as various parts, almost like a family.
Everyone in a family has distinct personalities that interact with one another differently. IFS asserts that each person has some wounded parts, like anger or shame, and other parts that try to control and protect us from the pain held in those wounded parts.
IFS therapy helps you use compassion and curiosity, coming from your core Self, to heal these wounded parts and relax the protective parts. The goal of IFS therapy is to help you/Self to develop and strengthen relationships with each of these parts, resulting in lasting healing.
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IFS is an approach used for many kinds of mental health issues. It provides a way to regulate your emotions and improve your problem solving skills, which has implications in every area of your life from relationships to job and career performance.
IFS was developed originally to treat severe mental health issues of trauma and abuse and is effective to address these and other mental health issues such as addictions, compulsive behaviors, body image disorders, mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), phobias and anxiety.
Some people use IFS to address a specific, current issue like making a decision about a career or relationship. Others use IFS to help them with recurrent patterns that affect many areas of life.
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IFS Therapy is listed in the National Registry for Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) as an evidence-based practice. It has been shown to be effective for the improvement of general emotional and mental well-being and has been rated as promising to improve symptoms of phobia, panic, generalized anxiety, depression, and certain physical ailments.
More questions? Check out my FAQs page.
