What is IFS?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a compassionate, transformative, and evidence-based practice that will guide you in understanding your inner world. It views the mind as made up of different sub-personalities called "parts," each with its own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and roles. In IFS, there are "no bad parts". Your parts, these different aspects of your personality, are either trying to help and protect you in some way or are holding painful emotions and memories, pushed away by other protective parts to keep you from feeling painful emotions. Your parts are carrying burdens that need compassion and healing.  

 

In IFS, your parts are like members of a family, each with its own unique role and perspective. Sometimes they conflict, sometimes they get along and care for each other, and other times they operate in a type of hierarchy. This inner world of parts is how we get the term "Internal Family Systems". In IFS we go deeper to get to know the family of parts inside of you, helping them cooperate and bringing them into harmony, so that you can can feel and operate in the world from a more centered place.

Underneath all of these parts of your personality is you, the you that is compassionate, calm, confident, curious, creative, courageous, clear, and connected. We call this wise, centered core of you, your Self. In IFS we build a relationship between your Self and your parts, allowing your Self to help heal your wounded parts. By listening and giving a voice to all of the parts inside of you and by offering them total acceptance and compassion, we help your parts soften, unburden, and take on new roles that can help you not just survive, but thrive. Over time your parts will begin to trust Self to lead the show and you will find yourself exhibiting more and more of the above "C" words. 

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