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Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems, or IFS, is a powerful and gentle therapeutic approach that helps you understand the different emotional parts within you. Think of it like a team inside your mind. You might have a part that is highly critical, another that is anxious, one that feels shame, and another that wants to protect you at all costs. These parts are responses that formed to help you survive difficult or traumatic experiences.
In IFS, we work with these parts rather than trying to silence or eliminate them. The idea is that everyone has a core self that is calm, curious, compassionate, and capable. Trauma can disconnect us from that self, and IFS helps to restore that connection.
In a typical session, we start by slowing things down and tuning into your internal world. You might describe a recurring thought, behaviour, or feeling, and we begin to get to know the part of you that holds that experience. We do not judge it or try to fix it. Instead, we ask it what it wants us to know. Over time, we start to uncover the story behind that part and what it is trying to protect.
Many of the parts that cause distress today were actually created in childhood. They might still believe you are in danger, even if your adult life looks very different. When these parts feel heard and understood, they begin to relax. Then we can gently connect with the wounded parts they have been protecting, offering support and care in a way that helps those deeper wounds begin to heal.
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IFS is particularly effective for complex trauma because it honours all parts of you. There is no forcing or bypassing. It gives you tools to become more self-aware, more compassionate towards yourself, and more in control of your responses. Over time, clients often feel lighter, more grounded, and more connected to who they truly are.
