Embrace every part of you with compassion.
Internal Family Systems Therapist
in Marlton & online across NJ & PA
Are you ready for a kind of therapy that goes deeper than just talking in therapy or learning coping skills?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy may be a good fit if you’re open to:
Gentling noticing the different “parts” of you that show up in daily life.
Allowing space for feelings, not just thoughts, so you can connect with your inner experience.
Exploring where your coping patterns began with compassion rather than judgment.
Giving attention and care to the vulnerable parts of you that have been pushed aside.
Learning to trust your true, core Self as a steady guide within you.
IFS is less about analyzing and more about experiencing. With patience, curiosity, and openness, you’ll begin to notice your inner world in new ways. What once felt like tension and conflict can now feel like harmony.
IFS can help you in leading parts of you into calm and balance.
You may not know this, but you may have already talked about parts of you. Maybe in a relationship, a part of you wanted to stay, but another part of you thought you should leave. Or, you’ve had afternoons where a part of you knows going to the gym after work is going to be helpful, but another part of you just wants to go home and relax.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy gives us a way to not just talk about those “parts,” but actually notice how they show up. They show up in your body, emotions, and daily choices. It’s like each part is a member of your internal family, and each has its own personality, needs, and agenda. If you have watched any of the “Inside Out” movies, this is quite similar. You can recognize parts as they come up through sensations in or around your body, making IFS a somatic therapy.
One of the goals in IFS is for you to connect with your core Self. This is the steady, compassionate presence already within you. Your Self holds beautiful qualities that no one and nothing can take away; this is where your creativity, confidence, compassion, patience, playfulness all reside.
When your parts feel safe and understood, they begin to trust your Self to lead.
Rather than analyzing or judging, IFS invites you to slow down and get curious. This is a vital goal of IFS because it is easy for us to view our feelings, thoughts, or coping mechanisms in a negative light. When we do, we get stuck in judgment, leaning further away from the compassion we deserve to give to ourselves (I know how that feels).
When we connect with parts of us with care, we listen to what they’re carrying. It is then when we can help our parts to gently unburden old beliefs that no longer serve you.
As a level one-trained IFS therapist, I will guide you through the process at the pace your parts need. I will hold compassion, calm, and patience, even when it feels difficult for you to do so when recognizing parts of you that you once saw as weak or problematic.
Together, we will lean into parts of you with curiosity, so they feel cared for and supported.
How IFS Works
Through this somatic, experiential therapy, you will:
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Notice
how parts of you come up through sensations in or around your body.
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Slow Down and Focus
without rushing the process (especially in a world that is fast-paced).
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Discover
the purpose behind certain feelings, thoughts, defensive mechanisms.
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Help
parts of you release burdens they were never meant to carry.
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Live More Fully
from your Self - your most confident, creative, and courageous core.
All parts of you are welcome here.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can help you…
Notice inner world with more clarity, not just in your thoughts, but through how feelings and sensations show up in your body.
Ease the tension of any internal conflict. You’ll help parts listen to one another, creating more balance and calm.
See yourself with more compassion. You’ll no longer judge or reject parts of you and instead welcome them with grace and tenderness.
Offer care to younger parts that hold painful, old wounds. You can get the chance to be there for them the way they needed support and presence back then.
Empower your Self to lead parts of you. You’ll guide your parts with patience and confidence.
Together, let’s discover your Self’s ability to provide serenity to all parts of you.
Internal Family Systems therapy FAQs
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Since this is an experiential type of therapy, you take your time in exploring your inner world mindfully. I help you to connect with your parts. I guide you through the healing steps. It is a slower-paced therapy, but this is helpful, especially if parts need time to trust your Self.
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IFS is helpful if you have experienced a trauma or if you are simply inquisitive about your depression, anxiety, connections with others, or relationships with certain people. Some people also seek IFS if they are curious about physical ailments, not as a way to cure but to better understand if any parts may contribute to symptoms. If you are someone who tends to rush through or suppress uncomfortable emotions (which is a part), IFS will benefit you in allowing you the space and time to sit in them - because parts may need more of your attention rather than being shun away.
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It depends on the parts of you that we explore. Some parts are ready to tell us their story and for us to begin the healing process in the beginning. But for many of my clients (and including myself as a client), it takes time. This isn’t a bad thing - it will help parts of you to build trust with your Self, which can help increase your confidence, too. By the end of each IFS session, you leave with more clarity and awareness.
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If you are a follower of Christ, we can absolutely invite Jesus into our IFS sessions. I am a Christian and I find it a blessing how we can embody our Spirit-led self and allow Jesus to heal parts of us that have been wounded. The fruit of the Spirit include the qualities we possess at our core.
More questions? Check out my FAQs page.