Internal Family Systems Therapy
Part of you wants to leave the job; part of you would rather die than lose the title. Part of you wants closeness; part of you changes the subject. Everyone talks this way because it's true to how minds actually work — we are less a single voice than a committee, and some committee members took their jobs during the worst year of your life.
Internal Family Systems takes that seriously as clinical method. Instead of overriding the inner critic, the workaholic, the numbing part, IFS gets curious about what each one is protecting — and updates its job description.
What IFS is good for
- The inner critic that outlived its usefulness
- Drivenness that can't downshift even when you order it to
- Numbness, avoidance, and the parts that manage feeling
- Self-sabotage that clearly isn't 'lack of willpower'
- Trauma held by younger parts of the system
- Inner conflict around identity, sexuality, and belonging
How IFS sessions work
The work is guided and conversational: noticing a part, getting to know its role and its fears, and building a different relationship with it — led by what IFS calls the Self, the steady core that's present in everyone once the noise separates. Protective parts relax when what they protect is finally cared for; that's when patterns change without force.
It sounds unusual described; it feels surprisingly natural done. IFS pairs especially well with EMDR in trauma work and with the identity questions this practice sees often — around sexuality, ambition, and belonging.
Practical details
55-minute sessions, $215 with sliding scale from $150–194, in person downtown or via telehealth across DC. IFS is usually one thread of an integrated plan; we'll tell you when and why we're reaching for it.
Common questions
Ready to begin?
The 15-minute consult is where most people begin.