We are thrilled to welcome Ashley Thompson, a California Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, to our team. Ashley specializes in working with individuals who identify as Highly Sensitive Persons, perfectionists, people-pleasers, or planners, helping them navigate life’s challenges with compassion and insight.

Learn more to discover if Ashley is an ideal fit for your therapy needs!

We are thrilled to welcome Peggy, Clinical Social Worker licensed in the state of Oregon, to our clinical team. Peggy brings a deep passion for helping individuals reconnect with themselves and navigate life’s challenges with authenticity and compassion.

Learn more to find out if Peggy is an ideal fit for your therapy needs!

Common experiences of butterflies in your stomach or a gut-wrenching experience along with a growing body of research make it clear: the gut is sensitive to emotion, and emotions are sensitive to the gut. Our bodies and minds are inseparable, and in a constant feedback loop of communication. It makes sense, then, that your parts are inevitably affected by what’s going on in the belly and digestive system.

We are excited to welcome David Polidi, a Licensed Independent Social Worker, as the newest clinician on our Massachusetts IFS Telehealth Collective clinical team. With a passion for connecting with individuals and helping them feel empowered throughout their healing journey, he has a strong interest in helping those who have experienced trauma.

David believes that counseling is only as good as the connection you have with someone, therefore building authentic relationships, where people feel safe to express all of their emotions without feeling any judgment.

Learn more about IFS clinician David Polidi to see if she seems like a right fit for you!

Whether stress accumulates gradually or hits us suddenly, it can lead to a cascade of effects, from physical illness to burnout. Both mindfulness and the IFS model offer unique pathways toward regaining equilibrium and reclaiming our sense of equanimity. While mindfulness provides a powerful approach to staying present and cultivating inner calm, IFS offers a structured method for processing the past and fostering deep healing in the present.

Whether you’re jazzed about Valentine’s Day with your beau, or dreading the season for any reason, IFS can help you get closer to the ones you love, including yourself.

Learn more about our new IFS Couples Therapy offering in Oregon and Massachusetts.

Our culture can put an intense amount of pressure on us to use the blank slate of the New Year to create a “new you.” Reflecting on the habits we tried to establish last year can trigger feelings of self-criticism and doubt. We’ve all had the experience of setting out in January, full of energy, eager to establish new habits in the New Year, only to watch ourselves lose steam and stamina as early as February.

Reflect on your connection to Self and the natural world as you read this blog by IFS-TC clinician Stephen Toriello.

We are excited to welcome Mieke Kohl, a Licensed Certified Social Worker, as the newest clinician on our Massachusetts IFS Telehealth Collective clinical team. With a passion for helping individuals discover their own healing paths, Mieke is particularly interested in supporting people in healing from childhood trauma.

Mieke quotes the words of Gabor Mate: “The essence of trauma is a disconnect from the self. Therefore, the essence of healing is not just uncovering one’s past, but reconnecting with oneself in the present.”

Learn more about IFS clinician Mieke Kohl to see if she seems like a right fit for you!

Grief proceeds at its own pace. It is a visitor that can arrive in unexpected moments before leaving just as quickly. Sometimes it settles in and stays for a long while, taking the mind and heart along well-trodden paths to wander through different thoughts, memories, emotions, or sensations relating to the loss. But one thing is clear: everyone’s experience with grief is different.

Discover how grief affects parts as you read this blog by IFS-TC clinician Alicia Dabney.

Whether examining the microscopic layers of the universe or the vastness of the cosmos, it is easy to feel a range of positive emotions when witnessing the miracle of nature. In IFS therapy, we understand the peace, connectedness, compassion and harmony that we can easily feel when we are in natural settings, as qualities of human nature – the true Self.

Reflect on your connection to Self and the natural world as you read this blog by IFS-TC clinician Stephen Toriello.

The terms Parts and Self come up in anything related to Internal Family Systems℠(IFS), but what are they really?

Check out this blog written by IFS-TC clinician Alicia Dabney to learn more!

Different protector parts use different strategies: managers will seek to pre-empt emotional pain by keeping things in control, while firefighters will react to emotional pain that has been triggered by trying to numb, distract, or douse the feelings. What do these two types of protectors have in common? They both do what they can to protect the most vulnerable, wounded, exiled parts of us that have taken on burdens and beliefs as a result of these painful experiences.

Internal Family Systems℠ (IFS) is not a “one size fits all” process. It allows for a tailored approach to healing that encompasses various life experiences, backgrounds, personalities, and reasons for seeking therapy. External factors are not the only consideration. Each person has a uniquely individual internal system—not unlike a one-of-a-kind fingerprint—with different needs and responses that will inform the way IFS therapy unfolds.

Continue reading to learn more!

Maybe you’ve tried meditation for yourself or have installed one of the popular meditation apps on your phone. Whether you have a regular practice, have intermittently tried it before giving up on it, or are merely curious, this article explores the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach to mindfulness, and how these practices can augment your progress in therapy.

Continue reading to learn more!

The IFS approach is collaborative in nature and your IFS therapist will probably encourage you to stay connected to your parts during the week or to notice what’s happening inside as you go about your day. Incorporating small practices of your own every day can accelerate your progress toward your goals, support you as you continue to get to know your inner world of parts, and start building internal trust in your core Self as the leader of your system.

Continue reading to learn more!

Externalizing in IFS involves representing your parts concretely using a variety of approaches, materials, and techniques such as visual art, mapping, movement, sculpting, psychodrama, music, and writing. Through these processes, the inner world is made visible and tangible in a way that lends greater clarity and perspective or provides the opportunity to interact with a part in new ways.

In this blog, clinician Alicia Dabney explores some of the benefits and unique considerations of externalizing! Continue reading to learn more.

Though neurodiversity encompasses the full and vast spectrum of cognitive traits and experiences, it is those with neurodivergence who are more likely to be marginalized. As we increase the acceptance and understanding of human diversity in general and advocate for more affirming care for all, so too can we offer adaptations of IFS to meet the needs of all clients.

In this blog, clinician Clarissa Harwell explores how to support your Neurotype with Internal Family Systems! Continue reading to learn more.

Do you have the privilege of being a parent? When was the last time you had a negative thought about your child? If you’re blessed like I am, it wasn’t all that long ago. This is a judgment-free zone so go ahead and acknowledge any recent times you’ve let those not-so-kind thoughts fly.

In this blog, clinician Clarissa Harwell explores how to Self-led Parenting with IFS! Continue reading to learn more.

Most of us are familiar with criticism. Whether it comes from a partner, a friend, a colleague, or an online troll, it can hurt, incite anger and defensiveness, and make us doubt ourselves. Criticism can cause ruptures in our relationships. But what about when the criticism comes from within, when we feel like we’re our own worst enemy?

In this blog, clinician Clarissa Harwell explores Inner Criticism from an IFS perspective, continue reading to learn more!

Just like any other mental health provider, IFS therapists are still tasked with assessing client safety, warning signs, external factors, and taking appropriate action to keep clients safe when they are in crisis. However, when weekly individual therapy is determined to be the appropriate level of care, the IFS model can offer a compassionate and non-pathologizing approach to working with suicidal parts.

In this blog, learn more about what the IFS model can offer to those with suicidal thoughts