How IFS Therapy Works (and What It’s Really Like)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has garnered a lot of popularity over the last few years. Maybe you’ve heard about “parts work” but aren’t quite sure what this means and what actually happens in an IFS therapy session.

Have no fear — we’re here to demystify the process for you and help you decide if it’s the right approach for your care.

A Quick Overview: What Is IFS Therapy?

IFS was developed as a therapeutic modality by Dr. Richard Schwartz in the 80s, but builds off of existing psychological principles (ego states, Jungian archetypes, etc.), spiritual and religious frameworks, and indigenous belief systems.

At its core, IFS is centered on the belief that you are made of different “parts” instead of having one homogenous, fixed identity. These parts are treated like characters (or members of a family), each with their own perspectives, opinions, and roles. Parts develop through lived experience to help you adapt to the world, so parts that originate from traumatic experiences may keep you stuck in behavioral patterns that were useful at the time but no longer serve you.

IFS also believes that we each have a core Self, which is the calm, compassion, curious, open-minded sense of consciousness that promotes healing internally and externally.

The goals of IFS are to increase awareness of your internal system/family, develop a clear understanding of what each part needs and how it’s trying to protect you, strengthen part-to-part and part-to-self relationships, and ultimately “unburden” parts from their stored wounds and can take on new roles.

What Does IFS Treat?

IFS is considered an evidence-based treatment, although it doesn’t have as many randomized control trials as more longstanding therapies yet (mostly due to its recent development).

So far, it has been shown particularly beneficial for treating:

trauma, complex PTSD (CPTSD), PTSD
depression
general anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder
chronic illness
relationship conflict
self esteem/low self worth
compulsive and addictive conditions (OCD, addiction, eating disorders)* *we believe best done in conjunction with other approaches

The Central Idea: You’re Not Broken, You’re Multiplicitous

IFS is built on one central idea: every part of you is well-intentioned (you have “No Bad Parts”), even if they cause problems in your life.

Instead of labeling your thoughts, emotions, and behavioral patterns as “problematic” and using therapy to fix or get rid of them, IFS uses the Self qualities (compassion, care, curiosity) to deeply understand and integrate these parts of you.

For example: your anxious part might be trying to keep you safe, even if it gives you panic attacks before a big presentation. In IFS, we’d work to understand what this part is worried about and figure out what it needs to feel safe enough to step back and take on another, more supportive role for you.

What to Expect in an IFS Therapy Session

IFS can be integrated into any therapy session in a lot of different ways. Sometimes we’ll simply use parts language to talk about your experience, sometimes we’ll pause to map out which parts of you are showing up around a particular topic, sometimes we’ll draw your part on a piece of paper — all of this is IFS in its most flexible form.

That being said, there’s benefit to dedicating an entire session to parts work. This extra time and space allows us to go deeper and access greater insight. These sessions feel slow, meditative, and gently guided by your therapist in a back and forth dialogue (but not in a cognitively-heavy way).

Here’s a general outline for these sessions (which can vary based on your therapist’s style):

A collaborative start: The therapist helps you tune into your internal world, often using gentle curiosity.
Identify parts: You may start to notice and name these parts, even if they come in the form of ambiguous sensations, images, or voices.
Agree on an entrypoint (“trailhead”) and get consent: Once you’ve identified your various parts, you can pick one part to begin exploring and gain consent from that part for doing so.
Build relationships with parts: With specific guidance from your therapist, you’ll learn how to approach each part with curiosity and compassion instead of judgment. We’ll engage in a dialogue with your parts, almost like an internal family meeting.
Unburdening: Over time and with practice (rarely possible to get here in one session!), parts release the beliefs or emotions they’ve been carrying (e.g. shame, fear, guilt), and start to identity other roles they can take on.
Integration: Continue integrating these changed parts into the system as a whole.

Between sessions, it helps to engage with these parts through meditation, journaling, speaking “for” your parts instead of “from” the parts.

**What It’s Really Like: Clients Often Describe It As…**

“Slow and steady”
“Surprisingly gentle and spacious.”
“Like meditation meets inner dialogue.”
“Emotional but grounding.”
“Wow” (insightful, powerful)
“Less about talking about things, more about experiencing them with compassion.”
Note: you decide the pace — there’s no pressure to go deep before you’re ready.

Common Misconceptions About IFS

Myth: “It’s only for people with trauma.”
- Reality: It can benefit anyone wanting to understand themselves more deeply.
Myth: “IFS sounds like multiple personality disorder.”
- Reality: We all have parts; it’s a normal feature of the human mind.
Myth: “You need to be super self-aware to do it.”
- Reality: Curiosity is enough — your therapist guides the process.

How to Find an IFS Therapist

We recommend searching terms like “IFS-informed therapist” or using directories (e.g., IFS Institute’s directory, TherapyDen, or Inclusive Therapists). Many therapists integrate IFS with other approaches, so it’s wise to ask how they like to incorporate it into their work.

Another thing to note: there are several classifications of IFS practitioners depending on their level of training:

IFS Informed: uses IFS in practice but has not completed the “official” training through the IFS Institute*
Level 1 Trained: has completed the Level 1 training through the IFS Institute, about 100 hours studying and practicing the model
Level 2 Trained: has completed the Level 2 training through the IFS Institute, deeping the work for more complex presentations
Level 3 Trained: has completed Level 3 training through the IFS Institute, which is highly advanced training on specific presentations
IFS Certified: a formalized process consisting of milestones from trainings, program assistantships, direct service, consultation, etc.

*Access to the “official” training is notoriously difficult, expensive, and time consuming. There are plenty of incredibly skilled IFS therapists who have not yet completed the training. Above any classifications, we believe feeling safe and supported in the relationship with your therapist is the most important element of the work.

So, is IFS Right for You?

If you’re curious about IFS, we encourage you to learn more about it through books, podcasts, videos, etc. and bring it up with your therapist. There are plenty of ways to try it out in small doses before committing to a larger parts exploration process.

Here’s an IFS-inspired prompt for you to consider:

“Which parts of me want to try IFS? Which parts of me don’t think it’s a good fit? Which parts of me are voicing questions, concerns, hope, skepticism, or expectations about the process?”