Internal Family Systems Therapy for Neurodivergent Adults in Denver, Colorado

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based, somatic and systems-informed therapy approach that helps us transform how we relate to ourselves. IFS views people as beings comprised of many different “parts” (essentially subpersonalities) that have complex, interconnected relationships with one another, much like a family. Many of our parts carry burdens (extreme beliefs and feelings) as a result of trauma and emotional wounds we’ve experienced, and some are forced into protective roles to keep us safe. In addition to our parts, we also have a core self who knows how to heal us naturally.

While all parts have good intentions, the roles they get stuck in can cause pain and turmoil in our lives. In therapy, we can explore your parts together to find out who they are, how they got to be in their roles, and the reasons why they do what they do. I will support you in cultivating a curious, compassionate relationship with your parts, which is what allows them to heal and be released from restrictive roles.

In IFS, all of our parts hold wisdom and insight, and each part is vital to our sense of wholeness and well-being (yes, even the parts you hate!) As we heal wounded parts and become more in touch with our self-energy, we learn to connect with ourselves and others from a place of curiosity, understanding, and compassion. It’s from this place that we’re able to nurture and care for ourselves, expand into the fullness of who we are, and pursue our deepest dreams, desires, and callings in life.

One of the most potent and valuable aspects of IFS is that it teaches you how to work with your own parts. This means that over time, you can learn to access and do deep, transformative work with different parts of yourself outside of therapy. Many of my clients have found working with their own parts in between our sessions to be a powerful component of their healing journey. For some folks, it can even shorten the duration of therapy.

IFS can be transformative for neurodivergent adults because it’s a responsive, flexible therapy approach that’s easily modifiable for different neurotypes and sensory systems, providing a pathway to help us honor our autonomy, needs, and processing styles. It also helps us to go beyond the intellectual/analytical/logical (where we tend to be most comfortable) and get more in touch with what’s happening in our bodies, sensory systems, and other parts of us who need our presence…while still respecting the hell out of our intellectual, analytical, and logical parts, and holding space for them, too.

For high-masking, late-identified neurodivergent adults, IFS is also highly effective for getting to know our parts who’ve helped us survive by masking. As we get to know these parts better and befriend them over time, we help them to step out of roles they no longer want to perform (for example, constant masking) and instead, step into roles they actually want to do to support us in creating a life that’s authentic, meaningful, and sustainable for us (and perhaps masking only in some situations when it’s necessary, rather than all the time).

Here’s a very basic/simplified overview of what you can expect in IFS therapy with me:

1) You’ll be invited to turn inward as much as feels safe/appropriate and tune into what you’re noticing in your body/mind (thoughts, sensations, emotions, images, memories, and voices can all be manifestations of parts). You can share as much or as little as you’d like with me. We can do this in lots of different ways, and the way we do it will be tailored to your unique system and needs. Sometimes it happens through conversation with me, and other times it’s through more of a meditative or body-based practice.

2) I’ll guide you—to whatever extent feels right—and be your co-explorer as you spend time getting to know your parts, building relationships with them, and helping them to navigate conflict and repair with one another as well as heal from past experiences.