Curious About Internal Family Systems in Ventura, CA?
Do you have a part of you that gets angry?
Do you have a harsh inner critic?
Maybe you have a part of you that gets overwhelmed.
Depression, anxiety, triggers, it’s not all of you…just a part.
What is Internal Family Systems/ Parts Work Therapy?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy was developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz in the 1980s. The premise behind parts work is quite intuitive: we all have different parts of ourselves, each with its own feelings, beliefs, and ways of responding to the world.
For example, one part of you might want to set boundaries, while another worries about disappointing people. One part might recognize you’re doing your best, while another constantly criticizes you.
IFS recognizes that even the parts we struggle with most often developed for a reason. Our inner critic may be trying to protect us from failure, while a people-pleasing part may have learned that keeping others happy was the safest way to maintain connection.
Rather than trying to eliminate these parts, IFS helps us understand their protective roles, heal the emotional wounds beneath them, and develop a more compassionate relationship with ourselves.
Parts Work Can Help With
- Childhood Trauma and PTSD
- Chronic Pain & Illness
- Anxiety and chronic worry
- Perfectionism and self-criticism
- Shame and low self-worth
- People-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries
- Inner child wounds and unmet emotional needs
- Relationship and attachment patterns
- Depression and procrastination
- Internal conflicts and emotional triggers
How IFS Therapy Helps You Heal
IFS helps us understand the different parts of ourselves with curiosity and compassion rather than judgment. At the heart of IFS is the concept of the Self. The Self (with a capital S) holds our natural capacity for calm, clarity, confidence, compassion, and connection. We all have Self, yet it often get buried under parts of us formed under trauma and stressful life situations.
As we learn to access more Self-energy, we can begin to understand what our protective parts are afraid of and what they’re trying to prevent. This creates space to connect with the younger, wounded parts of ourselves that may still carry feelings of shame, fear, rejection, or loneliness.
Our Integrative Approach to Parts Work
At Centerwise Therapy in Ventura, our approach to parts work is influenced by several experiential and trauma-informed modalities. While Internal Family Systems (IFS) provides one framework for understanding our inner world, we also draw from other approaches that help us connect with different aspects of ourselves and create lasting change. Additionally we often blend Parts Work Therapy with Coherence Therapy, another experiential therapy focused on transformational change.
Focusing
Developed by psychologist Eugene Gendlin, Focusing helps us tune into the body’s felt sense—the subtle, often hard-to-describe sensations that carry emotional meaning. By slowing down and listening to what our bodies are communicating, we can gain insight into feelings and experiences that may not yet have words.
STAIR Method by Jules Taylor Shore
The STAIR Method integrates attachment, nervous system awareness, and parts work to help us understand protective patterns and develop greater internal safety. It emphasizes building a compassionate relationship with our parts rather than forcing them to change, allowing new emotional experiences to emerge.
Inner Child Therapy
Inner Child Therapy focuses on connecting with younger parts of ourselves that may still carry unmet emotional needs or painful childhood experiences. Through compassionate exploration, we can help these younger parts feel seen, understood, and supported in ways they may not have experienced growing up.
What Does an IFS Session Look Like?
In an IFS session, we slow things down and get curious about what’s happening inside. You might start by exploring a situation that’s bothering you or a familiar emotional reaction.
Rather than just talking about the problem, we’ll help you connect with the different parts of yourself involved. We may also bring in somatic awareness, noticing where emotions or parts show up in the body through sensations, tension, or other physical responses.
We may even begin to have a conversation with these parts, asking questions like, “What are you afraid would happen if you stopped doing this?” or “What do you need me to understand?” This isn’t about pretending these parts are separate people, but rather giving different aspects of yourself a voice so we can better understand their feelings, fears, and protective roles.
FAQ
What are the 8 C's of self in IFS therapy?
In IFS therapy, the 8 C’s of Self represent the qualities we naturally have access to when we’re not caught up in our protective patterns. These include:
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Calmness: Feeling more grounded and at ease.
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Curiosity: Getting curious about our experiences instead of judging them.
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Compassion: Meeting ourselves and our parts with kindness and understanding.
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Clarity: Seeing ourselves and our experiences more clearly.
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Confidence: Trusting ourselves and our ability to navigate life.
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Courage: Being able to face difficult feelings and experiences.
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Creativity: Finding new ways of responding to old patterns.
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Connectedness: Feeling more connected to ourselves and others.
As we learn to access more Self-energy, we can begin to understand our parts, heal old emotional wounds, and respond to life in new ways rather than staying stuck in familiar patterns.
Which is better, EMDR or IFS?
Both EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help people heal from trauma, but they work in different ways. EMDR focuses on processing distressing memories and reducing their emotional impact, while IFS helps us understand and heal the different parts of ourselves that developed in response to painful experiences.
EMDR has a stronger research base for treating PTSD, while IFS may be particularly appealing to people struggling with inner conflict, self-criticism, or longstanding emotional patterns. Neither approach is necessarily better for everyone. At Centerwise Therapy, we take an integrative approach, drawing from different modalities based on your unique needs and goals.
Reach Out To Work With an Internal Family Systems Therapist in Ventura
Our therapy office is located in Ventura, California, close to Ojai, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Camarillo, and Thousand Oaks. We also see clients online in Los Angeles County and all over California. Contact us for a 20 minute free consultation to discuss working with a Internal Family Systems informed and Parts Work therapist.
Get In Touch
Call
805.669.8176
Location
5550 Telegraph Rd. Ventura, California, 93003
Located near Ojai, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks.
Also seeing clients for online therapy all over.
