IFS Therapy
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy starts from something most people recognize the moment they hear it: you are not one voice. Part of you wants to call the clinic and part of you has been putting it off for a month. IFS works with those parts directly, from a steadier place IFS calls Self, so the protective patterns that formed years ago can loosen without a fight. I offer IFS therapy for adults in person in Lakewood, CO (opening 12/1/26) and by secure video across Colorado and Oregon, in English or Russian, on its own or alongside psychiatric care. I completed the IFS Institute's Level 1 training and hold its Level 1 certificate.
IFS InstituteIFS Level 1 Certified (opens in a new tab)My Internal Family Systems training is through the IFS Institute, the organization that teaches and certifies the model.
What IFS is, in plain language
IFS was developed by Richard Schwartz in the 1980s. Its working idea is that the mind is naturally made of parts, and that none of them are bad. A harsh inner critic, a part that goes numb, a part that reaches for food or a screen at 11 p.m., a part that cannot stop working: each took on a job, usually early, usually to protect you from pain that was too much at the time. IFS sorts these roughly into three groups:
- Managers, the planners and critics that keep life controlled so old pain stays buried
- Firefighters, the parts that put out emotional fires fast, by any means: numbing, rage, drinking, dissociating
- Exiles, the young, wounded parts the others are protecting, which carry the shame, fear, and grief
Underneath the parts, IFS holds that everyone has a Self: a calm, curious, compassionate center that was never damaged. The work is to help you lead from there. I do not argue with your parts or try to get rid of them. You get to know them, find out what they are protecting, and renegotiate jobs that made sense at nine and cost too much at thirty-nine.
What a session looks like
Slower and more specific than most talk therapy. You might notice a tightness in your chest when a topic comes up. I will ask you to stay with it, ask what it is afraid would happen if it relaxed, and listen for the answer rather than analyze it. Over time you build a relationship with each part, and the parts begin to trust that you, not they, can handle what comes. Sessions run about 50 minutes. Much of the work happens in the body as well as in words, which is why I pair IFS with somatic attention: a part that formed under threat usually announces itself as a jaw, a stomach, or a held breath before it has a sentence.
Who IFS therapy is for
Adults carrying PTSD or complex PTSD, anxiety, depression, shame, a relentless inner critic, or patterns in relationships that repeat no matter how much insight they have. It suits people who have done talk therapy before and felt it stayed in their head, and people who feel pulled in two directions and want to understand why instead of just overriding one side. IFS is also a good frame for the material that surfaces in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and in integration after expanded-state experiences, where people meet their parts whether or not anyone uses that word.
IFS is not an emergency service. If you are in acute crisis or need a higher level of care right now, the free consultation will say so plainly and help you find the right door. With severe dissociation or active self-harm, I move more slowly and build stability first; IFS itself asks permission from protective parts before approaching anything wounded, which is part of why it tolerates trauma work well.
How IFS fits the rest of your care here
Because I am also a psychiatric nurse practitioner, IFS can sit inside one plan with medication management, lab and genetic testing when biology is shaping mood, sleep and nutrition work, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for some patients. You do not need to take medication, or want it, to do IFS with me. If you ever do want that conversation, it happens with someone who already knows your parts by name, and nothing about your history has to be told twice.
What the research shows
IFS has a long clinical history and a young research record, and I would rather tell you that than oversell it. A 2021 pilot study of 17 adults with PTSD from childhood trauma found a large drop in PTSD symptoms after 16 weekly sessions, with gains holding at one month, in a small study without a control group. In January 2026 the first randomized controlled trial of an IFS-based program for PTSD (60 adults, 16 weeks, online groups) found that participants attended more sessions and rated the group higher than an active comparison program, and that both groups improved significantly on a clinician-rated PTSD scale, with no significant difference between the two. That is promising and preliminary, not proof, and individual results vary. Trauma-focused therapies with larger evidence bases exist, and I will tell you if one of them is a better fit for you.
Training, named precisely
I completed the IFS Institute's Level 1 training, about 90 hours of instruction and supervised practice, and hold its Level 1 certificate. The Institute's full "IFS Certified Therapist" credential requires Level 2 training plus two years of documented practice and consultation; I have not claimed it and will update this page if that changes. Credentials in this field get blurred constantly, and a practice that asks for your trust should be exact about what its training is.
What a first visit looks like
A free consultation by phone or video, then an initial evaluation that covers your history, what you want from the work, and how you tend to get in your own way, at whatever depth you choose that day. You leave with a plan you have agreed to. Weekly sessions are common at the start; the cadence is set together and changes as your needs do.
Cost and insurance
IFS is billed as individual psychotherapy. I am in network with a number of Colorado and Oregon plans for therapy and provide superbills for plans I am not in network with. Current fees and the insurer lists are on the insurance and payment page; the consultation clarifies your exact numbers. Coverage cannot be guaranteed.
IFS in Russian
I offer IFS therapy in Russian as well as English. Parts tend to speak in the language they formed in, and for many Russian-speaking adults in Colorado and Oregon that is the difference between describing a part and actually hearing from it.
Next step
If the way this page describes a mind matches the way yours feels from the inside, that is usually a good sign the fit is worth a conversation. Book a consultation or call (720) 504-2181.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. This practice does not provide emergency services.
Questions
Internal Family Systems is a psychotherapy that treats the mind as made of parts: protective managers, fast-acting firefighters, and the wounded exiles they guard. Instead of fighting those parts, you get to know them from a calm center IFS calls Self and renegotiate the jobs they took on. I offer it in Lakewood and by video in Colorado and Oregon.
IFS is widely used for trauma because it asks protective parts for permission before approaching anything painful, which many people find tolerable where other methods felt too fast. Early research in PTSD is promising, including a 2026 randomized trial, but the evidence base is still small. I use it alongside somatic work and, when needed, medication. Results vary.
I completed the IFS Institute's Level 1 training and hold its Level 1 certificate, about 90 hours of instruction and supervised practice. The Institute's separate "IFS Certified Therapist" credential requires Level 2 plus two years of documented practice and consultation, and I do not claim it. I name the distinction on purpose, because trust depends on it.
Talk therapy mostly works with your thoughts about a problem. IFS works with the part of you having the thoughts: where it lives in your body, what it fears, and what it is protecting. Sessions are slower and more specific, often emotional, and less about analysis. Many people who felt talk therapy stayed in their head find IFS lands differently.
Yes. IFS translates well to secure video because the work happens inside you, with my guidance, rather than in the room between us. You must be physically in Colorado or Oregon at the time of the visit. In-person sessions are available at the Lakewood office from December 1, 2026. Sessions are in English or Russian.