Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy offers a compassionate and non-pathologizing way to understand psychological distress and behaviors. It’s based on the idea that we each contain many different aspects of our personality or “parts” of ourselves, which together form an internal system that strives to maintain a sense of calmness and balance both in good times and hard times. 

Most of feel we don't have any control over these aspects of our personality, we react automatically to life’s challenges, leaving us feeling stuck or out of control. Sometimes those reactions are okay, in cases of emergencies, and sometimes they get us in trouble with loved ones or at work. However, there is a way to transform these reactive parts of ourselves. IFS helps us build a trusting relationship with these parts so we can understand their intentions and uncover the pain and truama they are protecting against. So we find out why we (the parts of ourself) do what we (the parts) do. Once we uncover the historical roots and beliefs that these parts developed, we have the ability choose how we want to respond rather than just reacting, and gently heal the wounds that drive these undesirable behaviors.