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IFS Therapy in Philadelphia & Online Across PA
One part of you wants to recover, but another part doesn’t want to give up the one thing that’s helped you survive.
As a queer or trans person, you’ve
Tried CBT or other talk therapies and it was either unhelpful or only got you so far.
Been fighting with your eating disorder and the idea of getting rid of those thoughts feels impossible.
Felt constrained by the pressures to look a certain way, even though they don’t align with your values.
Struggled with your inner critic who takes up a lot of space in your head.
Avoided eating disorder treatment because the idea of recovery doesn’t feel like it was made for you.
What exactly is IFS Therapy?
How IFS Works
Internal Family Systems (IFS) recognizes that your mind contains multiple “parts’” that impact your daily life and well-being. Parts can show up as emotions, beliefs, memories, or even bodily sensations. At the center of your inner world is your core self, the calm part of you that serves as your wisdom.
If you’re into role-playing games, pretend your inner world is a D & D campaign, with your parts as the players and your core self as the Dungeon Master. If you work from home, imagine your inner world as a Microsoft Teams meeting, where your parts are your coworkers and your core-self is the boss hosting the meeting.
Through experiential activities, we’ll get to know your parts, gain their trust, and begin healing the wounds they’ve been protecting. One of the most common parts we have is our inner critic, which is that voice inside of our heads that judges us harshly.
Unlike traditional approaches that may pathologize or label your experiences, IFS therapy honors the wisdom behind even your most challenging behaviors. These reactions are likely in response to some type of trauma or painful event, and serve as a way to protect you from feeling pain.
What happens during an IFS session?
I’ll ask you to openly share about what’s on your mind and what feels important right now. You’ll choose one concern or topic to focus on during the session, which will be one of your parts.
I’ll engage you to notice how you’re sensing that part or concern in or around your body. Some people notice body sensations during this phase, while others experience a part as an image or a thought. As you begin to notice these sensations, we’ll explore how you’re feeling towards this part of yourself. The answer to this question says a lot about where we go next.
We’ll get to know this specific part on a deeper level including when it first showed up and what role it has in your life.
Sometimes when we’re getting to know a part, other feelings or parts might emerge. Our conversation may need to pivot to a new part in order to address its concerns.
hi i’m christine (she/her)
I’m a Level 1 Trained IFS Therapist
As a queer art therapist trained in IFS, I show up as my full self. I maintain awareness of my own parts both in and outside of the therapy room, and do my best to connect to your parts from a grounded place.
I’ve completed Level 1 training through the IFS Institute, and attend ongoing trainings on IFS, eating disorders, and gender-affirming care.
I’ve been a therapist in Philadelphia for over 15 years, with a passion for helping LGBTQ and trans people heal from disordered eating, body image issues, and trauma.
IFS and Art Therapy
As an art therapist, I combine creative expression with IFS techniques to help you connect to your inner world. Sometimes naming your parts can feel overwhelming, so it helps to draw and map your parts on paper. Art-making can help increase body awareness in a way that feels both gentle and powerful.
Parts Mapping is an activity where we use drawing, objects, or other visual aids to map out your parts. Externalizing your parts can help you keep track of them and also give you space to understand them more clearly.
Incorporating art therapy can be helpful for folks who struggle to notice body sensations as parts. If you’re feeling consumed by an emotion or a thought, I might ask you to draw the part or find an object that represents that part. One example is drawing your inner critic, or making a collage about your eating disorder part.
Can IFS help with eating disorders?
If you’re struggling with food, you might feel conficted about seeking help. Maybe your eating disorder has been a survival strategy, or you’re afraid you’ll gain weight if you recover. IFS makes room for all of you: the parts that want to count calories, the parts that want to enjoy food again, and the parts that are fearful of change.
Through IFS therapy, we explore:
How parts might use restriction to control gender dysphoria
Ways parts use bingeing to soothe anxiety or feelings of rejection
Beliefs that your parts hold about worthiness tied to body image
The intersection of queerness and your relationship with food
Internal Family Systems Therapy for Trauma
If you’ve faced discrimination, rejection, or childhood emotional neglect, it makes sense that certain parts of you are still on guard. IFS takes a gentle approach to trauma that allows you and your parts to be in complete control of how far you want to go.
My approach to IFS is truly collaborative which means I won’t push you to explore memories before you’re ready, and unless you want to. IFS helps you unlock your own wisdom because the healing comes from within you. As an IFS therapist, I draw on curiosity, creativity, and compassion from my own Self to guide you along the way.
What we’ll work on
IFS therapy can help you…
Process past experiences and memories without needing to share details or retell the story.
Learn compassion towards every part of you, even the parts that bring you shame and create challenges in your life.
Visualize your struggles through metaphor and imagery to understand them with more clarity.
Connect to your inner wisdom so you can find clarity and feel more confident in your choices.
Heal childhood wounds so you can be more present in your relationships, career and life.
Stay clear-headed during stressful situations, rather than overeacting or shutting down.
You don’t have to keep stretching yourself thin to feel loved
IFS helps you build confidence to show up in relationships as your full, authentic self.
Questions?
FAQs
What is Internal Family Systems used for?
Internal Family Systems therapy is effective in addressing a variety of issues including trauma, eating disorders, gender and sexuality exploration, anxiety, and PTSD.
How many sessions does it take to see progress?
Every person and every system is different, so there is no single timeline. Some clients notice shifts in how they relate to themselves within the first few sessions. Deeper healing often unfolds over months as we work with different parts and address underlying wounds. I tailor the pace to what feels right for you and check in regularly about how the work is landing.
Is IFS the same as family therapy?
While both therapy approaches have similar names, they are very different in practice.
Family Therapy involves you and your family meeting with a therapist together. So there’s at least two people in session (including you) or more. Goals in therapy address the relationships and communication between family members.
Internal Family Systems therapy is a form of individual therapy between you and your therapist. The model views your mind as “parts” and aims to help you understand the parts in your inner world
How is IFS different from talk therapy or CBT?
IFS is more experiential and internal than traditional talk therapy or cognitive behavioral approaches. Instead of analyzing thoughts or challenging beliefs from the outside, IFS invites you to turn inward and connect directly with different parts of yourself. Many clients find this approach feels more embodied and leads to shifts that go beyond intellectual understanding.
What are the different types of parts in IFS therapy?
IFS consists of three main types of parts:
Managers are proactive parts that aim to control aspects of your life and prevent emotional pain. They might manifest as perfectionism, people-pleasing and anxiety. Your inner critic is a manager part. Managers also show up in our external roles like our jobs, parenting, and school.
Firefighters are reactive parts that spring into action whenever pain from other parts (exiles) gets triggered or threatens to overwhelm. They show up in extreme roles like binge eating, restriction, substance use, or dissociation to numb emotional suffering.
Exiles are parts that hold painful emotions and memories from the past. This can be anything from traumatic experiences, loss, and rejection. Sometimes they are referred to as your inner child.
At the heart of IFS is the idea that you have a Core Self, your calm and curious center that serves as the leader of your parts. In therapy, we’ll help you access your core self, so you can feel more confident and live a life that you feels authentic to who you are.
Can IFS help with body image struggles?
Yes. IFS is well suited for body image work because it helps you explore the parts of you that criticize your body, the parts that feel shame, and the parts that developed these beliefs in the first place. By approaching these parts with curiosity rather than judgment, you can begin to shift your relationship with your body from the inside out.
Is IFS affirming for LGBTQ+ and trans clients?
Absolutely. I use IFS in a way that honors and affirms your identity. For queer and trans clients, IFS can be especially helpful for exploring internalized messages about gender, sexuality, and self worth. It creates space to heal from the impact of living in a world that has not always been affirming, while helping you reconnect with the core Self that exists beneath those wounds.