Clinician Spotlight: Peggy Rost
Internal Family Systems SM (IFS) therapy, developed by Richard Schwartz Ph.D., is more than just a method — it is a paradigm-shifting approach for deeply understanding and appreciating every part of ourselves. The IFS framework encourages a gentle inquiry that allows us to understand ourselves, our families, and our world in a new and holistic way.
We are thrilled to welcome Peggy, Clinical Social Worker licensed in the state of Oregon, to our clinical team. Peggy brings a deep passion for helping individuals reconnect with themselves and navigate life’s challenges with authenticity and compassion. She believes therapy is for you when you're feeling disconnected or out of alignment with your values, and when you need support during difficult times. Peggy is particularly drawn to Internal Family Systems (IFS) because it helps us identify and nurture the different parts of ourselves, leading to a sense of inner harmony.
Q: Finish this sentence: "Therapy is for you when…”
You’re feeling disconnected from yourself or when things in your life aren't really aligned with your values, or how you want to live. It can also be for you when you’re feeling a bit hopeless and need some support in navigating something hard.
Q: What is it about IFS that speaks to you?
I love that IFS acknowledges that we have different parts within us and helps us to identify them and learn what they need. Speaking for myself, before learning how to do that, I felt a sense of unrest and conflict. IFS really helped me to learn how to untangle the many parts present at the same time, find courage to explore them, understand them, and nurture them. I have really loved sharing that process with clients too.
Q: What is your favorite analogy that you use with your clients that seems to be helpful to them?
An analogy I use specifically when introducing or explaining IFS is that our internal system is like an orchestra. It is made up of different individual instruments contributing something greater. When they are all playing at once we cannot hear each individual instrument. With IFS we can take the time to identify each instrument contributing to the great sound.
Q: What Personal experiences drew you to this field? How did you know this is the career path you wanted to pursue? How did you get started? What made you interested in being a mental health professional?
From a young age, friends and family told me that I would be a really great therapist. That brought up some resistance in me initially. I had some parts that were a bit burned out from caregiving and that led me to take a different path, but still participate in health and human services. My first focus was healthcare administration- more a big picture aspect. When I started my own personal IFS work, I learned how to take care of and heal some of those burnt out parts. That brought me back to a place of wanting to connect on an individual level. I liked the admin job, but I found my calling was to help people on an individual basis. At that same time, I had been caring for my father as his primary caregiver. That experience showed me that aging in this country, specifically those dealing with chronic health issues, can be a really hard road especially if there’s not a lot of support. That experience also helped me to realize my desire to work with that population.
Q: What social issues, population, or diagnoses are you passionate about?
I am definitely very passionate about working with older adults. If we’re lucky, we are all going to age, and yet this seems to be a population that gets neglected the most. That is a huge area of interest. I also really like working with people living with chronic physical conditions as well as their family caregivers. The need for all of those populations is going to continue to increase as we all continue to age. Additionally, more individuals are uncovering different physical conditions they have to live with.
Q: How do you stay grounded in Self energy?
Overtime I've become more attuned to when a certain part of myself is in the driver's seat and it's often because it needs something. So my own process of identifying parts and checking in has become more natural and I can address what they need in a short time and do things that I know will help me feel more Self energy. Things like being out in nature, spending time with my dog and people that I love. A lot of those things help me reconnect with my Self energy and recharge.
Q: Favorite TED Talk or Podcast?
A podcast I really love is Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. I like them for a few reasons. They invite really interesting guests on their show- actors, musicians, politicians, therapists. They do a good job getting an array of guests for the show. Dax, before becoming an actor, was an anthropology major having interest in culture and people’s stories. The interviews are not super structured, they kind of just go with it. They both really like therapy themselves and are open about their own growth and processes. They interweave that into their conversations. They are also very funny. I come away feeling like I was a part of a really fun yet deep conversation with them and their guests.
Q: How do you explain IFS to clients?
I tell them that it’s this concept that we are all a system of different parts that have different burdens, needs, experiences, and in addition to those parts we have our true core essence or sense of Self. IFS is the process of learning how to connect with that sense of Self, and to then explore and care for those different parts from Self. With IFS, we realize we have within ourselves the ability to give different parts what they need.
Q: Finish this sentence: When therapy is working…
You will feel some sort of change over time. Some things can be very fast, other things will be over time. One might likely feel a different sense of ease. Challenges aren't going to go away, but may become more manageable and not so overwhelming because of learning tools to overcome these harder things. I think it’s important to mention that therapy sometimes doesn’t feel really good, it can bring up some hard stuff. However, that’s a very necessary part of the process that will lead to a greater sense of ease and harmony.
Does Peggy Rost sound like the right therapist for your path to healing? If you are based in Oregon, contact our Client Care Coordinator or call 503-447-3244 to schedule a consultation.
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