Clinician Spotlight: Kristina Shimokawa
We are delighted to welcome Kristina, a Licensed Therapist with a passion for Internal Family Systems (IFS), to our team. Kristina’s approach is warm, open, and collaborative, providing clients with a structured, secure space to explore their inner and outer systems.
Learn more about Kristina and find out if she’s the right therapist for you!
Try on Your Parts: An IFS Guide to Halloween
Working with Halloween costumes in an intentional way can help us recognize and remember that it’s okay to bring out different parts of ourselves
Who Are You Protecting? Exploring Anger with IFS
Explore the surprising role anger plays in protecting vulnerable parts of yourself through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS). Discover how this often misunderstood emotion can be a pathway to healing and self-awareness.
Ringing in the New Year with Self Energy | Growth & Healing with IFS
Our culture can put an intense amount of pressure on us to use the blank slate of the New Year to create a “new you.” Reflecting on the habits we tried to establish last year can trigger feelings of self-criticism and doubt. We’ve all had the experience of setting out in January, full of energy, eager to establish new habits in the New Year, only to watch ourselves lose steam and stamina as early as February.
Reflect on your connection to Self and the natural world as you read this blog by IFS-TC clinician Stephen Toriello.
Friends of the Collective Spotlight: Michelle Glass
We are so delighted for you to get to know Michelle Glass (she/her), CIFSP.. Michelle has created Daily Parts Meditative Resources to not only support the unblending process, but also boost the integration along one’s IFS healing journey.
Thank you, Michelle, for being a Friend of the Collective and for sharing your work with our community!
Learn more about our friend, Michelle Glass!
Clinician Spotlight: Yao-Szu (Carolyn) Tsou
We are thrilled to welcome Yao-Szu Tsou, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, to the IFS Telehealth Collective clinical team in California. With extensive training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and certification as an EMDR practitioner, Yao-Szu brings a wealth of expertise providing therapy in English, Mandarin or Taiwanese.
Learn more about IFS clinician Yao-Szu (Carolyn) Tsou to see if she seems like a right fit for you!
Friends of the Collective Spotlight: Jenna Riemersma
Not only is Jenna an experienced IFS therapist, she is an all-around incredible human with an old-soul. Her desire is to make heartfelt connections to people through written word, speaking engagements, and consulting in a deeply personal way. Thank you, Jenna, for being a Friend of the Collective and for sharing your work with our community!
Learn more about our friend, Jenna Riemersma!
How Grief Affects Parts
Grief proceeds at its own pace. It is a visitor that can arrive in unexpected moments before leaving just as quickly. Sometimes it settles in and stays for a long while, taking the mind and heart along well-trodden paths to wander through different thoughts, memories, emotions, or sensations relating to the loss. But one thing is clear: everyone’s experience with grief is different.
Discover how grief affects parts as you read this blog by IFS-TC clinician Alicia Dabney.
Taking Internal Family Systems Outdoors
Whether examining the microscopic layers of the universe or the vastness of the cosmos, it is easy to feel a range of positive emotions when witnessing the miracle of nature. In IFS therapy, we understand the peace, connectedness, compassion and harmony that we can easily feel when we are in natural settings, as qualities of human nature – the true Self.
Reflect on your connection to Self and the natural world as you read this blog by IFS-TC clinician Stephen Toriello.
Clinician Spotlight: Jill DePass
This month, The IFS Telehealth Collective is excited to introduce you to Jill DePass, the newest member of our team now accepting clients for Online IFS therapy in California. We had the opportunity to hear from Jill about how she stays grounded in Self energy, her focus on working with clients from diverse backgrounds, and her love of being with her dogs in nature.
Learn more about IFS clinician Jill DePass to see if she seems like a right fit for you!
What are Parts and Who is Self?
The terms Parts and Self come up in anything related to Internal Family Systems℠(IFS), but what are they really?
Check out this blog written by IFS-TC clinician Alicia Dabney to learn more!
Clinician Spotlight: Stephen Toriello
This month, The IFS Telehealth Collective is ready to introduce you to Stephen Toriello, the newest California-based member of our team now accepting clients for Online IFS therapy. We had the opportunity hear from Stephen about how he first discovered IFS therapy, his focus on trauma-informed meditation practices and somatic applications of IFS, and what you might find him up to on the weekend.
Learn more about IFS clinician Stephen Toriello to see if he seems like a right fit for you!
Clinician Spotlight: Jorge Martin
The IFS Telehealth Collective is delighted to introduce you to Jorge Martin, a member of our California team now accepting clients for Online IFS therapy. We had the opportunity to talk with Jorge his identity as a Brazilian-American, his love of salsa dancing, and how IFS has become the center of his therapeutic style and his way of listening to his own internal experience.
Learn more about IFS clinician Jorge Martin to see if he seems like a right fit for you!
Clinician Spotlight: Nancy Edenfield
The IFS Telehealth Collective is delighted to introduce you to Nancy Edenfield who is now accepting clients in California, Florida, and Michigan. We had the opportunity to sit down with Nancy for a chat about the “playfully magical” healing available through IFS therapy.
Learn more about IFS clinician Nancy Edenfield to see if she seems like a right fit for you!
Uniting the Team: Resolving Internal Battles with IFS
Different protector parts use different strategies: managers will seek to pre-empt emotional pain by keeping things in control, while firefighters will react to emotional pain that has been triggered by trying to numb, distract, or douse the feelings. What do these two types of protectors have in common? They both do what they can to protect the most vulnerable, wounded, exiled parts of us that have taken on burdens and beliefs as a result of these painful experiences.
Creative Externalization How Expressive Arts and IFS Bring Your Inner World to Life Part II: Embodiment, Movement, and Role-Play
Internal Family Systems℠ (IFS) is not a “one size fits all” process. It allows for a tailored approach to healing that encompasses various life experiences, backgrounds, personalities, and reasons for seeking therapy. External factors are not the only consideration. Each person has a uniquely individual internal system—not unlike a one-of-a-kind fingerprint—with different needs and responses that will inform the way IFS therapy unfolds.
Continue reading to learn more!
Mindfulness, Meditation and Internal Family SystemsSM
Maybe you’ve tried meditation for yourself or have installed one of the popular meditation apps on your phone. Whether you have a regular practice, have intermittently tried it before giving up on it, or are merely curious, this article explores the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach to mindfulness, and how these practices can augment your progress in therapy.
Continue reading to learn more!
Building Trust in YourSelf - IFS practices to help you get there
The IFS approach is collaborative in nature and your IFS therapist will probably encourage you to stay connected to your parts during the week or to notice what’s happening inside as you go about your day. Incorporating small practices of your own every day can accelerate your progress toward your goals, support you as you continue to get to know your inner world of parts, and start building internal trust in your core Self as the leader of your system.
Continue reading to learn more!
Creative Externalization: How Expressive Arts and IFS Bring Your Inner World to Life Part I: Art Therapy and Visual Form
Externalizing in IFS involves representing your parts concretely using a variety of approaches, materials, and techniques such as visual art, mapping, movement, sculpting, psychodrama, music, and writing. Through these processes, the inner world is made visible and tangible in a way that lends greater clarity and perspective or provides the opportunity to interact with a part in new ways.
In this blog, clinician Alicia Dabney explores some of the benefits and unique considerations of externalizing! Continue reading to learn more.
Supporting Your Neurotype with Internal Family Systems℠
Though neurodiversity encompasses the full and vast spectrum of cognitive traits and experiences, it is those with neurodivergence who are more likely to be marginalized. As we increase the acceptance and understanding of human diversity in general and advocate for more affirming care for all, so too can we offer adaptations of IFS to meet the needs of all clients.
In this blog, clinician Clarissa Harwell explores how to support your Neurotype with Internal Family Systems! Continue reading to learn more.