Discover Your Inner Wisdom with IFS Therapy
Are you seeking deep, lasting transformation rather than just temporary relief? At Denver Emotional Health, we offer compassionate, evidence-based Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy to help you access your inner wisdom and heal from the root causes of your struggles. IFS goes beyond traditional talk therapy, working with the various “parts” of your inner world to create lasting change. We also offer legal psychedelic-assisted therapy within the IFS framework for those seeking a deeper level of healing.
Understanding Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
IFS operates on the principle that your mind is naturally composed of different “parts”—distinct aspects of yourself with their own emotions, beliefs, and roles. These parts often have protective intentions, even if their strategies cause distress. IFS helps you understand these parts, access your core “Self,” and create inner harmony.
Key Benefits of IFS Therapy
- Heal from past trauma and emotional wounds
- Reduce anxiety, depression, and stress
- Improve relationship dynamics
- Develop greater self-compassion and acceptance
- Enhance self-awareness and personal growth
- Access inner wisdom and clarity
How IFS Therapy Works
In IFS therapy, you’ll learn to:
- Access Your Core “Self”: Discover the calm, wise, and compassionate center within you.
- Work with, Not Against, Your Parts: Understand the positive intentions behind your parts’ behaviors.
- Transform Internal Conflicts: Heal wounded parts and create inner cooperation.
- Release Old Burdens: Free your parts from the weight of past traumas and limiting beliefs.
- Develop Self-Leadership Skills: Guide your life from a place of balance and authenticity.
The Science of Healing with IFS
Our approach activates deeper brain networks responsible for emotions, body awareness, and memory. By engaging these subconscious systems, we can address the root causes of issues like trauma, anxiety, and depression, which often don’t fully respond to traditional talk therapy. We utilize memory reconsolidation, a natural brain process, to update emotional memories and change old patterns at their core. This allows you to create healthier responses to triggers and integrate past experiences in a way that promotes healing and empowerment.
Accessing Your Core “Self”
At the core of every individual lies a fundamental state of being called the “Self.” This Self is distinct from your parts and embodies qualities like compassion, curiosity, calmness, clarity, confidence, courage, creativity, and connectedness. It is the “I” in the storm, the conductor of your inner orchestra, and it has the capacity to heal and lead your internal system.
The 8 C’s of Self-Energy
When you access Self-energy, these natural qualities often emerge:
- Curiosity: A genuine interest in understanding your inner world.
- Compassion: Caring and acceptance for all parts of yourself.
- Calmness: A deep sense of peace and stability.
- Clarity: A clear understanding of your inner landscape.
- Confidence: Trust in your ability to navigate challenges.
- Courage: Willingness to face difficult emotions.
- Creativity: New perspectives and solutions emerge organically.
- Connectedness: A sense of wholeness and belonging.
Working with Your Parts
IFS therapy helps you understand and work with your internal parts, recognizing that each part has a positive intention, even if its strategies are unhelpful. You’ll learn to:
- Identify Your Parts: Recognize the different aspects of yourself and their unique roles.
- Understand Their Intentions: Discover the positive reasons behind each part’s behaviors.
- Develop Compassion: Approach your parts with kindness and acceptance.
- Heal Wounded Parts: Help parts release old burdens and traumas.
- Create Inner Harmony: Foster collaboration and communication among your parts.
The Role of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
For clients seeking deeper healing, we offer legal psychedelic-assisted therapy within the IFS framework. This approach can enhance access to internal parts, facilitate emotional processing, and accelerate the therapeutic journey. It’s important to note that psychedelic therapy is conducted ethically and safely, with thorough preparation and integration support.
Healing Trauma with IFS Therapy
Trauma can leave deep emotional scars. IFS therapy provides a unique opportunity to unburden the parts of yourself that carry this pain. When combined with psychedelic-assisted therapy, this process can be even more profound. Psychedelics promote neuroplasticity, allowing for memory reconsolidation and the reintegration of fragmented parts.
Personal and Legacy Burdens
Our parts often carry burdens from our own experiences (personal burdens) and from previous generations (legacy burdens). These burdens can manifest as negative beliefs, limiting emotions, and unhelpful patterns. IFS therapy helps you identify and release these burdens, freeing your parts to embrace their natural gifts.
Manifestations of Trauma in Daily Life
Trauma’s impact can show up in various ways:
- Emotional Patterns: Anxiety, depression, mood swings, emotional numbing, difficulty feeling safe.
- Relational Patterns: Difficulty trusting, boundary issues, people-pleasing, fear of rejection.
- Behavioral Patterns: Procrastination, numbing behaviors, difficulty making decisions.
- Cognitive Patterns: Perfectionism, self-criticism, feeling like an impostor.
Why Choose Our Approach?
Our integrated approach combines the power of IFS with complementary therapies like ACT and ERP, and when appropriate, psychedelic-assisted therapy. We focus on doing—teaching you practical skills to change your relationship with painful thoughts and emotions. We help you:
- Develop psychological flexibility
- Align your actions with your values
- Create lasting change
- Address root causes
- Integrate psychedelic experiences
What We Treat
Our trauma-informed approach is effective for:
- Trauma & PTSD
- Anxiety & Depression
- OCD & Intrusive Thoughts
- Relationship Challenges
- Identity & Personal Growth
- Spiritual Crisis/Emergence(y)
Are You Ready for Change?
If you’ve struggled with anxiety, depression, trauma, or OCD—and haven’t found relief through traditional methods—our integrative approach may be the healing path you’ve been searching for.
Getting Started
We offer both in-person and online therapy. Contact us for a free consultation to see if our approach is right for you.