A Compassionate, Non-Pathologizing Approach
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a gentle, evidence-based approach that helps you understand your inner world with curiosity and compassion. Rather than seeing symptoms as problems to eliminate, IFS views them as protective strategies that developed for a reason.
IFS honors every part of you—especially the ones that feel overwhelming, stuck, or conflicted.
Understanding Your Inner System
IFS recognizes that we all have different “parts” within us. These parts hold emotions, beliefs, memories, and roles that shaped how we learned to survive and connect.
Some parts try to manage daily life and keep things under control. Others work hard to protect us from pain, often through avoidance, numbing, or compulsive behaviors. Still others carry wounds from past experiences.
None of these parts are bad—they are trying to help.
Accessing the Healing Self
At the core of IFS is the belief that everyone has a calm, grounded, and compassionate Self. This Self is not broken or damaged by trauma.
IFS therapy helps you access this inner Self so healing can happen from within. From this place, parts can finally feel heard, understood, and supported rather than pushed away or fought against.
How IFS Therapy Helps
IFS can support healing from:
• Trauma and attachment wounds
• Anxiety and emotional overwhelm
• Shame and self-criticism
• Sexual compulsive behaviors
• Betrayal trauma and relational injury
• Depression and identity concerns
As parts release the burdens they carry, clients often experience increased clarity, emotional regulation, and self-trust.
Trauma-Informed and Nervous System-Aware
IFS therapy works at a pace that respects your nervous system. You are never forced to relive experiences or confront parts before you are ready.
Safety, consent, and internal trust guide the process, making IFS especially effective for trauma and complex relational pain.
IFS in Individual and Relationship Therapy
IFS can be used in individual therapy, couples therapy, and family work. In relationships, IFS helps partners recognize when protective parts are taking over and how to reconnect from a more authentic, grounded place.
This approach blends naturally with Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to support deeper emotional bonding and secure attachment.
What to Expect in IFS Therapy
Sessions focus on curiosity rather than judgment. Together, we slow things down and listen to what your parts need.
Over time, parts learn they no longer have to work so hard, and the Self becomes the leader of your internal system.
Healing feels less like fixing and more like remembering who you are.
IFS Therapy at Big Valley Therapy
At Big Valley Therapy, IFS is integrated with attachment-based, trauma-informed care. Therapy honors both your lived experiences and your innate capacity for growth and healing.
Our work is rooted in compassion, safety, and helping you access your most authentic Self.
Start IFS Therapy in Sandy, Utah
If you are ready to understand yourself more deeply and heal from the inside out, IFS therapy can help.
Contact Big Valley Therapy today to schedule a consultation and begin your healing journey.