Parts Work Therapy for Trauma: Understanding How It Promotes Healing
Parts work therapy starts with a simple, very human observation: we are not just one thing. You know that feeling of “one part of me wants to rest and another part of me is saying ‘get it together’”? Or “part of me misses that relationship and another part remembers why I left”? Parts work therapy…
How Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) Helps the LGBTQ Community
As an LGBT therapist practicing in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, I meet clients whose inner narratives sound like full choirs—sopranos of joy, baritones of shame, altos of fierce resilience. Many have benefited from cognitive‑behavioral and psychodynamic approaches—gaining meaningful insights and coping skills, yet some clients still feel these time‑tested frameworks weren’t originally tailored to queer lives….
IFS Therapy: Talk Therapy Alternative You May Want to Explore
If you’ve been searching Chicago for an alternative to traditional talk therapy or have tried other forms of therapy without success, Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) may be worth exploring. IFS is a form of therapy that understands the human mind as being made up of multiple internal “parts,” each with its own beliefs, emotions,…
Unraveling Trauma with Internal Family Systems Therapy
Trauma is a tricky beast. It’s not always about the big, obvious events that everyone recognizes as life-changing. Sometimes, it’s the smaller, quieter moments that creep up on you, leaving marks that are hard to shake off. Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) is a powerful tool that helps you unravel these tangled threads of…
Empowered Self-Discovery: Combining CBT and Parts Work for Anxiety and Depression
Chicago, the vibrant birthplace of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, has gifted us with a therapeutic gem that, surprisingly, pairs beautifully with the stalwart Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). As a therapist in private practice, I often find myself blending these approaches in a way that makes me feel like a culinary genius concocting the ultimate…