INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS (IFS)
A STYLE OF THERAPY THAT IS BOTH EVIDENCE-BASED AND TRANSFORMATIONAL
Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime –an ancient proverb that holds true for IFS a style of therapy Kimberly uses during most counseling interventions.
The therapeutic technique created by Marriage & Family Therapist, Dr Richard Swartz, uses the power of the individual’s self to help bring healing and integration to an individual’s system of parts; leading us to feeling whole. The goal, no matter what is affecting you, is to help you feel more whole which includes increasing our feeling – Compassionate, Connected, Confident, Clear, Curious, Creative, Courageous and Calm. And once learned, an individual will be able to easily apply the teachings to their life in order to facilitate change away from the therapeutic setting.
Kimberly discovered the power of guiding individuals and couples through their own internal worlds and continues to learn and remain active and active participant in the ever growing field of IFS. Kimberly is a Certified IFS Therapist through the IFS Institute and is currently pursuing training in Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO) – IFS for couples therapy. She is also passionate about integrating IFS into the field of Sex Addiction, Trauma, Sex Therapy and Spiritual Formation.
common questions about IFS
In IFS therapy, the individual will work at their own pace and be sharing from their own experiences in new and unique ways. Clients can expect to be guided into experiencing their own inner worlds. For those clients who have experience with meditation, mindfulness, or prayer clients report an ease and familiarity with the experience. For clients who have felt disconnected from their bodies and their feelings this may be a unique experience, and Kimberly helps the client through this with patience and compassion.
IFS can be used in almost any situation and present problem. In a nutshell where there is pain and where there is a lack of intimacy (self or other) IFS can help. Kimberly noticed a lack in traditional marriage and sex therapy, that when after education and instruction efforts where made in therapy, there seemed to be a disconnect in application once the clients went home. IFS helps identify and heal those parts that keep showing up as problematic in an individual’s life.
Kimberly is a Certified IFS Therapist through the IFS Institute, which requires over 200 practice hours, additional consultation/supervision and advanced training. She is also pursuing additional trainings in IFS for couples – Intimacy from the Inside Out – in order to continue to bring this transformational work to marriages and relationships.
