Embodied Internal Family Systems
Heal through the wisdom of your body
My office in Evanston, Illinois
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps us understand the different parts of ourselves. The Discipline of Authentic Movement helps us experience those parts in the body. Together, they create an embodied path toward healing and self leadership.
Rather than only talking about thoughts and emotions, embodied Internal Family Systems invites you to listen to the body's wisdom. Through the integration of Internal Family Systems and the DIscipline of Authentic Movement, the body becomes an active participant in healing, revealing sensations, images, memories, and movements that deepen awareness, unburden suffering, healing parts and support Self-led decision making.
What is embodied Internal Family Systems?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a compassionate model of psychotherapy developed by Richard Schwartz that understands the personality as an inner community of "parts," each with its own perspective, emotions and protective role. Some parts work hard to manage daily life, some react when we feel overwhelmed and others carry the pain of earlier experiences. Beneath them all is the Self—the calm, curious, compassionate center that has the capacity to lead with confidence and clarity.
Since my training in IFS with Richard Schwartz in 1998, it has become the foundation of my theoretical framework and a map for understanding the internal system of my clients. Through my background as a dance/movement therapist, teacher of the Discipline of Authentic Movement and consultant, I have come to see how a body-centered approach to IFS allows parts to more fully express themselves in the presence of a compassionate witness who guides the client toward healing and Self leadership.
While traditional talk therapy can help us understand our inner world, many experiences are held not only in our thoughts but also in our bodies. Protectors may appear as tension, an urge to withdraw or a feeling of bracing. Vulnerable parts may emerge as sensations, impulses, images, or emotions before words can fully describe them.
Embodied Internal Family Systems weaves together IFS and the Discipline of Authentic Movement, allowing the body to participate in healing. Instead of only discussing parts, you begin to experience them through movement, stillness, breath and sensation, sounds and words.. As awareness grows, the body and mind work together to support greater integration, compassion, and Self leadership.
Why bring the Discipline of Authentic Movement into Internal Family Systems?
Traditional IFS often begins by asking, "What does this part think or feel?"
Authentic Movement expands the conversation by asking:
How does this part breathe?
How does it contract or protect?
How does it reach, hide, resist or soften?
Body awareness and movement help access unconscious material while gently bypassing the tendency to stay "in the head." As parts become visible through embodied experience, a deeper dialogue between Self and parts can develop.
I provide a nonjudgmental presence that supports curiosity rather than providing interpretation, allowing healing to unfold from within you rather than being imposed from outside.
Research in neuroscience also supports the importance of body-centered approaches, demonstrating that engaging the body can contribute to emotional regulation, greater well-being, and the integration of mind and body. Read my article “Tapestry of a clinician: Blending Authentic Movement and the Internal Family Systems model” in the Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices: Volume 7, Number 2 for more on how these disciplines complement each other and the research into body-centered approaches.
How the Discipline of Authentic Movement helps you meet your parts
The Discipline of Authentic Movement offers an experiential way of relating to your inner world. Rather than only talking about your parts, you begin to notice how they express themselves through movement, breath, sensation, images and emotions. As these experiences are compassionately witnessed and reflected upon, many people develop a deeper relationship with their parts and a stronger connection to their Self.
Feeling accompanied in this way may make it easier for certain parts to soften and to express what has never before had the chance to be seen. They often come away feeling more tender and caring, both toward their own parts and toward other people.
Who is this work for?
Embodied Internal Family Systems is for anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with themselves by attending to their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and memories through the combined landscape of body, mind, and words. It may be especially meaningful for those who:
Feel stuck in traditional talk therapy.
Want to strengthen their connection to their body and intuition.
Experience anxiety, overwhelm or difficulty making decisions.
Are navigating life transitions, grief or relationship challenges.
Are seeking personal growth, creativity or spiritual development.
Are therapists or helping professionals interested in embodied clinical practice and self care.
Interested in Embodied IFS counseling or consultations? Email me to discuss the best ways to get started. I’d be honored to support your journey.
Frequently asked questions
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Talk therapy often focuses on analyzing and discussing experiences. Embodied IFS invites you to slow down and notice what's happening in your body in real time (i.e. a tightness in your chest, an urge to curl inward, a shift in your breath) as a way of accessing deeper truths that words alone may not reach.
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It can be both, depending on the setting. The Discipline of Authentic Movement is a contemplative practice rooted in the relationship between mover and witness. When integrated with Internal Family Systems within a therapy setting, it becomes a body-centered therapeutic approach that allows the body to participate in healing while supporting greater awareness, integration and Self leadership.