FREE RANGE MENTAL HEALTH
Internal Family Systems Therapy
IFS therapy to help you stop fighting yourself and start understanding what's driving your patterns. Offering in-person therapy in Bellingham, WA & online therapy statewide.
- Greater Clarity & Inner Calm
- Deeper Self-Compassion
- Freedom From Old Patterns
- Greater Clarity & Confidence
- Increased Self-Compassion
- Improved Emotional Regulation
Part of you wants to move forward, and part of you keeps pulling you back.
You tell yourself you’ll set the boundary, speak up, or let someone in, and then a part of you slams the brakes. You want to move forward, but something keeps pulling you back. You’re calm one minute and snapping the next, and afterward you can’t figure out where that came from. It can feel like you’re two people fighting for the wheel, and you’re not sure which one is really you.
IFS offers a different path. Instead of managing your anxiety, self-criticism, and anger, you get to understand the parts of you that carry them. When those parts feel understood instead of judged, they soften, and change starts to feel possible.
We can help close the gap between knowing and healing.
Something in you keeps getting in the way.
Do you find yourself thinking...
- Why am I my own worst enemy?
- Part of me wants this, and part of me is terrified of it.
- Why do I keep getting triggered and losing my temper?
- Why can’t I stop overthinking every decision?
- I don’t remember what it feels like to be happy.
- Why do I keep repeating the same patterns even when I know better?
We help you lead your inner world instead of fighting it.
IFS THERAPY IN BELLINGHAM & ACROSS WASHINGTON
IFS therapy can help you work through:
- Anxiety & Stress
- Depression & Low Mood
- Trauma & Old Wounds
- Perfectionism & Harsh Self-Criticism
- Low Self-Esteem
- Anger & Reactivity
- Relationship Issues
- Family Conflict
- Feeling Stuck Or Divided
- Shame & Self-Doubt
FREE RANGE MENTAL HEALTH
How IFS Therapy Helps You Heal
- Connect with the calm, grounded core of you that already knows how to lead.
- Get curious about your protective parts instead of fighting them.
- Understand what your inner critic, your worrier, and your avoider are trying to do for you.
- Help those protective parts relax so they don't have to work so hard.
- Reach and heal the parts carrying old pain from trauma, abandonment, and low self-worth.
- Release the burdens that keep old wounds running your present.
- Restore balance so your parts can bring back their strengths: compassion, curiosity, courage, and confidence.
Find a Therapist
Greg D’Eloia
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
Madison Aviles
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
Emily Soen
Licensed Social Work Associate-Independent Clinical
Jordan Mindt
Clinical Social Work Intern
Craig Brunner
Clinical Social Work Intern
Greg D'Eloia
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)
WHY WORK WITH FREE RANGE MENTAL HEALTH
Turn your problems into strengths
You want to live with more peace, happiness, and freedom.
Somewhere in your life, you’ve experienced a situation, challenge or pain that has created a pattern of behavior that is keeping you stuck and preventing you from living the life you envision for yourself. You may be struggling with a relationship that isn’t working, a career that isn’t fulfilling, or a life that doesn’t feel like you’re truly living.
IFS THERAPY IN BELLINGHAM & ACROSS WASHINGTON
How Internal Family Systems Therapy Works
Notice
The first step is to get curious about what's happening inside you: the thoughts, feelings, and reactions that show up, without judging any of them.
Understand
The second step is to explore your protective parts and the roles they play, so you can understand what they've been trying to do for you all along.
Heal
The third step is to reach the parts carrying old pain, release the burdens they've held, and restore balance so you can lead from your core Self.
The parts you’ve been fighting are the ones that need you most.
FREE RANGE MENTAL HEALTH
What You Can Expect From IFS Therapy
As you continue your work with IFS, you may notice changes like:
- Enhanced self-awareness
- Less internal conflict and warfare
- Softer, less intense reactions
- More space between feeling and acting
- Compassion for parts of yourself that used to bring shame
- Clearer, more confident decisions
- A better relationship with yourself and others
- Relief from anxiety and depression
- Freedom from old trauma and self-doubt
- A deeper sense of calm and self-trust
Frequently Asked Questions About IFS Therapy
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy?
IFS is a compassionate, evidence-informed approach that helps you understand the different “parts” of yourself: the part that criticizes you, the part that worries constantly, the one that avoids conflict, or the one that shuts down when you’re overwhelmed. Instead of viewing these parts as symptoms to eliminate, we get curious about them, understand their protective roles, and help them heal. As that happens, you start to feel more like yourself again: calmer, clearer, and more in charge of your own life.
What do you mean by "parts"?
Everyone has parts. You might notice that a part of you wants to set a boundary, but another part feels guilty when you do. Maybe one part wants closeness while another pushes people away. One part wants to be seen; another wants to hide. Having parts doesn’t mean you have multiple personalities or a mental illness. It’s a normal way of understanding the complexity of being human. IFS treats this multiplicity as our natural state, and gives us tools to understand and resolve inner conflict.
Do I have to believe in "parts" for IFS to work?
No, and a lot of people are skeptical at first. You don’t have to picture your parts, name them, or think of them as separate from you. If the whole idea sounds a bit odd, that’s fine. It doesn’t get in the way of the work. We just pay attention to what’s already there: a feeling, a thought, a reaction, or a sensation in your body. You don’t have to buy into anything for that to be useful. And when someone says “I really don’t have parts,” that reaction itself is often the first thing worth getting curious about.
Why does IFS work when other approaches haven't?
Many people come to IFS frustrated, because they understand their problems intellectually but keep repeating the same patterns. Knowing why you struggle with anxiety, self-criticism, people-pleasing, procrastination, relationship conflict, or emotional overwhelm isn’t always enough to change it. Approaches like CBT tend to focus on managing symptoms, challenging thoughts, and changing behaviors. IFS starts by understanding the protective purpose behind the behavior. Even patterns that frustrate you make sense when you see them as attempts to protect you from pain, rejection, or overwhelm. When your protective parts feel understood rather than judged, they tend to become less extreme, which allows healing at the root.
How long does IFS therapy take?
There’s no set timeline. Some people experience meaningful shifts within a few IFS therapy sessions, while others benefit from longer-term work to move through complex issues or longstanding patterns. Your IFS therapist in Bellingham will check in regularly about your goals and progress, and most clients know within a few sessions whether this approach feels right for them.
Can IFS be combined with other therapies?
Absolutely. IFS integrates well with EMDR, somatic therapies, attachment-focused work, mindfulness, polyvagal-informed approaches, ACT, and CBT. At Free Range Mental Health, your therapy is always tailored to your individual needs.
Is IFS considered a somatic therapy?
Not exactly, though the two overlap. IFS isn’t a somatic therapy by definition, but it pays close attention to the body. Parts often show up as physical sensations: tightness in your chest, a knot in your stomach, or a heaviness you can’t quite name. We notice those signals and follow them, because the body often knows what a part is holding before words do. IFS also blends well with somatic approaches when that’s what your system needs.
What happens in an IFS session?
Every IFS session starts with whatever you bring in: a reaction that’s been bugging you, a feeling that won’t let up, a situation that’s been sitting heavy. Together, we turn toward the part underneath it and get to know it. Why is it so worried? What’s it been trying to keep you safe from? How long has it carried that weight? You decide how far to go and how fast, and we stay right there with you. You stay in the driver’s seat the whole time, and we move at your pace.
Who is a good candidate for IFS therapy?
IFS tends to be a good fit if you’ve done talk therapy and understand your patterns but still feel stuck. It also helps people who are hard on themselves, who feel pulled in different directions, or who struggle with anxiety, self-criticism, trauma, perfectionism, or old wounds that keep resurfacing. You don’t need any experience with therapy or any particular belief about “parts” to benefit. Curiosity and a willingness to look inward are enough.
Who should not do IFS?
IFS is gentle and adaptable, so it works for a wide range of people. That said, if you’re in an acute crisis, actively unsafe, or dealing with something that needs immediate stabilization, that comes first, and we’d focus on grounding and safety before deeper parts work. IFS also isn’t a substitute for medical care or psychiatric treatment when those are needed. The best way to figure out whether IFS is right for you is to talk it through, so book a free consultation and we’ll help you sort out the next step.
How To Get Started
If you’re ready to get started, you can book your free consultation using our online booking platform.
If you’re ready to get started, submit an inquiry or give us a call. We will book you in.
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