“IFS-informed” means therapy is influenced by Internal Family Systems (IFS), a therapeutic approach that views the mind as made up of different “parts” or inner experiences. Much like the Disney movie Inside Out, IFS recognizes that we all have different emotional parts within us that serve important roles. Some parts may carry anxiety, shame, fear, perfectionism, people-pleasing tendencies, anger, or past trauma, while other parts work hard to protect us from emotional pain.

Rather than seeing these parts as problems, IFS-informed therapy helps clients identify, understand, and eventually befriend these inner experiences with curiosity, compassion, and self-awareness. This approach can support healing from trauma, anxiety, attachment wounds, childhood trauma, relationship challenges, low self-esteem, emotional overwhelm, and negative self-beliefs by helping clients build a stronger connection to themselves and their emotions. As clients develop a more secure attachment within themselves, they often begin experiencing healthier and more authentic relationships with others.

At Wild Strength Therapy, Alicia provides IFS-informed therapy in Lone Tree, Colorado, as well as virtual therapy for clients throughout Colorado. While Alicia is not formally IFS certified, she has years of experience integrating an IFS-informed lens into her work with clients. Through this approach, she helps clients better understand the different parts of themselves that may hold pain, protection, fear, shame, grief, or unresolved trauma.

Alicia may help clients access and connect with these parts through guided meditation, visualization exercises, somatic awareness, inner child work, nervous system regulation, and interactive parts cards designed to encourage exploration and deeper self-understanding. These tools can help clients identify emotional patterns, understand internal conflicts, and develop greater compassion toward the parts of themselves that may have formed in response to difficult life experiences.

IFS-informed therapy can be especially helpful for individuals struggling with trauma, PTSD, anxiety, perfectionism, burnout, people-pleasing, emotional dysregulation, relationship difficulties, and chronic stress. By learning to listen to and care for their internal system, clients often experience greater emotional balance, self-trust, resilience, and lasting healing.