IFS Therapy Columbus, OH
We provide Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy in Columbus, Ohio, to help you better understand the different parts of yourself, work through difficult emotions and experiences, and build a more compassionate relationship with yourself.
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Practice
In-Person & Telehealth Options
IFS-Informed Therapists
Serving Columbus & Central Ohio
Understand the Parts That Make Up Yourself.
What Is IFS Therapy?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a form of psychotherapy that views the mind as consisting of different internal “parts,” each with its own emotions, beliefs, and roles.
We use IFS and IFS-informed therapy to help you become curious about the different parts of yourself, understand why they’ve developed, and begin changing your relationship with your emotions and patterns.
What Can IFS Therapy Help With?
Trauma & Difficult Experiences
Explore protective patterns and emotional responses that developed around painful or traumatic experiences.
Anxiety & Stress
Understand the parts of you that anticipate danger, overthink, seek control, or remain constantly on alert.
Depression
Examine emotional patterns connected to sadness, withdrawal, hopelessness, or feeling disconnected from yourself.
Self-Esteem & Self-Criticism
Become curious about your inner critic and the parts that carry shame, perfectionism, inadequacy, or fear of failure.
Relationship Patterns
Understand the protective reactions, fears, and past experiences that influence how you connect with other people.
Identity & Life Transitions
Work through conflicting emotions surrounding identity, relationships, career changes, loss, and other transitions.
Emotional Regulation
Learn to recognize strong emotional reactions and respond to them with greater awareness rather than feeling controlled by them.
Personal Growth
Develop deeper self-awareness and understand the internal patterns that influence your decisions, relationships, and sense of self.
How We’ll Work Together
Meet With Your Therapist
Your first session is an opportunity to talk about what brought you to therapy, your current concerns, relevant history, and what you’d like to change. You don’t need to understand IFS or identify your different “parts” before you arrive.
Begin Personalized IFS Therapy
Your treatment plan will reflect your individual goals and may incorporate IFS alongside other therapeutic methods when appropriate.
Meet Our IFS Therapy Team
City Counseling’s multidisciplinary team includes clinicians who incorporate Internal Family Systems and parts-based work into psychotherapy. We’ll help you connect with a therapist whose clinical experience and therapeutic style fit what you’re looking for.
The City Counseling Difference
Personalized, Evidence-Based Psychotherapy
IFS is one of several therapeutic methods available at City Counseling. Your therapist will consider your goals, experiences, strengths, and needs when determining which methods are appropriate for your treatment.
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy
City Counseling welcomes clients across identities, backgrounds, relationship structures, and lived experiences. You can work through your internal experiences without having your identity treated as something that needs to be changed.
Trauma-Informed Care
Many of our clinicians specialize in trauma and PTSD. We understand that difficult experiences can shape the ways you respond to emotions, relationships, conflict, stress, and perceived threats long after the original experience has ended.
A Comfortable Space for Doing Difficult Work
Our goal is to create a setting where you feel safe enough to be curious, honest, and open about parts of yourself you may have spent years criticizing, avoiding, or trying to change.
Looking for IFS Therapy Near You in Columbus, OH?
If you’ve been searching for “IFS therapy,” City Counseling serves clients throughout Columbus and Central Ohio, including Bexley, Grandview Heights, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Dublin, Hilliard, Westerville, Gahanna, New Albany, Powell, and surrounding communities, as well as offering telehealth appointments.
Get to Know the Different Parts of You
IFS therapy gives you another way to understand the anxiety, self-criticism, protective behaviors, painful emotions, and conflicting feelings you’ve been carrying. We’ll help you find an IFS therapist who can give you space to understand those parts with curiosity and work toward a healthier relationship with yourself.
IFS Therapy: Frequently Asked Questions
What does IFS stand for in therapy?
IFS stands for Internal Family Systems. It’s a form of psychotherapy that views the mind as having different internal parts with their own feelings, beliefs, memories, and protective roles. IFS therapy helps you understand these parts and develop a more compassionate relationship with them.
How does IFS therapy work?
IFS therapy helps you notice different parts of yourself and become curious about what they’re feeling, what they’re trying to accomplish, and why they developed particular roles. Rather than trying to suppress or eliminate difficult emotions, you and your therapist work toward understanding the experiences and needs behind them.
What are the three main types of parts in IFS?
IFS commonly describes three categories of parts: managers, firefighters, and exiles. Managers try to prevent emotional pain, firefighters react when pain surfaces, and exiles often carry vulnerable emotions or difficult experiences. IFS also recognizes the Self as a compassionate, curious, grounded center from which you can relate to your parts.
What does an IFS therapy session look like?
An IFS session may involve discussing a current concern and noticing the thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, or reactions that appear around it. Your therapist can help you slow down, identify different parts involved, and become curious about what each part is trying to communicate or protect.
Do I need to understand my “parts” before starting IFS?
No. You don’t need any prior knowledge of Internal Family Systems before starting therapy. Your therapist can introduce the framework gradually and help you identify patterns and parts as they become relevant to your treatment.
Is IFS good for trauma?
IFS and parts-based work can be used within trauma-informed psychotherapy. For someone with a history of trauma, the framework can provide a way to understand protective responses and painful emotions without treating those reactions as personal failures. Treatment should still be individualized based on your history, symptoms, and clinical needs.
Is IFS the same as family therapy?
No. Despite the name, Internal Family Systems doesn’t require your family to participate. The “family” refers to the system of different parts within an individual. IFS is commonly used in individual psychotherapy.
How long does IFS therapy take?
There isn’t a standard number of sessions. The length of therapy depends on what you’re working through, your goals, your history, and how your treatment progresses. Your therapist can discuss recommended frequency and revisit your treatment plan with you over time.
Can IFS be combined with other types of therapy?
Yes. A clinician may integrate IFS concepts with other therapeutic methods based on their training and your needs. At City Counseling, clinicians draw from multiple therapeutic frameworks to personalize treatment rather than assuming one method is appropriate for every client.
Does City Counseling offer virtual IFS therapy?
Telehealth is available for many City Counseling services. When you contact the practice, let us know you’re interested in IFS therapy and whether you prefer an in-person or virtual appointment so the team can discuss available options.
Do you accept insurance for IFS therapy?
City Counseling currently works with several insurance providers, although participation and coverage depend on your therapist and individual plan. Our team can help you understand insurance and payment options when you schedule your appointment.
To schedule an appointment fill out our contact form. Questions? Please text, call or email us.
- Hours
- Vary By Clinician
- Location
The building is located across the street from the Columbus Maennerchor and kitty-corner from the McDonalds on South High Street. We are located on the second floor.
If you are in immediate need of help, call 911 or call Netcare Access at (614) 276-2273. You can also reach out to a suicide prevention hotline.
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