IFS Therapy · Seattle · Statewide WA Telehealth
IFS that helps you turn toward the parts you have been fighting.
Internal Family Systems is a way to get to know the parts of you, the critic, the protector, the part that carries old pain, and meet them with some calm instead of a fight. Same-week appointment availability. Most major insurance plans accepted. In person at three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington.
IFS therapy at Counseling Services for Wellbeing helps Seattle-area adults get to know the parts of themselves, the inner critic, the protector, the part that carries old pain, and build a calmer relationship with all of them. Our IFS-trained therapists offer parts work that goes at your pace. We accept most major insurance plans, book same-week appointments and see clients at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video statewide.
The idea of parts makes sense on paper. Sitting with all of it is another thing entirely.
You have read about parts work. Maybe a book, maybe a podcast, maybe a therapist who mentioned it once. The idea makes sense on paper. There is a part of you that pushes hard and a part that wants to hide and a part that still carries something from a long time ago. But sitting with all of it is another thing entirely.
So one part keeps the others in line. The critic that narrates every mistake. The manager that schedules every minute so nothing slips. The part that goes numb when a feeling gets too close. They are not the enemy. They have been working overtime to keep you safe, and they are tired.
What you have not had is a way to turn toward those parts instead of fighting them. Not to silence the critic or push the pain back down, but to actually hear what each part has been carrying. That turning-toward is what IFS is built for.
IFS for adults who feel at war with their own parts.
A harsh inner critic that never lets up
A voice that narrates every mistake and keeps the volume up. You would not talk to anyone else the way that part talks to you.
A manager part running you ragged
The part that plans every minute so nothing slips. It looks like being on top of things until you notice you have not exhaled in months.
A part that still carries old pain
Something from a long time ago that surfaces in the present, in moments that should feel fine but somehow do not. You have learned to step around it.
A part that goes numb when feelings get close
When something gets too near, the volume drops to zero. It kept you safe once. Now it leaves you watching your own life from a step back.
Read the books, still cannot do the work alone
You understand the framework. Knowing about parts on your own has not given you a way to actually sit with them when one takes over.
Patterns that keep repeating in relationships
The same reactions show up with the people closest to you. A protective part takes the wheel before you have a chance to choose another way.
First-time-therapy adults are welcome. If you are drawn to the parts framework and want to go at your own pace, with someone trained in it beside you, this work was built for you.
How IFS therapy works here.
IFS here pairs the parts work with a whole-body view, noticing where a part lives in the body and how your nervous system responds, rather than working with thoughts in isolation.
Reach out
A short form or a call. We hear what is going on, which parts feel loudest right now, and what you have already tried. No assessment battery to clear before we talk.
Get matched
We pair you with a therapist trained in IFS whose approach fits how you process. The first few sessions are about getting to know the system gently, starting with the parts that are easiest to meet, never pushing toward old pain before there is enough safety to turn toward it.
Start this week
First appointment in person at one of three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington. Same therapist each session. The work is collaborative and unforced: you set the pace, and your therapist follows the system rather than running you through a script.
What IFS is, and where a whole-body lens comes in.
IFS, or Internal Family Systems, is an approach built on the idea that the mind is naturally made up of parts, and that beneath them is a calm, grounded Self that can lead. The IFS Institute describes the work as helping people access that Self and build trusting relationships with their parts, so the parts no longer have to run the show on their own. In practice it is collaborative and unhurried: you and your therapist turn toward one part at a time, hear what it has been carrying and help it ease its load.
A part rarely lives in the head alone, so we work with the body too. When a part holds old trauma, we pair IFS with EMDR so the memory can settle. We add somatic and nervous-system work for the physical weight a part carries, and CBT skills when a protective part needs concrete footing in the present. This is not IFS in a vacuum. It is parts work inside a whole-person practice, matched to how your system actually shows up.
How we compare
Counseling Services for Wellbeing vs. typical Seattle IFS options.
| Solo IFS specialists | Online-only therapy platforms | Counseling Services for Wellbeing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First appointment |
Often months-long waitlist
|
Days, but with whoever signs on
|
Same-week scheduling
|
| Depth of single-modality IFS focus |
Often a certified IFS specialist's whole practice
|
IFS rarely a true specialty
|
IFS-trained clinicians on the team
|
| Same therapist each session |
Yes, same therapist
|
Therapist rotation common
|
Same therapist, continuous care
|
| Messaging between sessions |
Rarely offered
|
Built-in app messaging
|
No 24/7 app messaging
|
| Pairs IFS with trauma and somatic work |
IFS only, refers out otherwise
|
Scripted, often surface-level
|
IFS plus EMDR, somatic, CBT available
|
| Insurance accepted |
Often cash-pay only
|
Limited carrier coverage
|
Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
|
-
First appointment
-
Solo IFS specialistsOften months-long waitlist
-
Online-only therapy platformsDays, but with whoever signs on
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSame-week scheduling
-
-
Depth of single-modality IFS focus
-
Solo IFS specialistsOften a certified IFS specialist's whole practice
-
Online-only therapy platformsIFS rarely a true specialty
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingIFS-trained clinicians on the team
-
-
Same therapist each session
-
Solo IFS specialistsYes, same therapist
-
Online-only therapy platformsTherapist rotation common
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSame therapist, continuous care
-
-
Messaging between sessions
-
Solo IFS specialistsRarely offered
-
Online-only therapy platformsBuilt-in app messaging
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingNo 24/7 app messaging
-
-
Pairs IFS with trauma and somatic work
-
Solo IFS specialistsIFS only, refers out otherwise
-
Online-only therapy platformsScripted, often surface-level
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingIFS plus EMDR, somatic, CBT available
-
-
Insurance accepted
-
Solo IFS specialistsOften cash-pay only
-
Online-only therapy platformsLimited carrier coverage
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingKaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
-
A solo IFS specialist offers something real: often a certified clinician whose whole practice is parts work, the same person every session, going deep in one method. What you give up is range. If a part is carrying trauma that needs EMDR or somatic work, you start over with a new referral. We keep the same therapist and the continuity, with IFS-trained clinicians and EMDR, somatic and CBT approaches in the building when the parts work needs company.
Most major insurance plans accepted
We recommend confirming your benefits with your insurer before your first session, so getting to the inner work does not have to wait until you can afford cash-pay rates.
Meet some of our IFS-trained therapists.
These clinicians have specific training in Internal Family Systems. We match you with a therapist trained in IFS whose approach fits how you process, and who can fold in other approaches when a part needs more than parts work alone.
A deeper bench than the five here. Tell us what you are working on and we will match you with the right therapist.
Three offices or secure video anywhere in Washington.
Parts work translates well to video, and many clients find it easier to settle into the inner work from their own space. Meet the same therapist in person or online.
Secure video, statewide
Anywhere in Washington. Same therapist either way.
Online therapy in Washington →What adults ask before starting IFS.
What is IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapy?
IFS, or Internal Family Systems, is an approach built on the idea that the mind is made up of parts, like the inner critic, the part that manages and plans, and the part that carries old pain. The work is about the relationship you have with those parts. Rather than silencing or fighting them, you learn to turn toward each one with some calm and curiosity, hear what it has been carrying and help it ease up. It is collaborative and goes at your pace.
What does IFS therapy help with?
People come to parts work for a harsh inner critic, anxiety, depression, the weight of old trauma, relationship patterns and the sense of being at war with themselves. IFS is often used alongside trauma work, since many parts are carrying something from a long time ago. It is flexible and frequently combined with other approaches based on what fits you. Your therapist will tailor the work to what you are actually carrying.
Do I need to already understand parts work to start?
No. Plenty of people arrive having read a book or heard a podcast and still feel unsure how it works in practice, and plenty arrive having never heard the language at all. Your therapist introduces the parts framework gently, in your own words, and never asks you to perform a method you do not feel yet. Resistance to parts work is common and is treated as a part to get to know, not a problem to push past.
Are your therapists actually trained in IFS?
Yes. The clinicians featured for this page have specific training in Internal Family Systems, not just a passing familiarity with the language. We match you with a therapist trained in IFS whose approach fits how you process. If parts work is one piece of a larger picture, that same therapist can fold in other approaches like EMDR without handing you off.
Do you take my insurance for IFS therapy?
We accept Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna. We recommend confirming your specific benefits with your insurer before your first session, so you know what to expect rather than guessing. If you are unsure about your coverage, reach out with any questions; the member number on your card is the fastest way to confirm your benefits.
Do you offer IFS online or only in person?
Both. You can meet in person at our Green Lake, Burien or Smokey Point offices, or by secure video anywhere in Washington with online therapy, with the same therapist either way. Parts work translates well to video, and many clients find it easier to settle into the inner work from their own space.
Where are your offices?
We see clients at three offices, Green Lake in Seattle, Burien and Smokey Point in Arlington, plus secure video sessions anywhere in Washington. The Green Lake office serves North Seattle, the Burien office serves South King County and the Smokey Point office serves north Snohomish County. You can also meet entirely online if that is easier for you.
You do not have to keep managing the same parts on your own.
IFS gives you a way to meet them with some space and some calm, the critic that never lets up and the part that goes quiet when it matters, and you can start this week. Counseling Services for Wellbeing accepts most major insurance plans, books first appointments the same week and matches you with a therapist trained in Internal Family Systems, in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video across Washington.
