IFS and Psychodynamic Therapy: Different Ways to Explore Patterns

You might notice that you agree to something you don’t want, feel resentful afterward, and then criticize yourself for being resentful. You can describe that sequence without knowing the name of a therapy approach. In our work, the approach should help us understand your experience, not make you feel as though you need to translate yourself into the correct language.

Internal Family Systems, or IFS, uses the language of “parts” to explore your inner experience. Psychodynamic therapy pays attention to feelings, relationships, and recurring patterns, including how earlier experiences may influence the present. These are broad distinctions rather than two sealed boxes. What matters in a session is how an idea helps us make sense of what’s happening for you.

With an IFS lens, we might become curious about the part of you that says yes and what it fears would happen if you declined. We might also notice the part that becomes angry afterward. Instead of trying to silence one side, we can explore what each is concerned about. You don’t have to invent personalities or use labels that don’t feel natural to you.

With a psychodynamic lens, we might explore what saying no has meant in important relationships. Were you allowed to disappoint people? Does this current interaction remind you of an earlier expectation? We can also notice what it’s like to disagree with me in therapy. The point isn’t to assume that every present difficulty comes from childhood. It’s to consider connections that may help us understand the pattern.

I wouldn’t describe one approach as deeper, faster, or better for everyone. Either can be used thoughtfully or feel unhelpful in a particular relationship. A therapist’s explanation, responsiveness, and willingness to hear your feedback matter alongside the name of the method. You can ask what we’re doing, why I’m suggesting it, and how it relates to what you wanted help with.

My practice draws on IFS and psychodynamic perspectives, among other approaches. I’m Level 1 trained in IFS. I work collaboratively, so we can discuss whether parts language feels useful or whether you’d rather begin by describing a situation in your own words. We don’t need to commit every session to a single vocabulary or force a meaningful experience into a model.

You might ask, “How would you work with the pattern I’m describing?” or “What might a session feel like?” If you’ve had therapy before, tell me what helped and what didn’t. Perhaps you appreciated insight but wanted more engagement, or found an exercise confusing. Those details give us a better starting point than deciding that an entire approach is either right or wrong for you.

Our work can involve exploring the past and noticing what happens now. I’ll offer questions and observations, and you can tell me when something misses the mark. The goal is a fuller understanding of your experience and a conversation about what you want to do with that understanding. No approach can promise a particular result or a fixed timeline.

I offer online therapy for adults in California and Massachusetts. A complimentary 15-minute video consultation gives us a chance to talk about your questions and my approach.

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Online in California and Massachusetts.