Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy | Lionheart Counseling LLC
You're Not Broken. Your Parts Are Just Working Overtime.
You've probably felt it — the version of you that desperately wants to change, and the one that keeps sabotaging it. The part that craves connection, and the one that shuts people out before they get too close. The part that knows you're capable of more, and the voice that tells you you're not worth it.
You've tried to silence that voice. You've tried to reason with it, ignore it, push through it. And it comes back louder.
You might have wondered if something is fundamentally wrong with you. Why can't you just stop doing the thing you know you shouldn't do? Why do you keep pulling back right when things start to get good? Why does the version of yourself you want to be feel just out of reach — no matter how hard you reach for it?
Here's what that pattern actually is: it's not dysfunction. It's protection. And there's a way to work with it rather than against it.
That's what Internal Family Systems therapy does.
Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) is one of the most powerful approaches available for understanding why you do what you do, and genuinely changing it. Not managing it. Changing it.
What Is IFS Therapy?
Internal Family Systems is an evidence-based therapy model developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. It's built on the idea that the mind is made up of multiple "parts" — distinct aspects of yourself that developed for specific reasons, often to protect you from pain.
Think about the inner critic that tells you you'll fail before you've even tried. The perfectionist who can never do enough. The part that numbs out when things get hard. The self-saboteur that pulls back right when something good is about to happen. These aren't random — they each have a job. They developed to keep you safe. The problem is, they're still doing that job based on rules they learned a long time ago, in circumstances that no longer exist.
IFS helps you understand those parts, hear what they're protecting, and help them heal — so they stop running your life from the shadows.
The Three Types of Parts
Managers
These parts try to keep your life under control. The inner critic, the perfectionist, the overachiever, the people-pleaser. They work hard to prevent anything painful from happening — often by keeping you in a constant state of vigilance, performance, or self-judgment.
Firefighters
These parts activate when something painful breaks through anyway. They're the impulsive ones — the part that reaches for a drink, disappears into screens, overworks, lashes out, or shuts completely down. Their job is to put out the emotional fire as fast as possible, by whatever means necessary.
Exiles
Deep underneath the managers and firefighters are the parts that carry the real pain — the shame, the grief, the wound. These are usually younger parts that experienced something hard and got pushed away because the pain was too much. The managers and firefighters exist to keep the exiles buried. IFS helps you finally reach them, understand them, and heal them.
The Self — Your Most Important Resource
At the core of IFS is a belief that is both simple and profound: no matter how much pain you've been through, no matter how stuck you feel, there is a part of you that has never been damaged.
IFS calls this the Self — a calm, compassionate, curious center that is always there, even when it's been buried under layers of protection. The goal of IFS therapy isn't to fix your parts or get rid of them. It's to help your Self lead — so your parts can finally relax, trust, and heal.
When that starts to happen, everything shifts.
What IFS Is Especially Effective For
IFS works powerfully for a wide range of struggles, and it's particularly effective for the kind of deep, root-level work that other approaches sometimes can't reach:
Self-sabotage and patterns you can't seem to break no matter how hard you try
Negative core beliefs — "I'm not enough," "I don't deserve this," "Something is wrong with me"
Trauma and PTSD, especially complex or relational trauma
Shame — the deep, pervasive kind that feels like it defines who you are
The inner critic — the voice that tears you down and keeps you small
Anxiety rooted in hypervigilance and self-protection
Depression connected to disconnection from your own sense of self
Difficulty with trust, vulnerability, or letting people in
People-pleasing, perfectionism, and the inability to set boundaries
How IFS Works at Lionheart Counseling
IFS is one of four primary therapeutic approaches used at Lionheart Counseling, alongside EMDR, CBT, and Solution-Focused Therapy. Depending on what you're working through, these approaches are woven together — sometimes in the same session.
IFS sessions are collaborative and client-led. You won't be pushed to go anywhere you're not ready to go. The process involves getting curious about your parts rather than fighting them — approaching the inner critic with interest instead of frustration, listening to what the self-saboteur is actually trying to protect, and slowly building trust between your Self and the parts that have been working so hard for so long.
Many people describe IFS as the approach that finally made sense of things that years of other therapy hadn't touched. It doesn't just address symptoms — it addresses the system underneath them.
Who IFS Is a Good Fit For
IFS at Lionheart Counseling works well for adults who:
Feel like they're fighting against themselves and can't figure out why
Have tried other therapy approaches and want to go deeper
Struggle with self-sabotage, self-criticism, or an inner critic that won't quiet down
Carry shame or negative core beliefs that feel completely true no matter what
Want to understand themselves at a root level — not just manage symptoms
Are ready to do real, meaningful work on who they are and how they show up
You've Been at War With Yourself Long Enough
The parts of you that cause the most frustration — the critic, the saboteur, the one that shuts down — they didn't develop to destroy you. They developed to protect you. And when you finally understand that, something remarkable happens: they don't have to work so hard anymore.
That's when real change becomes possible. Not because you finally conquered your broken parts — but because you realized they were never broken to begin with.
Ready to get started? Book a session directly and let's begin.
IFS Therapy in Murray, Utah — In-Person and Online
Lionheart Counseling LLC is located at 5296 S Commerce Dr, Suite 206, Murray, UT 84107. In-person sessions are available Tuesday through Friday. Telehealth IFS therapy is available to adults throughout the entire state of Utah — including Salt Lake City, South Jordan, Sandy, Draper, Midvale, and West Jordan.
Phone:(801) 921-7854 | Email:dax@lionheartcounselingllc.com
(Scheduling is currently processed through my partner office, Living Waters Counseling)
Dax Johnson is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC, #13937032-6004) in the state of Utah, licensed through the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL).