A Lantern In The Woods

IFS (INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS) /PARTS-WORK

COACHING AND INTUITIVE GUIDANCE TO JOURNEY THROUGH THE SHADOW TO FIND CLARITY AND HEALING.

SUPPORT TO ILLUMINATE YOUR WAY FORWARD.

Jennifer Hinckley Baglia

IFS, or Internal Family Systems, was developed by Richard C. Schwartz, PhD. as a therapeutic tool to explore internal, often subconscious, conflict. Dr. Schwartz believes that everyone has a core whole and healthy Self.

IFS Parts-Work helps people connect with that healthy Self and those parts that might have great intentions but are often blocking real growth and fulfillment due to being burdened by outdated stories, wounds, and trauma. Talking about our stories (talk therapy) can reinforce them instead of releasing them. With IFS, the goal is not only to understand and release the past but to embrace and integrate all the elements of our personality, including our shadow. It’s a tool for introspection, radical self-acceptance, and self-love, which is a powerful combination.

When we try to eliminate unwanted aspects of our personality, we often inadvertently strengthen them by shaming them, keeping us even more “stuck.” Instead, we can release the stories and wounds, effectively healing those parts that have been carrying these burdens for most of our lives. With IFS, this self-awareness and self-love become a way of living life. But it is difficult to do the deep work by ourselves; we need someone to facilitate our journeys inward, to help guide us, and to discover all of the intricate elements of our internal system.

I can help you if: 

• You’re struggling, and you don’t know how to move forward. 

• You know at some level that you’re not living your truth.

• You feel like you are ruled by fear and anxiety.

• You feel like something’s missing in your life, but you can’t figure out what that is.

• You know there are choices, but you don’t know what they are or how to make them.

• You’re looking for support in seeing things more clearly and developing trust within yourself.  

• There are circumstances in your life that you cannot change, for the time being, and you need help finding acceptance and coping strategies. 

• You want to learn how to connect to and trust your intuition and inner knowing.

We all experience challenging times and can use support and guidance to find our way. I’m here to help when you feel lost, unsure, or want to make your life happier and more fulfilling. Our fears of change, loss, and rejection make it hard to go against the grain and defy family, societal, or religious expectations. We all have past wounds that reinforce these beliefs. This fear and self-doubt create inner conflict, with some parts wanting to play it safe and others wanting to grow, making it hard to move forward and holding us back from living our best lives.

This is the root of Internal Family Systems. This model works directly with these parts that hold the limiting beliefs, befriending them and integrating them as allies within the system, not seeking to eliminate any of them. It also aims to help the client gain greater access to their core Self, which can be described as the soul, the “watcher”, one’s divine nature, or true spirit untainted by the accumulated wounds and stories of one’s past, an intrinsic guide always available to help find one’s way forward. Coaches, as well as therapists, successfully utilize this model to help their clients deal with limiting beliefs.