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This article was updated on September 17, 2026.
Some types of trauma therapy rely on exposure to traumatic events as their way of working with trauma, which can retraumatizing to certain clients.
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| A compassionate framework for trauma repair: Evidence-based IFS parts work therapy leverages the gentle, healing presence of the Core Self to safely unburden wounded parts. |
IFS Parts Work Therapy, which is a gentle, effective, evidence-based* therapy, doesn't use exposure like many types of exposure therapies.
*In 2015, SAMHSA (US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration) designated IFS as an evidence-based therapy.
Key Framework of Gentleness in IFS Parts Work Therapy
IFS, which stands for Internal Family Systems Therapy, is a parts work therapy that prioritizes pacing that works for the client, internal consent and a non-pathologizing framework:
- No Forced Reliving of the Trauma: IFS focuses on how trauma lives in the body and mind in the here-and-now. This means that clients can use current emotions, thoughts and body sensations or images.
- Permission Based Pacing: IFS is designed in such a way that therapists don't bypass defense mechanisms. Healing only progresses as "protector parts" (i.e., defense mechanisms) give permission and soften naturally.
- Welcoming All Emotions: Anger, anxiety, shame and all emotions are met with curiosity and not judgment (see my article: Welcoming All Emotions).
- Reframing Symptoms as Protectors: IFS is non-pathologizing, as mentioned above, so that symptoms aren't viewed as "destructive" or "bad". In IFS therapy there are no bad parts. Symptoms are viewed as protectors who are doing their best to protect the client. This reframing helps to reduce shame.
- Preventing Emotional Flooding: IFS relies on a gentle process called "unblending" When a client experiences emotional pain, fear or shame, the therapist asks the part to step back so that the client can witness the pain without feeling overwhelmed by it.
- Building Self Trust: Healing happens through your own inner wisdom rather than through an external source.
- Self-Lead Healing: The source of healing doesn't come from the authority of the therapist. Instead, it comes from the client's own Core Self which is an undamaged core that is characterized by calmness, compassion, curiosity and clarity. So, you set the pace.
- Gentle Unburdening: Parts of the client which hold the trauma are allowed to safely release their historical pain, shame and fear in an environment of internal containment and at their own pace.
Get Help in IFS Parts Work Therapy
If you have been struggling on your own with unresolved trauma, you could benefit from working with a licensed mental health professional who is a IFS therapist.
Unburdening yourself of trauma can help you to lead a meaningful life free of your traumatic history.
About Josephine Ferraro, LCSW
I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, Hypnotherapist and advanced practitioner specializing in IFS Parts Work, Somatic Experiencing, AEDP, EMDR, EFT Couples Therapy and Sex Therapy.
I provide depth-oriented, experiential therapy to help individual adults and couples move past internal blockages into authentic relational alignment.
To learn more about my clinical background, clinical philosophy, and healing approach, please visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.
- Office Location: I see clients in person at my Greenwich Village office (New York, NY 10011) as well as online via secure telehealth throughout New York State.
- Initial Contact: I provide a complimentary 15-minute introductory phone call prior to scheduling an initial appointment.
- Contact Information: You can reach me directly at (917) 742-2624 during standard business hours or email me.
Also See My Other Articles About IFS:
