IFS Therapy in Los Angeles:
Parts Work for BIPOC & LGBTQ+ Communities
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is an evidence-based approach that helps you identify, understand, and heal the different "parts" of yourself — including wounded inner child parts, protective managers, and reactive firefighters — so you can live with greater self-compassion, clarity, and intention. Our IFS therapists Gonji Lee LCSW (#88522) & Christina Harrison LCSW (#99941) in Los Angeles work with teens and adults of all ages navigating trauma, anxiety, self-criticism, and identity.
by SAMHSA's National Registry
for trauma, depression & anxiety
with a licensed IFS therapist
What Is Internal Family Systems Therapy?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a non-pathologizing, evidence-based psychotherapy developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz that views the mind as naturally made up of multiple "parts," each with its own roles, feelings, and intentions. IFS helps people build a compassionate relationship with all parts of themselves — including wounded parts (exiles), protective parts (managers), and reactive parts (firefighters) — so they can heal from trauma, reduce self-criticism, and access a calm, grounded inner "Self."
IFS was recognized by SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) as an evidence-based practice, with a growing body of research supporting its effectiveness for trauma, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. At Nokdu, IFS, Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) are some of the core approaches we use to support you in your healing journey.
Internal Family Systems is based on the premise that we all have different parts of us. Some parts might feel supportive and others might carry burdens or wounds. Distress happens when different parts come into conflict with one another, or become so extreme that it comes at our own expense. Maybe a perfectionist part helps you do really well at work, but it's costing your mental health and relationships. Or one part tells you to push through hard times while another just needs to feel sad and cry it out.
IFS is a somatic therapy modality that supports you in learning how to understand, befriend, and connect with the protective and wounded parts of you that may be hard to accept. By doing so, we are able to identify how all of our patterns were once protective. Then we can figure out different ways of being that are intentional, present, aligned with our values, and in integrity with our whole selves.
IFS supports us in reparenting ourselves and bringing ourselves into balance. We can still be the people that our younger selves always needed. At Nokdu, we will practice showing up for ourselves and being our own greatest ride-or-die while also holding the reality that for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent people, many of those protective parts formed in response to systems and environments that were never safe to begin with.
Your calm, compassionate core. Characterized by curiosity, clarity, compassion, and creativity. IFS helps you lead from Self, and to bring understanding to your internal world.
Proactive parts that try to keep you in control and functioning. They often show up as perfectionism, people-pleasing, overworking, or the inner critic.
Reactive parts that kick in when distress becomes overwhelming. They may use substances, self-harm, dissociation, or rage to put out emotional fires fast.
Younger, wounded parts that carry the most pain, shame, and fear, often from past traumas. Managers and firefighters work to keep you from feeling the pain of your exiles.
IFS for Trauma, Identity & Beyond
Internal Family Systems therapy in Los Angeles can support a wide range of people carrying pain, stuck patterns, or an internal world that feels chaotic, fragmented, or relentlessly self-critical.
Trauma & PTSD
IFS processes traumatic memories at the level of the parts that carry them without requiring detailed narration. Increasingly used as a first-line approach for complex and developmental trauma.
Depression & Anxiety
Many depressive and anxious states are driven by parts in conflict. IFS helps you understand what's underneath, building a relationship with those parts from a place of compassion.
Self-Criticism & Shame
The inner critic is one of the most common parts IFS works with. Rather than fighting it, IFS helps you understand what this part is protecting. This can create space to transform its role from punisher to ally.
Relationship & Attachment Patterns
Our parts heavily influence how we show up in relationships. IFS helps identify the parts driving fear of abandonment, conflict avoidance, or patterns of resentment and anger.
Chronic Pain & Somatic Symptoms
IFS has growing evidence for supporting people with chronic pain and somatic distress by identifying parts and emotions held in the body that talk therapy alone may not reach.
Disordered Eating & Substance Use
Firefighter parts often manage overwhelming feelings through food, substances, or other behaviors. IFS works with these parts to find safer ways to meet their underlying needs.
IFS Therapy for BIPOC Communities in LA
IFS was not originally developed with BIPOC communities in mind. At Nokdu Therapy, we center your full identity and lived experience, including racial trauma, intergenerational wounds, and the reality of navigating systems that were not designed for you.
For Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, many of the most burdened parts do not come from personal experience alone. They were shaped by intergenerational trauma, systemic racism, and persistent encounters with institutions designed to exclude or harm. A people-pleasing part might have kept you safe in white spaces. A firefighter filled with rage might be carrying racial grief that no one around you has acknowledged.
Our therapists bring their own lived experience as BIPOC individuals to the space. You won't need to spend your session explaining what microaggressions feel like, or defending why certain things hurt. We understand that IFS concepts like "unburdening" and "Self-leadership" must be explored through your specific cultural, ancestral, and systemic context, not applied as universal truths.
We also integrate IFS with other affirming modalities like EMDR and DBT to fit your specific needs.
Work with parts shaped by the chronic impact of racism, colorism, and xenophobia on your sense of self.
Understand how your internal parts were shaped by family survival strategies, cultural history, and the wounds passed down across generations.
Honor the role of community, chosen family, and cultural connection as sources of resilience.
Experience IFS with a systems context. Make sense of yourself within larger contexts of systems, communities, and family structures.
IFS Therapy for LGBTQ+ Communities in LA
For many LGBTQ+ individuals, some of the most burdened parts formed in environments where your identity was actively rejected, erased, or punished. IFS creates space to meet all of those parts with compassion, and help them release what they've been carrying. IFS at Nokdu Therapy is fully affirming of every gender identity, sexual orientation, relationship structure, and expression. We offer LGBTQ+ affirming therapy services in Los Angeles and California that will integrate your intersectional experiences into the therapeutic process.
Identity-Based Trauma & Rejection
IFS works with the parts that formed in response to coming out, family rejection, or years of concealing your identity, helping them feel they have more choice and perspective in navigating systemic, community and relational harm.
Internalized Homophobia & Transphobia
Many LGBTQ+ individuals carry an internalized critic shaped by years of societal messages. IFS helps you understand where this part came from, and transforms your relationship to it.
Gender Dysphoria & Embodiment
We work with transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-expansive clients navigating the emotional complexity of gender identity & dysphoria. IFS can help you negotiate living authentically while maintaining safety in a transphobic world.
Family Rejection & Chosen Family
IFS is especially helpful for building and sustaining chosen family relationships when biological family is not safe or supportive. You can help parts that carry family wounds begin to heal.
Queer & Trans Relationship Dynamics
There are specific dynamics in LGBTQ+ relationships, chosen family structures, and ethical nonmonogamy. IFS can help you understand the parts of you that feel activated in love, intimacy, and community.
IFS for Intersecting Identities
Many of our LGBTQ+ clients are also BIPOC, neurodivergent, or hold other marginalized identities. We hope to hold all of who you are throughout our work together.
Your Path to Healing in LA
Starting Internal Family Systems therapy in Los Angeles is a gentle, supportive process at Nokdu Therapy. Here's what to expect when you reach out.
Free 20–30 Minute Consultation
Connect with one of our Los Angeles IFS therapists at no charge. We'll talk through what you're navigating, answer your questions about IFS, and see whether we're a good fit for each other.
Personalized Intake & Getting to Know Your System
Your therapist will take time to understand your history, the parts you've already noticed, and what brought you to therapy. There's no rush to dive into heavy material before you're ready.
Parts Work with Protectors
IFS is a nonlinear process, but we often start with connecting with protector parts. You learn how they've sought to protect you, and the ways they may help and hurt you. Through compassion, understanding and perspective, you can help these parts heal from their extreme roles.
Parts Work with Exiles
As you come into right relationship with your protector parts, there may be more space to connect with your younger wounded parts. Your therapist will support you in the healing steps to process some of your deepest wounds.
IFS Therapy Across Greater Los Angeles
We serve clients via telehealth anywhere in California, and in person in West LA.
Common Questions About IFS in LA
What is Internal Family Systems therapy and how is it different from other approaches?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a non-pathologizing, evidence-based therapy that views the mind as naturally made up of multiple "parts." Unlike CBT, which focuses on changing thought patterns, or DBT, which teaches behavioral skills, IFS works directly with the internal system, helping you build a compassionate relationship with different parts of yourself and access your core Self. This can be especially powerful for people who've tried other therapies and still feel stuck, or who want to understand the root of their patterns.
Is IFS therapy evidence-based?
Yes. IFS has been recognized by SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) as an evidence-based practice. Research supports its effectiveness for PTSD, depression, phobias, chronic pain, and general psychological wellbeing.
What's the difference between IFS and EMDR?
Both IFS and EMDR are highly effective for trauma and can be used together. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements) to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories at a neurological level. IFS works through building a compassionate relationship with the "parts" that carry traumatic experiences, without requiring bilateral stimulation. IFS tends to be more relational and exploratory; EMDR tends to be more protocol and body-based. You can use the consult call to discuss which approach is the best fit for you.
Do I have to believe in "parts" for IFS to work?
You don't need to buy into any particular belief system before trying IFS. Parts are simply a word we can use to understand our schemas. If you are interested in understanding how different parts of you show up in different moments, then IFS might be helpful for you. For example, if you believe that one part wants to eat a bag of hot Cheetos because it's delicious and you deserve it, and another part of you doesn't want to eat it because it will hurt your stomach, then you already understand that there are different aspects of you that can shift based on context. Schedule a consultation call with an IFS therapist to learn more about whether it may be a good fit for you!
How long does IFS therapy take?
It depends on the complexity of your history and what you hope to work on. Some clients experience meaningful shifts in 8–16 sessions. Others may benefit from working with IFS for years.
Does IFS therapy work via telehealth?
Yes. IFS translates very well to telehealth. Many clients actually find that doing parts work from their own home environment supports a greater sense of safety and groundedness. We offer secure video sessions to clients throughout Los Angeles and across all of California.
Is IFS therapy covered by insurance?
We are not in network with any insurance companies. If your PPO plan confirms they will reimburse you for out-of-network services, you will automatically receive a superbill at the beginning of each month to submit to your insurance. We also have limited sliding scale spots available for those for whom finances are a barrier. Please ask about this during your free consultation.
What does an IFS therapy session look like?
An IFS therapy session typically begins with a check-in about what feels present or activated for you that day. Your therapist will then guide you to notice a part — often an emotion, body sensation, image, or inner voice — and help you turn toward it with curiosity rather than judgment. You might be asked what you notice in your body, what the part looks like, or what it wants you to know. Sessions are gentle and client-led; you won't be pushed to revisit trauma before you feel ready. Over time, sessions move from building relationships with protective parts to accessing and healing the more wounded parts underneath them.
Can IFS therapy help with racial trauma?
Yes. IFS is particularly well-suited for racial trauma because it does not require you to narrate or re-live events in detail. Instead, it works with the parts that formed in response to racism, discrimination, and intergenerational harm — including the parts that learned to shrink, assimilate, or protect you in hostile or unsafe environments. At Nokdu Therapy, our therapists hold racial trauma as a systemic reality, not a personal pathology, and bring their own lived experience as BIPOC individuals to the therapeutic space. You will not need to explain or justify your experiences here.
What is parts work therapy?
Parts work therapy is a broad term for any therapeutic approach that works with the different "parts" or sub-personalities within a person. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is the most widely used and researched parts work model. Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, IFS is based on the premise that parts have different roles (managers, firefighters, and exiles). IFS helps you build a compassionate understanding of your internal world to create more space for healing. Other approaches like Voice Dialogue and ego state therapy also use parts work concepts. At Nokdu Therapy, our Los Angeles therapists use IFS-based parts work with a specific focus on how racial trauma, LGBTQ+ identity, and neurodivergence shape the parts we carry.
Ready to Begin IFS Therapy in Los Angeles?
Schedule a free 20–30 minute consultation with one of our IFS therapists. Telehealth available statewide throughout California.
YOUR IFS THERAPISTS
Meet Our IFS-Trained Therapists
Our therapists are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent clinicians who bring their full selves to the work. You deserve a therapist who gets you.
IFS Trained · Teen, Adult & Relationship Therapist
Gonji Lee (they/them), LCSW #88522
Gonji is the founder of Nokdu Therapy and a trained IFS therapist. Their work is deeply rooted in a liberation-centered, anti-oppressive framework. As a nonbinary, queer Korean therapist, Gonji holds space for clients navigating complex trauma, identity, and the intergenerational weight that many BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals carry.
IFS Trained · Adult Therapist
Christina Harrison (they/them; she/her), LCSW #99941
Christina works with adults processing complex emotions, trauma, and identity using an IFS-informed lens. They create a warm, nonjudgmental space for clients to explore their inner worlds and build lives that feel genuinely aligned with who they are.