IFS Therapy in San Luis Obispo, Ca
You understand yourself. You've read the books, done the journaling, maybe even spent years in therapy. You know where your patterns come from. And yet — here you are, still doing the thing you promised yourself you'd stop doing. Still hearing that voice that says you're not enough. Still bracing for something to go wrong the moment things feel good.
That gap between understanding and actually changing is exactly what IFS was designed to close.
What is IFS therapy?
Internal Family Systems — IFS — is a way of understanding yourself that starts with a simple but radical premise: you are not one thing. You are many.
Most of us have experienced this without having words for it. Part of you wants to speak up; another part stays silent to keep the peace. Part of you is ready to move forward; another part is terrified to try. Part of you knows you deserve better; another part doesn't quite believe it.
IFS calls these parts. And rather than treating them as problems to eliminate — the anxiety to get rid of, the inner critic to silence — IFS gets curious about them. Every part, even the ones that cause you the most pain, developed for a reason. They were trying to protect you. They still are. They just may be working from a very old playbook.
Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, IFS is one of the most respected and evidence-based approaches in modern therapy. It is listed on SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and has decades of research supporting its effectiveness.
The Self
At the center of IFS is the concept of Self — a calm, compassionate, curious core that exists in every person, no matter what they've been through. You are not your anxiety. You are not your inner critic. You are not your shame. Those are parts. Underneath them is a Self that is whole.
The work of IFS is helping your Self lead — so your parts don't have to carry burdens they were never meant to carry alone.
Who IFS Helps
Trauma and PTSD
Trauma doesn't just live in memory — it lives in parts. A part that learned to stay hypervigilant so you'd never be caught off guard again. A part that numbs out to protect you from feeling too much. A part that carries the original wound, frozen in time, still waiting for someone to come back for it.
IFS works directly with these parts — not to relive the trauma, but to finally give those parts what they needed and never got: acknowledgment, safety, and relief from a burden they've been carrying far too long. For many clients, IFS creates a depth of trauma healing that other approaches couldn't reach.
Self-criticism and Shame
That voice that says you're too much, not enough, fundamentally flawed — it is one of the most painful parts a person can carry. And the harder you fight it, the louder it gets.
IFS takes a different approach entirely. Rather than arguing with your inner critic or trying to think your way out of shame, we get curious about it. What is that part trying to do? What is it afraid would happen if it stopped? In almost every case, what looks like self-hatred is actually a form of protection — a part that learned to attack you before the world could.
When that part finally feels understood rather than fought, something shifts. Not overnight. But genuinely, lastingly.
What IFS therapy looks like
IFS sessions are collaborative, interactive, experiential and respectful of your system- paced with safety and progress in mind . There is no script, no homework you'll dread, no pressure to go anywhere you're not ready to go. We follow your inner world at your pace.
Some sessions feel like a huge turning point. Others feel like careful, patient groundwork. Both matter.
Most clients begin to notice a real shift — more spaciousness, less reactivity, a quieter inner critic — within the first few months. Deeper work takes longer, and that's okay. This is not a quick fix. It's a genuine change in your relationship with yourself.
IFS at Jessica Bany, LMFT & Associates
Jessica Bany is a trained IFS clinician with nearly 20 years of clinical experience. She is an IFS trained practioner. She has done her own deep IFS work — including after a serious trauma of her own — and brings both clinical expertise and lived understanding to this approach. She knows what it feels like to sit with a part you'd rather not look at, and to discover that it just needed to be heard.
Ana C Mathis is under Jessica’s supervision and uses an IFS informed approach to working with her clients.
We offer IFS therapy in person in San Luis Obispo and via telehealth throughout California.
Ready to find out if IFS is right for you?
The free 15-minute consultation is a no-pressure chance to ask questions, get a feel for how we work, and decide if you'd like to move forward.
Or call or text us at (805) 704-3698
