About us

Parts-based therapy is a broad family of approaches - including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Ego State Therapy, and Gestalt-informed chairwork - that understand the mind as naturally made up of multiple inner parts or subpersonalities, each with its own perspective, emotional world, and protective role. Rather than analyzing thoughts and behaviours from the outside, parts-based therapy works from the inside, building relationships with the different parts of your inner world, understanding what they've been carrying, and helping them integrate toward greater harmony and Self-leadership. It is experiential, relational, and often profoundly different from anything clients have encountered in more traditional talk-based settings.

While IFS, Ego State Therapy, Inner Child work, and other parts models all share the same foundational belief (that we are made up of many inner parts, each deserving of understanding and care), they each bring something a little different to the table. IFS works with a specific internal map: Exiles who carry old pain, Managers who keep things running, and Firefighters who respond in crisis, all held together by the calm, compassionate presence of the Self. Ego State Therapy takes a complementary approach, working directly with discrete self-states that have developed over time (often in response to trauma) and tends to be especially well-suited for more complex presentations involving dissociation or deep identity fragmentation. Inner child work, which weaves through many of these approaches, brings a particular tenderness to the younger parts of us that are still carrying old hurts and unmet needs. In practice, these approaches are far less separate than they might sound. At Providence, we draw fluidly from all of them, letting your unique inner landscape guide which language, techniques, and entry points serve your healing best.

Not at all. While parts-based approaches are highly effective for complex PTSD, developmental trauma, dissociation, and attachment wounds, they are equally valuable for anxiety, depression, perfectionism, people-pleasing, chronic self-criticism, relationship challenges, identity questions, burnout, and the general sense of being at war with yourself. If you've ever noticed inner conflict (one part of you wanting something, another part resisting), parts-based therapy has something to offer you.

Sessions often begin with gentle inner exploration. Your therapist may invite you to notice what's arising inside as you speak, or to become curious about a reaction, emotion, or physical sensation and what part of you it might belong to. As trust builds, the work can become more experiential, actively engaging with parts through imagery, inner dialogue, or embodied techniques like chairwork. It rarely feels clinical or detached; most clients describe it as surprisingly moving, and often note that shifts happen not just in their thinking but in how they feel in their bodies. You are always guided, always in the driver's seat, and the pace is always determined by what your system is ready for.

Yes, when delivered by a therapist with appropriate training and experience. Parts-based approaches are, in fact, among the most effective available for dissociative presentations, including structural dissociation, ego state fragmentation, and complex PTSD. The key is ensuring your therapist has specialized training in dissociation-informed parts work, understands how to carefully pace the process, and knows when stabilization needs to precede any deeper exploration. At Providence, our clinicians hold advanced training in both parts-based approaches and dissociation, and your safety and stabilization will always come first.

This varies considerably depending on the complexity of your history and what your inner system needs. Some clients notice meaningful shifts in understanding and self-compassion within a relatively short course of work. For others, particularly those navigating developmental trauma, significant dissociation, or a long history of relational wounding, parts-based therapy unfolds gradually over a longer period, building trust layer by layer. Your therapist will work collaboratively with you to develop a realistic, personalized plan and revisit it regularly as your work evolves.