IFS Therapy Intensives

Online Throughout Texas

Dive Deeper, Heal Faster

What is IFS Intensive Therapy?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy that views the mind as a complex system of subpersonalities or "parts." These parts, each with their own thoughts, feelings, hopes, desires, and agendas, relate to one another like members of a family. When the “internal family” is working well together, we feel a sense of inner peace, harmony, and well-being. In contrast, conflict between parts can create disruptions in our lives, both inwardly (thoughts, feelings, beliefs, mood, etc.) and outwardly (behaviors, relationships, school/work function, etc.).

Parts are a natural facet of the human psyche but can be negatively impacted by trauma and other adverse experiences. This results in what IFS practitioners call a “burdened system.” Burdened systems carry a lot of pain, shame, fear, guilt, resentment, and more. They also hold a lot of negative (and untrue!) beliefs about the self like “I am unworthy” or “I am unloveable.” The goal of IFS therapy is to harmonize and unburden parts so the individual can access more joy, compassion, clarity, and inner harmony. IFS has been demonstrated to be effective for a wide-range of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, complex PTSD, and addiction.

An IFS intensive takes this radical approach one step further. Instead of meeting for one hour a week, as with traditional psychotherapy, we set aside time to meet for a longer period -- 3 hours or 3 days -- in order to do deeper therapeutic work. An IFS intensive is a practical, efficient, and science-based way to journey deeper and feel better faster. 

How does it work?

Prior to an IFS intensive, we will meet for a Pre-Intensive Interview to select targets and sketch out some directions for our time. My goal here is not really to “plan” our intensive session; rather, it is to cultivate a working alliance and orient you to the process before “dropping into” the work. We may discuss what’s going on in your life currently (challenges, goals, support system, etc.), as well as (lightly) touch on your personal history. We will also address any concerns you may have about proceeding so that you can enter the deeper work feeling safe and confident. My aim is for you leave this initial session feeling heard and hopeful with some sense of excitement about new directions for growth and healing. The Pre-Intensive Interview will generally be a standalone session taking place one day to one week prior to the intensive session(s), but in some cases can be incorporated directly into the larger experience.

Next comes the intensive itself. Depending on how much ground you’d like to cover, we will set aside 3, 6, or 9 hours over 1 to 3 days for our work. My suggestion is to really clear your schedule best you can so that you can fully immerse yourself in this amazing healing experience. While these chunks may sound like a long time, the feedback I tend to get (and experience personally in my own work) is that there is a kind of time distortion effect. You will likely experience our sessions as simultaneously very full and having flown by. Also, please do not feel intimidated by the term “intensive!” A better word might be “concentrated.” You can expect our sessions themselves to feel very gentle and proceeding at your pace.

After our final 3-hour intensive block, we will schedule a post-intensive debriefing. (You may also choose to schedule additional blocks based on your needs.) I think of these debriefing sessions as our opportunity to brainstorm together how you might integrate your new insights into your daily life. Because we will be working with tightly-held negative beliefs, old memories, and long-suppressed emotional experiences, it’s highly likely that you will experience an intensive as a “breakthrough.” This is an amazing aspect of the work, and part of what makes me so excited to offer it. I find, however, that most folks could use more support in making desired changes after the glow of the breakthrough fades. As an IFS practitioner, I hold that an individual who has been freed from internal constraints will naturally flow towards growth, health, and connection. From this perspective, the debrief is not a traditional “discharge plan” where I, as the provider, tell you what to do. Instead, I am there to help you further access and consolidate the internal resources that have been freed up by our work together. Healing + integration is a truly powerful combo!

Why do an IFS intensive?

  • You want to experience deep therapeutic work that can change your life

  • You have had a painful experience or experiences that are still impacting you today

  • You have tried other forms of talk therapy and haven’t made much progress

  • You have tried other forms of talk therapy and have felt pressured, judged, pathologized, or misunderstood

  • You are currently in therapy and have made progress, but feel like there’s more, or feel on the verge of a breakthrough

  • You want to feel better in hours or days instead of weeks or months

  • You are preparing for or dealing with a major life event/transition (wedding, divorce, becoming a parent, losing a loved one, navigating a career change)

  • You are trying to get a handle on some extreme behavior (rage, substance abuse, self-harm, suicidality, etc.) that is disrupting your life

An IFS intensive can help with:

  • Painful childhood experiences (bullying, abuse, loss)

  • Feelings of worthlessness, unlovability, or inadequacy

  • Substance use, misuse, and abuse

  • Recovery from a breakup or divorce

  • Gaining clarity for a career transition

What Does An IFS Intensive Include?

  • Pre-Intensive Interview

    A 90-minute session to determine the goals of the IFS Intensive and prepare for the experience. We will identify the painful memories, beliefs, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief.

  • Customized IFS Experience

    The IFS Intensive sessions take place virtually and are scheduled in 3-hour increments for 1-3 days. Includes targeted treatment and resourcing activities customized for you.

  • Post-Intensive Debrief

    A 90-minute session to debrief the experience and reflect on how to meaningfully integrate new insights into your life. Discuss next steps and directions for growth and healing.

Ready to jumpstart your healing?

Options and Investment

  • 3-Hour Intensive

    Starting at $1,560

    6 face-to-face hours
    (3-hour intensive session + pre-interview + post-debrief)

    Includes personalized resources

    Morning and afternoon availability
    (Central Time Zone)

  • 6-Hour Intensive

    Starting at $2,340

    9 face-to-face hours
    (6-hour intensive + pre-interview + post-debrief)

    Includes personalized resources

    Option for 1- or 2-day program depending on preference

  • 9-Hour Intensive

    Starting at $3,120

    12 face-to-face hours
    (9-hour intensive + pre-interview + post-debrief)

    Includes personalized resources

    Option for 2- or 3-day program depending on preference

 FAQs

  • IFS has garnered significant scientific interest for its unique approach to understanding and and treating psychological and emotional issues. Research indicates that IFS can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, addiction, and trauma-related disorders. Additional studies suggest that this approach not only alleviates symptoms but also promotes long-term psychological resilience and wellbeing.

    Because IFS sessions move at the client's pace, intensive sessions are typically well-tolerated even by the most distressed clients. They are less about "ripping the band-aid off" and more about applying a concentrated dose of care to re-institute the natural internal healing process. Because we can do deeper work in one 3-hour session than three 1-hour sessions, intensives can produce better results, faster. They also reduce the likelihood of premature dropout or the ever-present risk of letting "life stuff" get in the way of necessary healing work.

    It is the nature of psychological interventions that outcomes cannot be guaranteed. While there's no definitive way to know how you will respond to this approach without trying it, there is a high likelihood that you will come away from our time together with significant improvements in mood, distress tolerance, self-compassion, somatic (body) symptoms, confidence, clarity, creativity, and purpose. Additionally, these shifts may have positive "downstream" effects in improved communication with loved ones, deeper relationships, less conflict, more bandwidth for personal projects, better occupational performance, and more.

  • At present, intensives are offered online only. If you are interested in future in-person offerings in the Austin, TX or Seattle, WA area, please feel free to reach out.

  • 3-hour Intensive
    (pre-interview + 3-hour intensive session + post-debrief = 6 total face-to-face hours)
    $1,560

    6-hour Intensive
    ( pre-interview + 6-hour intensive session + post-debrief = 9 total face-to-face hours)
    $2,340

    9-hour Intensive
    ( pre-interview + 9-hour intensive session +post-debrief = 12 total face-to-face hours)
    $3,120

  • The gift of intensives is the potential to feel better, faster. This means that you can make more progress in a few intensive sessions than weeks, months, or even years in traditional talk therapy. This is not hyperbole or marketing hype! This reflects my own healing experience, as well as the experiences of dozens of clients I've worked with over the years.

    You might imagine digging a hole at the beach. You dig a little each day, but each night the tide comes in and fills the hole back up. The depth at which you can dig is limited by how far you can go in an hour. If the hole completely fills, you may even have to spend a good bit of time attempting to relocate it! This is akin to a traditional 1-hour/week therapy format. Progress can certainly be made, but might just be keeping pace with the environment around you.

    Now imagine you muster the strength and support to dig for 3, 6, or even 9 hours! In a relatively short time, you will have gone much deeper than you ever have before. The rising tide will still do its thing, but you will continue to make progress until you reach your goals. This is how intensives work!

    It may be an imperfect metaphor, but I hope you can see how intensives can actually save you time, money, and personal resources in the long run by reducing or eliminating the need to be in long-term, ongoing therapy. To put some hard numbers to it, a year of therapy at a standard rate would cost about $8,000. What if you could do the same amount of healing at less than half the cost and a fraction of the time? It might sound ambitious, but I believe it is possible!

On A Personal Note

I want to take a moment and express my sincerest appreciation for your interest in doing some intensive work with me. Being a therapist has been the privilege of a lifetime. I have spent nearly 10,000 hours tending to some of the most tender places in my clients’ lives, histories, and relationships. In that process, I have developed a profound appreciation for the therapeutic relationship and the traditional model of meeting weekly on an ongoing basis. I have some clients whom I’ve walked alongside for nearly a decade!

I share all this to say that you can believe me when I tell you how excited I am to offer you this intensive experience. While I do think the old way has its limitations, my interest in intensives is born less out of disillusionment and more out of my personal observations of how truly powerful and transformative they can be. I’m a believer in the merits of slow, steady, and cumulative progress, which I have experienced in my own life. But I have also felt and observed quantum leaps, near-instant uplevels, radical change, and deep healing. That is what I hope to offer you here. I hope you will consider joining me.

With kindness and compassion,
Hayden M. Lindsey, LPC

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With kindness and compassion,

Hayden