IFS Trained Therapist In Murrieta, CA, and Online

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)

tana noonan, lmft

I know:

You feel like you’re fighting yourself

Meet Sarah (not her real name):

Sarah knows she should set boundaries with her mother. She's talked about it in therapy for months. She understands exactly why she struggles with it.

But every time she tries:

Part of her says "Just say no"
Another part feels overwhelming guilt
Another part criticizes her for being selfish
Another part shuts down completely

When Sarah’s parts are in conflict, she feels stuck. Fighting herself to change is exhausting - because different parts want different things.

IFS helps parts stop fighting each other. When that happens, change becomes natural instead of impossible.

WHAT if the problem isn’t you - it’s that your parts are fighting each other?

WHAT IS IFS?

A therapy approach based on the idea that our minds are naturally made up of different parts.

Each part has its own perspective, feelings, and role.

✔ Some parts protect us through anxiety, perfectionism, or shutdown; others carry old wounds and pain.

✔ Beneath all the parts is your Self — the calm, compassionate, curious core of who you are.

✔ IFS helps you build a relationship with your parts, understand what they're protecting you from, and release the burdens they carry so your whole system can work together.

Instead of fighting or suppressing parts of yourself, you learn to lead them.

You already experience this:

Part of me wants to rest, but another part says I have to keep going.

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Part of me knows I'm doing enough, but the critic says I'm failing.

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Part of me feels angry, but another part shuts it down.

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Hi, I’m tana

I want you to know there's nothing wrong with you — even the parts of yourself you hate are trying to help, and we're going to understand them together.

We'll slow down enough to listen to what each part needs, help them trust that you (your Self) can lead, and release the burdens they've been carrying. This isn't about managing symptoms or forcing change; it's about building a different relationship with your internal world so all your parts can work together instead of against each other.

What I Can Help With:

✓ Complex trauma and PTSD
✓ Dissociation, shutdown, and nervous system dysregulation
✓ Inner criticism, shame, and self-worth struggles
✓ Relationship patterns (people-pleasing, conflict avoidance, emotional withdrawal)
✓ Living with ADHD, autism, or other neurodivergence

My approach:

You lead, I follow — I trust your system knows what it needs and when; I'm here to help you access that wisdom, not impose an agenda
Safe — We move at the pace your protectors trust, and I work to help you feel genuinely seen and held in the process
Integrative — I weave IFS with somatic awareness, attachment repair, and nervous system regulation as needed
Inclusive — affirming and non-judgmental

[Learn More About Me ⟶]

IFS Frequently Asked Questions

No. You don't have to believe anything. You just have to be willing to pay attention to what's already happening.
You've already experienced this:
- "Part of me wants to set this boundary, but another part feels guilty"
- "I know I'm doing enough, but something in me says I have to keep going"
- "Part of me wants to feel the anger, but something shuts it down"
IFS just gives you a framework for working with what's already there. Most clients are skeptical at first - then surprised by how quickly parts become real and recognizable once we start paying attention.
You don't have to take my word for it. Your own experience will show you whether it's useful.
It depends on what you're working with and what you need.
Some clients:
- Notice shifts in a few sessions (parts calming down, conflicts resolving)
- Work for 3-6 months to address specific patterns (perfectionism, people-pleasing, chronic guilt)
- Stay for a year or more to work with complex trauma, deep exile wounds, or longstanding caretaking patterns
IFS isn't about "fixing" you in X sessions. It's about building a relationship with your internal system so parts trust your Self to lead.
Some parts trust quickly. Others need time. We follow your system's pace, not a protocol timeline.
We'll talk regularly about what's working and what you need. If something's not helping, we adjust.
No. IFS is based on normal human psychology - not pathology.
Everyone has parts. That's not a disorder - it's how minds work.
You don't have multiple personalities. You have one Self with multiple parts - different perspectives, feelings, and protective strategies that developed over time.
The goal isn't integration in the DID sense (multiple identities becoming one). The goal is Self-leadership - parts working together instead of fighting, with your Self leading instead of being run by the critic or the perfectionist.
Think of it like this:
- You don't have to "get rid of" the part that wants to rest or the part that pushes you to work hard
- You just help them stop fighting each other
- Your Self leads - calm, grounded, able to decide what's actually needed
Parts are resources, not problems. IFS helps them work together.
You don't have to visualize anything.
Some people see images. Some people feel sensations in their body. Some people hear thoughts or notice emotions. Some people just have a sense of different perspectives or voices.
All of that works. IFS meets you where you are.
I'm not going to make you close your eyes and imagine your inner child in a meadow unless that's natural for you.
How we work with parts:
- Notice where you feel something in your body (tightness in chest, tension in shoulders, pit in stomach)
- Get curious about what that part is afraid of
- Explore what it's trying to protect you from
- Help it trust your Self can handle what it's been managing alone
If you can notice "I feel anxious" or "part of me feels guilty," we can work with it. That's all you need.