IFS Intensives
An IFS Intensive is an extended therapy session with more time to explore a specific concern, internal conflict, or group of parts without being limited to a standard 50–55 minute session. The additional time allows space to slow down, stay with what emerges, and talk through what comes next.
A longer window for focused work.
Longer is not automatically better. But there are times when having more time in one session can make it easier to explore a specific issue without feeling rushed by the end of a standard therapy hour.
More time to understand the different parts involved without feeling as though you have to rush toward an answer.
More room to stay with one pattern, conflict, or reaction as it becomes clearer.
Time at the end to reflect on what came up and talk through what might be useful next.
What might you bring to an intensive?
You do not need a perfectly defined goal before you begin. An intensive can start with a pattern, conflict, reaction, or part of yourself that you want to understand differently.
A recurring pattern that feels hard to change
Strong self-criticism or shame
Feeling internally divided or conflicted
A relationship pattern that keeps repeating
Addictive or compulsive patterns
A major decision or transition
What if the parts you struggle with are trying to help?
Internal Family Systems, or IFS, understands the mind as containing different parts that can carry different emotions, beliefs, impulses, and ways of responding.
Rather than treating those reactions simply as problems to eliminate, IFS invites curiosity about why they developed, what they may be trying to accomplish, and whether they still need to work in the same way.
Begin with a focus. Follow what emerges.
The session follows what is actually happening rather than trying to move through a predetermined script.
Notice the parts
Identify the different reactions connected to the issue, including parts that want change, resist it, criticize, avoid, protect, or feel vulnerable.
Choose a focus
You and Mike identify the part, conflict, or pattern that seems most useful to spend time with.
Get curious
Explore what a part is doing, what it fears, and what it may want you to understand.
Explore further
If the process naturally moves deeper, there may be an opportunity to work with older beliefs, emotions, or experiences. No particular outcome is required.
Integrate
Leave time to reflect on what emerged, identify next steps, and consider what kind of follow-up would be useful.
Regular therapy or an IFS Intensive?
Individual Therapy
Typically 50–55 minutes
Often weekly or every other week
Ongoing support across different areas of life
IFS-informed work can be incorporated over time
IFS Intensive
Approximately three hours
A more defined area of focus
More time to explore one internal process
Can be stand-alone, periodic, or part of ongoing therapy
Have a plan for what comes after.
An intensive does not have to replace ongoing therapy. Some people schedule one intensive, others return periodically, continue working with Mike, or bring what came up back to their regular therapist.
Near the end of the session, you and Mike can talk about what kind of follow-up or continued support makes sense rather than assuming everything needs to be resolved in one session.
If coordination with another therapist would be useful, communication between providers would occur only with appropriate consent and releases in place.
Start with a conversation.
An intensive may make sense if there is a particular concern or internal conflict you want to focus on, you are interested in IFS-informed work, and you would like more time than a standard therapy session provides.
A free 15–20 minute consultation gives you and Mike a chance to talk about what you want to work on and consider whether an Intensive or regular individual therapy seems like the better fit.
New clients complete a consultation before scheduling an IFS Intensive.
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