Menu
Menu
Menu
IFS therapy for anxiety helps you uncover the parts of you that feel overwhelmed, over-responsible, or always “on.” Instead of managing symptoms, it gets to the root of what your anxiety is really protecting.
Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC is a Los Angeles-based anxiety, trauma, and attachment therapist who helps self-aware, high-functioning adults understand the deeper parts driving their anxiety. She specializes in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, somatic approaches, and nervous system healing for individuals who feel stuck.
IFS, or Internal Family Systems, is a type of therapy that doesn’t just ask what you’re feeling—but who inside you is feeling it. And no, not in a “split personality” kind of way. In a very normal, very human kind of way.
You’ve probably already noticed this. One part of you is anxious about that text you haven’t gotten back. Another part is telling you to calm down. Another one is spiraling, thinking it must mean something’s wrong. That’s IFS in real time: multiple parts of you reacting, all trying to keep you safe.
Here’s the key: those anxious parts aren’t bad. They’re protective. They showed up early—maybe when you were a kid trying to keep the peace, stay ahead of rejection, or avoid shame. They learned anxiety was how to survive. And now, even when life’s calmer, they still run the show.
Instead of shaming the anxious spiral, we ask: What is this part trying to protect me from? That curiosity is where the healing starts.
This isn’t mindset work. It’s not “think positive and your anxiety will go away.” It’s a nervous-system-informed, evidence-based model backed by decades of research and clinical success. Here’s more on the founder, Dr. Richard Schwartz and the IFS model.
And in my Los Angeles practice, I’ve seen how life-changing this work is for people who are self-aware but still stuck—especially the ones who say things like “I know it’s irrational, but I can’t stop feeling this way.”
IFS finally gives them a way in.
In IFS, we work with parts—not pathologies. Here are a few anxious parts I see all the time:
The Overthinker: Tries to prepare for every outcome so you’re never caught off guard.
The Perfectionist: Believes if you do everything right, you won’t be rejected.
The Inner Critic: Thinks it has to keep you in check so you don’t get hurt or embarrass yourself.
The Peacemaker: Keeps you quiet or agreeable to avoid conflict—even when it costs you.
These parts usually developed early, often in response to environments where love felt conditional or emotions weren’t safe to express.
And the wild thing? These same parts that once kept you emotionally safe are now the ones keeping you stuck in anxiety.
Instead of coping around your anxiety, IFS helps you go toward it—with curiosity, not judgment.
When you build a relationship with your anxious parts, you start to realize: they’re not trying to sabotage you. They’re trying to protect a younger version of you who felt scared, unseen, or not enough.
That’s where the deeper healing happens.
You don’t just manage anxiety—you understand why it’s there, and what it’s guarding. From there, we work with your system to unburden those younger parts and give them what they needed back then: safety, connection, and calm.
In real life? That means you don’t go into panic mode when someone doesn’t text back. You don’t spend hours replaying that awkward interaction. You finally feel like you are running the show—not your nervous system.
Here’s the thing most people miss about anxiety: it’s not random. It’s not irrational. It’s not even about the present, most of the time.
For many of the clients I work with, anxiety is actually a trauma response that didn’t get named as trauma. It’s the leftover imprint of years spent bracing, appeasing, or walking on eggshells. And now those protective parts—especially the ones that overthink, overwork, or avoid conflict at all costs—are stuck on high alert.
That’s what makes IFS therapy different.
It doesn’t just ask you to challenge your thoughts. It asks who inside you is holding the fear—and why. It helps you track the part that’s scanning for danger 24/7, and understand what it’s trying to prevent.
When you approach your anxiety this way—not as a flaw to fix but as a system doing its best to survive—it changes everything. You stop trying to suppress the panic and start building real safety with the parts of you that never got it.
This is especially powerful if you’ve experienced relational trauma, emotional neglect, or felt like your needs were “too much” growing up. IFS meets that emotional reality—not just with insight, but with repair.
Some anxious parts don’t look anxious. They look like the version of you who has it all together. The one who shows up early, keeps everyone calm, anticipates every need, and says “it’s fine” even when it’s clearly not.
I work with a lot of clients like this—people who have a part that takes care of everything so they never have to feel out of control. That part might have gotten you through a chaotic childhood or a parent who couldn’t regulate their own emotions. It worked. But now? It’s exhausting.
IFS therapy helps you notice who is working overtime in your system—and what they’re protecting.
When that overfunctioning part steps back, there’s usually another part underneath—one that still feels like the world isn’t safe unless you’re constantly managing it.
This is why so many of my clients say things like, “I’ve done so much therapy. I understand why I’m anxious. But it still doesn’t stop.” IFS helps you go deeper than insight. It lets you actually talk to the part that’s holding the anxiety—and unburden what it’s been carrying all this time.
Let’s be real. When you’ve tried every therapy under the sun, it’s normal to wonder: Is this just another trend?
IFS therapy is not a fad—it’s a clinically respected model grounded in research. Studies have found that Internal Family Systems therapy significantly reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD in trauma survivors. Read the full study at Taylor & Francis.
Here in Los Angeles, organizations like UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center are leading the conversation around mindfulness and nervous system healing—concepts that align deeply with how IFS works. And NAMI Greater Los Angeles County continues to advocate for trauma-informed, nervous-system-aware care across the city.
And honestly? You don’t need a study to tell you what your body already knows: if your anxiety isn’t getting better with insight alone, it might be time to stop thinking about it—and start talking to it.
If you’re in Los Angeles and anxiety feels like a broken record you can’t turn off, IFS therapy gives us a different way in.
In session, we slow things down. Instead of analyzing your anxiety, we get curious about the part of you that’s feeling it. The one that spirals. The one that can’t let things go. The one that’s trying to hold it all together.
You don’t have to explain your anxiety away. You get to listen to it—really listen.
Together, we map out your internal system: the protectors, the critics, the overthinkers, the ones who just want to feel safe again. And we help those parts do something they’ve never done before: unburden.
This isn’t just insight work—it’s relational, body-aware, and designed to actually create internal safety. IFS gives you a framework to understand why you feel what you feel and tools to stop getting hijacked by it.
I’m a licensed therapist in Los Angeles who works with smart, self-aware clients who are tired of being stuck in the same emotional cycles—especially the ones that sound like anxiety, people-pleasing, or shutdown responses that don’t make sense on paper.
I specialize in IFS therapy, somatic therapy, attachment-focused therapy, and nervous system regulation for clients dealing with complex trauma or burnout from just trying to keep it together.
If you’re looking for therapy that actually helps you understand why you feel the way you do—and teaches you how to work with your system instead of against it—you’re in the right place.
Learn more about how I work or reach out to book a consultation.
If you’re wondering where you’ve heard of me before, I’ve shared expert insights on anxiety, emotional patterns, and nervous system healing in national outlets like:
Time Magazine – How Cuddling Affects Your Sleep
I talk about how the nervous system responds to physical connection—and how safety in the body matters more than we think.
Parade – How to Calm Anxiety in Seconds, According to a Therapist
I explain how anxiety shows up somatically, and why regulating your system is more effective than overthinking your way out of it.
Well + Good – Signs You’re Caught in the Anxious-Avoidant Dating Trap
I dive into anxious attachment and explain how parts of us try to manage closeness by either clinging or pushing away.
Yes—IFS works especially well for people who say “I don’t know why I feel anxious, but it just doesn't go away.” It helps uncover the protective parts beneath the surface.
Traditional talk therapy focuses on thoughts. IFS focuses on parts—the anxious ones, the critical ones, the ones trying to keep you safe. It’s more experiential and body-aware.
That depends on your system—but many people start feeling relief in the first few sessions, just from understanding what part is driving the anxiety.
If this post resonated with you, here are a few more IFS-related blogs that explore how parts work can support anxiety, trauma, and healing:
