Ever notice the duality within—one part moving you forward, another pulling you back? Parts work, also known as IFS therapy, turns this inner tension into an opportunity for real change. Learn how embracing your duality leads to self leadership and lasting healing.

IFS vs Traditional Talk Therapy: Why Parts Work Goes Deeper
Tired of talk therapy that helps you understand your patterns—but not change them? In this post, Bethany Russell, MA, LPC, breaks down how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy goes beyond coping strategies to heal the parts of you that traditional therapy often overlooks. Learn why your anxious, people-pleasing, or shutdown responses aren’t flaws—they’re protectors. And discover why working with your internal system creates lasting transformation.

I've been thinking about this pattern I keep seeing with my clients.

They've built incredible things. Successful businesses, impressive careers, the kind of life that looks amazing from the outside. And they come to me saying some version of the same thing:

"I should be happy. I have everything I thought I wanted. But I feel... empty."

The part that gets me is how guilty they feel about it. Like they're ungrateful or broken for not feeling fulfilled by their success.

But here's what I've learned: achievement doesn't automatically heal your inner world.