For couples who want to repair, reconnect, and relate from the inside out
IFS-Informed Couples Work (IFIO)
Relationships ask a lot of us.
They expose the vulnerable places we tend to hide, activate old protective patterns, and invite us into a deeper kind of intimacy. Many couples come to me because they are tired of looping through the same arguments, feeling misunderstood, or carrying the emotional weight of the partnership alone. Others come because love is present, but the connection feels strained or out of reach.
My approach to couples work is rooted in Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO), the couples-therapy branch of Internal Family Systems. IFIO helps you understand the patterns that drive your conflict, increase emotional safety, and learn to speak and listen in a way that brings you closer rather than pushes you apart. It is powerful, experiential, and deeply human work.
When we learn how to meet our inner world with clarity and care, we show up to our relationships with more presence, humility, and courage.
What IFIO is
IFIO is a model designed by Toni Herbine-Blank that blends the wisdom of IFS with research-backed principles of attachment, neuroscience, and experiential couples therapy.
It is an invitation into a new way of relating. It brings the wisdom of IFS into the space between two people and helps you understand not just your partner, but the younger and more vulnerable places inside each of you that are trying to be heard.
Every conflict has an inner story. IFIO teaches you how to listen for that story. It helps you see the protective moves you make when you feel exposed, the patterns you inherited without realizing it, and the longing underneath the anger or shutdown.
In this approach, nothing is pathologized. Every reaction has a purpose. Every protector is doing something intelligent. When these parts feel understood rather than blamed, the whole system softens. This is where real intimacy begins.
IFIO supports you in creating a relationship where communication is slower and more intentional, where both people feel safe enough to tell the truth, and where you can meet each other with empathy even when things feel charged.
It is a pathway back to each other, guided by curiosity, care, and the kind of honesty that brings couples closer rather than farther apart.
What Working Together Looks Like
Sessions are active, guided, and experiential. I support both of you in slowing down, tracking what is happening inside, and sharing from a grounded and clear place.
You will learn how to:
Recognize when you are blended with a reactive or protective part
Strengthen intimacy through presence, attunement, and honest communication
Build a relationship culture where both partners feel respected, valued, and understood
Repair conflict in real time by speaking from vulnerability instead of strategy
Navigate differences without collapsing or powering through
The Logistics
Format
Weekly 60 or 90 minute sessions on Zoom
Investment
$250 per session
(Sliding scale available in special cases)
Getting Started
All couples begin with a free 20 minute consultation call to make sure the fit feels right for both of you.
Couples work can be vulnerable. It can also be one of the most powerful investments you make in your relationship. Couples often tell me this work feels different than anything they have done before.
If you feel called to explore this together, reach out. I would be honored to support you.