IFS and Neurodifferences
Introduction – This hour together is an integration of: research and dissemination of other’s words and research and then my own lived experience, my work as a UKCP and IFS therapist and neurofeedback practitioner, realisations and views shared to my parts and clarity and curiosity from my Self. (Please do know I’m not an expert - this is aimed at my local community here in Stroud, I’m someone in the community feeding back interesting information in service to the community). If II write something that you’re not ok with, please do write and tell me and we can discuss, and I may amend here, I obviously cant amend the video!
NB! I have a lot of parts who have views about this talk in particular. IOnes that don’t want to offend, ones that don’t want me to stick my neck out and get shot down, frightened ones, activisty ones. The first of these Stroud IFS drop in talks on IFS and Neurodivergence, earlier in the month, I had parts blend with me and I went into a shame spiral. I managed to pause, find my Self and do a u turn, and then return. So I want you to know its likely parts of me might blend, I might get flustered… and also I’m ok, I’ve got this. And I’m going to mainly read my notes!
I offer this talk, with the ideas of inclusive, Brave and Accountable Space from intersectionality - I’m aware that for many here, particularly those who are neurodifferent (like me!), showing up today is a courageous thing, lots of people, lots of words, lighting, seating – I want to acknowledge that this is brave. And… Accountable… I’d like to be responsible for myself, my intentions, words, and actions. I’m entering here with good intentions, and aligning my intent with action. I want to show allyship with the ND folk in real-time. I hope it allows us here to align well-meaning intentions also with impact. Accountable space guidelines do not place an unfair burden onto the ND community to fit in. They place an equal amount of onus for all to behave equitably and inclusively, to foster a deeper understanding of diverse lived experiences in real-time.
Accommodations: First, please make yourselves as comfortable as possible, be it sitting, standing, lying down. Hopefully there’ll be enough variety for those with attention differences to stay engaged. I’ve commissioned some stickfigures based on my own drawings and ideas, I hope you like them - they bring me a lot of joy! Please don’t be worried if you don’t catch it all… there’s a lot of words and my AUDHD brainwaves are fast. I’m making the recording available and also all my notes. Don’t stress, you can go back and review. Please stim if you want to stim or have any supports, headphones etc. I’ll talk for 45 mins or so and we’ll stretch and move bodies, please do move around if you need to.
So who am I? I’m a UKCP therapist and IFS level 3. I’m a neurofeedback practitioner too. And I have a legacy of trauma, and identify as neurodivergent both in my legacy and also upbringing: CPTSD and OCD in particular, and have neurodivergent family members, both diagnosed and undiagnosed. ITs increasingly clear to me that I’m AUDHD (and to others too… I am peer-reviewed! rather than formally diagnosed). I have done a whole load of training and practice as a therapist, and neurofeedback practitioner, and Level 3 IFS. I’m not a lead trainer, not affiliated with the Institute, and now research into what others in the IFS community have said about IFS and neurodivergence and I’m distilling it. I encourage you to look further into the research and talks done by people like Sarah Bergenfield (www.curiousheart.com) on autism, Erin Findley on Neurodiversity Affirmative working with neurodivergent and mixed neurotype couples (and Emotionally Focused Therapy) https://vimeo.com/554146267/50082db094?fbclid=IwAR2YU9p4yCWFJYIyKrY8hneiAhds3-N3AOBAxDmuw2a_MhXSFM5asl2N4Fw
Kim Bolling on IFS, IFIO couples therapy with Neurodivergent couples (and specifically those with different neurotypes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BerZB3XSrY8
IFS talks with Joanne Twombly (trauma and dissociation informed IFS) https://player.fm/series/ifs-talks/trauma-and-dissociation-informed-ifs-with-joanne-twombly
Stephanie Mitchell (IFS and non-ordinary states) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-experiences-welcome-ifs-and-non-ordinary-states/id1481000501?i=1000523543375
, Yoav Bartov (IFS talks on IFS and neurodiversity) https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/ifs-and-neurodiversity-with-yoav-bartov/id1481000501?i=1000551668875
Candice Christinensen and Meg Martinez have a fantastic chapter in the book Altogether Us about neurodifferences (its great! one of my favourite) and they also have been interviewed here in The One Inside : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jVDgrqzq8k and here’s more about them https://www.namasteadvice.com/neuroinclusivetherapy I use their diagramme almost everyday, i find it so helpful
and a shout out to a few others who have shared their opinion and lived experience with me in private groups and in conversation – who have specifically asked not to be quoted.
First – Some thoughts…
If we take Neurodivergent as an umbrella term, with different neurotypes, for those who experience the world differently, Autism, ADHD (and now AUDHD) are the two most seen as ND but also other ways of being, including CPTSD, OCD, dyslexia, epilepsy, psychosis, down syndrome, bipolar etc. … This talk centres a neurodiversity affirming approach, where Autistic and ADHDers – and the other neurotypes too -are seen as existing in a different kind of way in the world than the current societal norm. If we take it out to our biological home, all of us… The world is home to a massive beautiful variety of life. Millions of different species. As Erin Findley says, biodiversity is not only the most complex aspect of our planet but also the most vital. We need diversity, to maintain balance and survive. The more genetic diversity there is the better we are to continually adapt to our environment, as it changes and evolves. Diversity helps humanity to flourish. A beautiful diversity of traits and abilities: minds that create stories, and sense changes in the environment, brains that seek patterns, distractable, focused, quiet and busy minds. Part of biodiversity. Neurodiversity does not need curing. Its good and valid and doesn’t need fixing.
There’s work to be done, for many of us, internally around our own internalised Ableism, also I’d like to say racism, heteronormality, classism, ageism, religious prejudice. We can do this work. It’s possible. Our world so needs this work. There’s so much polarisation and forces trying to shut down these, to me the answer is doing my own work, creating internally an Internal Secure Attachment, healing the trauma and unburdening the system and then returning outside.. so a different experience can happen.
Yoav Bartov makes the case that neurotypical folk are just as diverse from each other as ND are. We need language to describe things, to have these descriptors, to help us, but there are limitations, it’s helpful to loosely hold a bunch of commonalities, but lightly. To cluster neurodivergence into one bunch is as useful as saying that everyone who is ‘neurotypical’ is the same. Everyone’s brains are different, there are many different Neurotypes.
As a neurofeedback practitioner, I see differences on screen, via brainwave analysis. ADHD, autism, OCD, these all have markers and PTSD too. These are a thing! But I want to say several things here
1 these brain patterns can vary day to day, and over the lifespan too, according to our lived experience, living in a world where there are clearly established norms to what is ‘normal’, and the neuroplasticity we all have.
2 Both neurodivergent and neurotypical brains vary widely. Sometimes on my screen they have similar markers. None are broken, just different, biodiverse, just like in nature.
So… onto IFS and the nervous system
I’d like to say a couple of words about polyvagal theory and our Nervous Systems and neuroception .. this is our nervous system danger/safety response. Before the conscious mind. The microsecond by microsecond checking in, am I in danger, am I safe? Neurodivergent folk tend to have highly attuned or sensitive neuroception, when a person’s neuroception is incredibly sensitive and thus responsive to stimulus that might not even register for someone else. Sensitive neuroception much more accurately describes how the Autistic brain interacts with the internal and external environment.
Many Autistic people do have low functioning of the ventral vagus nerve but this is often due to trauma, it is not an inherent trait of the neurotype. Trauma Geek (Janae Elizabethe) writes “Ventral supremacy is a big problem. Due to the hierarchical way that the polyvagal ladder is presented, it can be easy to assume that being in ventral social engagement as often as possible is our goal. However, the reality is that our world is dysregulating. Safety is a limited resource in this society. Our bodies evolved to become dysregulated in the face of real stressors. It’s okay to be dysregulated some of the time.” And “people have a higher than average need to release stress from our bodies in physical ways and to spend time in dorsal rest, a low-energy safe version of the dorsal shutdown state. Accepting our nervous systems and our responses as they are, rather than forcing ourselves to have a different response than we do, leads to more coherence and better self image.”
What happens to you when you meet with someone else? What happens for example when you see someone with a ‘fake’ smile that doesn’t reach their eyes? Someone with botox? Someone’s flat affect? This is neuroception. Sense of Safety, sense of danger. These all send signals of danger for me, my mum had flat affect and when I was a little girl it was very frightening. To be mirrored helps us co-regulate, when we’re not our systems signals alarm. It’s what we then do with that information, then, the parts that come up to defend our systems – they judge the other, or they make us run away or hide, or go into shame. Luckily, we all have a Self! There’s something called the vagal brake, inviting a slowing down, to calm, take a breath a pause. Can we be curious and support our systems, letting them know we’re with them, help the reactivity which has sounded the alarm. There are ways to support our nervous systems! I won’t go into it here, I encourage you to look at polyvagal theory, co-regulation with others, and how our parts work with our nervous system to protect us.
Ps here there’s a really good article by ‘Trauma Geek’ which I highly recommend, on neurodivergence and polyvagal theory and dangers inherent. https://autietraumageek.medium.com/a-neurodiversity-paradigm-lens-on-polyvagal-theory-pvt-7f9495cffbd8
So… Internal Family Systems – Lots of info about IFS out there on the internet, on my website www.stroudtherapy.com.
Very simply.. We are multiplicitous and that’s a good thing. I want you to imagine that there are many little personalities inside of you who are all wanting to look after you, or who are little young ones looking for healing.
Then there’s you.
At the heart of IFS is the understanding that each of us has a core Self—and that Self is never broken. Self is always there, even when parts are blended or carrying heavy burdens.
The traditional way of describing Self is through the 8 Cs: Calm, Clarity, Confidence, Courage, Creativity, Connection, Curiosity, and Compassion.
For those of us who are neurodivergent, these qualities may show up differently than they do for neurotypical folk. For example, curiosity might look like a deep dive into a special interest; connection might come more through shared activity than through words.
Sarah Bergenfield has suggested that the autistic Self can also be described with qualities such as: regulation, safety, ease, contentment, and space. She also makes a helpful distinction between a burdened system (where parts are forced into extreme roles) and an unburdened system (where Self leads and parts can relax back into their natural gifts).
Each of us will have our own unique mix of these qualities. I like to think of your version of Self as yours alone—shaped by your life, your body, your experiences. Dick Schwartz and others often describe Self in a broader spiritual sense too, where my Self connects with yours, and with the wider field of humanity.
IFS helps us turn towards our parts and get to know them from Self.
Think of Self like the sun, with parts as clouds.
Or the driver of the bus, the chair of the meeting, the conductor of the orchestra.
So, how do we do that?
For those who are neurodivergent and those who aren’t—for anyone, regardless of neurotype—the steps are the same.
Turn inward. Close your eyes (or soften them), settle into yourself, and wait. Greet whatever shows up: “Hello. Is there anyone who would like my attention?” You might hear a voice, sense a body sensation, or notice an image.
Notice triggers. If you’ve been activated by something someone did or said, start there. Make a U-turn: instead of focusing outward, turn inward with curiosity. “What part of me is responding here?”
Ask the question. To whatever you’re noticing—a thought, impulse, sensation, or feeling—ask: “Is this just me, my operating system… or is it protecting something?”
The F’s. Find the part, focus on it, flesh it out, and begin a two-way relationship. Ask: “How do I feel towards you? What are you hoping to achieve for me? What are you frightened of? How old are you? How old do you think I am?”
We’ll try a short meditation to give you a taster. Afterwards I’ll share more resources: meditations on Insight Timer, the 6 Fs protocol and parts questions (on my website), the local Stroud WhatsApp Buddy-Up group, IFS-informed therapists, and online practice spaces such as IFS Facebook groups.
A Crucial Distinction: Neurology ≠ Parts
It is deeply important, especially when working with neurodivergence, to distinguish between neurology and parts.
Autism is not a part.
ADHD is not a part.
Neurology is not a part.
To label neurology as a “part” can be harmful, because it implies that with enough IFS work the neurotype itself could be unburdened away. That’s not true. Who I am, my neurology, is not a part.
It’s nuanced and sometimes complex. Here are some ways to hold it:
Sometimes what you notice is simply your operating system—like sensitivity to sound, or a particular way of processing time. That’s neurology.
The part is how you respond to that operating system—for example, the frustration that arises with noise, or the shame about being “different.”
ND people often experience the world more intensely. Noise, light, textures—all more amplified. How we react to those experiences can involve parts (apologising, masking, avoiding, self-criticising).
Rigidity, hyperfocus, or time-blindness may be neurology, but can also be joined by protectors—parts that use those traits to manage shame, overwhelm, or relational dynamics.
If you’re not sure, stay uncertain and curious. Ask:
“Are you protecting me in some way? Do you have a job?”
If there’s no clear answer, it may not be a part.
It could be alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings), or simply neurology.
Sometimes what feels like “me” is actually a Self-like part, over-identified but still not quite Self.
Trust the process—and trust the client. Many of us know the difference in our bones.
Legacy Burdens
We also need to recognise legacy burdens: cultural, societal, and family rules passed down through generations, often linked to trauma and epigenetics.
These burdens shape how we “should” show up in the world:
how men or women ought to behave,
whether we should be self-sufficient or communal,
attitudes to money, work, worth, and busyness.
We live inside capitalist, patriarchal, individualist, materialist systems. These are not neutral. They’re inherited burdens that weigh on our parts and shape their strategies.
In IFS, unburdening isn’t just individual—it can be collective. When we name and release these legacy burdens, we create space for more Self energy, both inside and out.
Neurotypical Legacy Burdens
It’s not just neurodivergent people who carry legacy burdens. What about so-called neurotypical ones? We might call these ableist legacy burdens.
These are the rules and biases that say anyone who is “different” should fit in, mask, or adapt. The way society is organised to suit NT folk first. The unspoken belief that NT ways of being are better than ND ways—that ND people are “other”, somehow “less than.”
I want to be transparent here: I swallowed some of those rules myself and acted them out—judgement, perfectionism, unconscious privilege. And underneath all that? A fear of difference.
Working with Cultural Legacy Burdens
So, how do we work with these cultural burdens in IFS?
Find them inside. Notice where they live in you.
Explore their nuance. What is the rule? The story?
Ask how they protect you. Do they keep you safe from rejection? From shame? From being seen as “too much” or “not enough”?
Notice how you feel towards them. Can you be curious? Compassionate?
From there, you might ask: “Am I willing to let this burden go?”
If the answer is no, that’s fine. Simply holding it consciously is already progress.
If the answer is yes, then try a ritual:
Open a window and imagine letting it out into the air.
Write it down and burn it in a fire.
Visualise passing it back down the ancestral line, where it can be taken to the light or the big bonfire of burdens.
In IFS, there’s a beautiful practice of inviting our ancestors to step forward and take back the burdens they passed down—often without meaning to. As they do, the burdens return to the fire or the light, leaving behind only the heirlooms: the wisdom, resilience, and gifts that are truly ours.
And into the space that opens, we can invite in something new—a blessing, a gift, a quality to nourish us and future generations.
So how does this all relate to neurodiversity?
Quite explicitly: you’re not broken.
Whether you’re neurodivergent, neurotypical, or hold several diagnoses—at your core you are whole.
What most of us do carry are legacy burdens from family and society. If you’re ND, you may also have picked up an extra load of baggage from living as a neurodivergent person in a neurotypical world: the daily microaggressions, the misunderstandings, the pressure to mask. If you’re NT, you’ve likely absorbed burdens too—parts that fear difference, that “other” those who are not like you, that replicate ableism unconsciously.
All of these burdens and parts need attention now. My activist parts call us to do this work: to celebrate our biodiversity, to make our communities—including Stroud—safer, braver, and more accountable, so that we can live well alongside each other.
Four headlines I want you to take away about IFS and neurodivergence
1. IFS works beautifully with neurodivergent minds.
The autistic brain, the ADHD brain, the OCD brain, the PTSD brain, the bipolar brain—IFS offers a framework that many ND folk actually find easier to engage with than NT folk. It gives us a language to understand ourselves and our parts, and to build relationships inside.
2. You get to use your own lexicon.
IFS is flexible. You don’t have to use standard imagery or words—you can choose the language that makes sense for you. Some people see their parts, others hear or feel them, others access them through music or creative practices. As Sarah Bergenfield says, “using your own lexicon builds confidence and empowers you to feel you can be understood and can understand. You can be accepted.”
3. You’re not broken and you don’t need curing.
Neurodivergence is not a deficit. It’s part of the beautiful biodiversity of life. Yes, you may carry extra burdens and your protectors may have taken on extreme roles—but your core Self is exactly as it’s meant to be. And the same is true for your allies, your family members—even the ones who judge or “other.” They too are not broken; they simply have parts carrying burdens that need to be heard and healed.
4. Internal Secure Attachment is radical and transformative.
IFS offers a way to form the safe, secure attachment inside that many of us longed for outside. You get to meet your neurodivergent Self and your parts with curiosity and appreciation, building relationships that really work. Your parts want to help you—they love you. As you build trust with them, you experience an inner family that is cohesive, supportive, and endlessly fascinating.
The Invitation
So, come and join in this adventure.
Learn to do a U-turn and return:
Get to know the parts who have taken on extreme roles to help you survive in “neurotypical land.”
Explore the legacy burdens you’ve picked up from society, culture, and ancestry.
Befriend your protectors and discover the exiles they guard so carefully.
You can do much of this on your own, or with a therapist—ideally someone who shares your neurotype, but not necessarily. The key is that it feels safe and supportive, that the work feels like alchemy.
Start forming Self-to-part relationships—an internal secure attachment. Then carry that connection outward. Live authentically. Speak for your parts, not from them. Make choices with clarity after hearing the inner voices around the table.
Discover the complexity and beauty of your own system. Bask in it. Celebrate it. Share it.
That’s the promise of IFS and neurodivergence together: an internal world held with compassion, an external world lived with authenticity.
What Parts Come Up for Neurodivergent Folk?
Sarah Bergenfield and others have named some common patterns, though of course the best source is always to ask inside and see what arises for you.
Managers
Strong analytical and thinking parts (often seen with ADHD, OCD, and autism).
Hypervigilant parts (linked with PTSD)—good at identifying feelings, though not always at sensing them somatically.
Controlling-the-environment parts, internal critics, and judging parts.
Caretaking and people-pleasing parts—wanting people to like us, to belong.
Camouflaging/masking parts—trying to help us fit in and stay “acceptable.”
Numbing parts—dampening down sensory overload when life feels too loud, too much, too intrusive.
When these parts are met with Self energy, they shift. They collaborate with Self, advocate for growth, problem-solve, and help us find safe ways to mask when needed. They become proactive, competent allies.
Firefighters
Reactive, urgent soothers: scrolling, bingeing, YouTube, substance use, self-harm, suicidal thoughts.
Firefighters who mask to avoid bullying or being seen.
Dissociation.
Gaslighting dynamics (“You’re overreacting, just be easy-going”).
These parts are often criticised, but they are the unsung heroes of the system. Once connected to Self and unburdened, they tune in to the system’s state, alert us to dysregulation, and advocate for justice. They can bring back creativity, fun, and adventure.
Exiles
Hold pain from rejection, shame, gaslighting, and stigma.
Carry burdens like “I’m not accepted,” “I’m broken,” “I’m too much,” “I’m not enough.”
When exiles are unburdened, joy, spontaneity, and play return to the system.
The Return Outside
This is where we bring our inner secure attachment into our relationships.
IFIO (Intimacy from the Inside Out) offers a Courageous Communication protocol—learning to pause, regulate, and speak for, not from, our parts. Even if you don’t use the full model, try leading with curiosity.
Double Empathy reminds us: the challenge is not autistic people failing to empathise with neurotypicals, but both sides struggling to understand each other’s different communication styles. Each neurotype communicates differently; neither is “wrong.”
Mixed neurotype relationships often experience misattunement. Curiosity helps: “Hey, how does your brain do that?” Notice sensory needs, communication differences, pacing, and assumptions. Be willing to calibrate together: “When you look at me like that, what’s happening inside?”
Choice matters. Masking isn’t always bad—sometimes it’s the courageous choice for safety. Sometimes authenticity is the courageous choice. The key is recognising that the choice is yours.
Conclusion
As my colleague Natasha Oswold writes:
“For autistic clients and their neurotypical family members, IFS has helped reduce anxiety and worry, increase self-esteem, improve mood, and create a more helpful outlook on life.”
Autistic and other ND folk often find it easier to communicate with their own parts. When we form secure internal attachment, that internal communication transfers outward into our relationships.
So, to conclude: none of us are broken. Neurodiversity is part of the beauty of life, just like biodiversity in nature. What we can all benefit from is:
nervous system regulation,
learning U-turns,
releasing legacy burdens,
forming secure internal attachment, and
practising courageous conversations.
My activist parts are calling us to be brave, accountable, and to look at our own cultural and familial legacy burdens. I believe we can do this here in Stroud, together as a community. The Self energy in this room has been growing—I can feel it. Can you?
Let’s unearth and celebrate the beauty of neurodivergent ways of thinking and experiencing the world.
As Sarah Bergenfield says: “The view from here is a fine one.”
Thank you so much for listening.
Bibliography and lots of resources I’ll keep adding to around Neurodifferences and IFS:
I’ve removed my list as Emma Coyne has fabulously brought together loads of resources here: https://ifsneurodiversity.substack.com/p/ifs-and-neurodivergence-resources You can see what she (and a group of us brought togther below, but you can click on the link above to get to each of the resources)
This is a growing collection of resources exploring the use of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy with neurodivergent, neurodistinct, neurodifferent or neurosparkly systems. Whether you're a therapist, a client, or simply curious, these materials highlight how IFS can support self-understanding and healing in ways that honours diverse minds and experiences.
Talks and Podcasts
IFS and Autism with Sarah Bergenfield – Part 1 & Part 2
Sarah is speaking about the nature of autism (Episode Part 1) and (Episode Part 2) how IFS concepts and techniques can be understood through the lens of autism, how IFS therapy can be helpful for autistic clients, and some special considerations to keep in mind when working with autistic clients with IFS
IFS and Neuro-differences with Candice Christiansen and Meg Martinez
Meg Martinez and Candice Christiansen talking about their chapter in Altogether Us entitled, “Embodying IFS with Neurodivergent Clients: A Neuro-inclusive approach for therapists.”
IFS Talks: IFS and Neurodiversity with Yoav Bartov
Is it Trauma or Neurodivergence? With Dr. Irina Diyankova
Dr. Irina Diyankova, certified IFS therapist, IFS clinical consultant, and Lead Trainer with the IFS Institute explores the fascinating intersection of IFS and neurodivergence, a topic she knows intimately from both her lived and professional experience. She talks about time blindness, sensory sensitivities, what gets mistaken for trauma but might be hardwiring, and how IFS therapists can differentiate. They also get into self-accommodation, the limits of coping skills, and why healing through IFS is a lifelong journey.
Using the IFS Lens to Include the Autistic Experience in Therapeutic Spaces with Sarah Bergenfield
A look into the autistic brain and how you as an IFS-trained therapist can support clients on the spectrum. The IFS Model works beautifully with the autistic brain and allows clients to connect with and understand their parts. In this workshop, we will learn more about what autism is, how to recognize it and how to support clients who have been diagnosed and have unique needs. This workshop will also look at the implications of a lifetime of being undiagnosed, including the parts that get created around trying to live in a world that doesn't make sense.
Queering IFS - Episode 1 - Introducing Queering IFS
In this first video, Jude Carn and Alessio Rizzo, two Internal Family Systems (IFS) psychotherapists, introduce the topic of Queering IFS (Internal Family Systems) and use the lenses of queering, neuroqueering, queerness and neurodiversity to make IFS more accessible to marginalised identities, and to support therapists in being better allies, supporters and advocates for their diverse clients.
Queering IFS - Episode 2 - Neurodiversity is not parts!
Neurodiversity does not originate in parts, through the IFS lens. It is natural and innate to humans and includes the mind and the body. They talk about some of the main neurodivergences under the umbrella and do a deeper dive into why we have to see neurodivergence as the hardware of the system, not a 'part' that needs to be fixed in IFS terms. They distinguish between parts and the system, talking about their experiences and how we can support our parts to understand and accept neurodivergence, and how important is it to have a therapist that understands this too.
Using IFS and IFIO with Neurodivergent Couples
Neurology is an under-recognized and often overlooked factor in relationships. Couples in which one or both partners have traits of Autism often struggle to find practitioners who can understand and help. Traditional approaches to working with such couples have been behavioral and limited in nature, often assuming that these relationships are doomed or that only a neurotypical partner can adapt. Through the lens of neurodiversity, a movement to de-pathologize atypical neurological wiring, we will look at applications of IFS and IFIO (Intimacy from the Inside Out) to working with mixed-neurology couples. Experientials and videos will help to understand the challenges that such couples may face, as well as to open up space to explore therapist parts that may arise. Presented by Kim Bolling, Psy. D. at the IFS-I Annual Conference in 2021
"IFS therapy effectiveness for neurodivergent minds"-"Neuroqueering" Jude (Ellie) Carn
What IFS (Internal Family Systems/"parts" work) is and why it is so effective for neurodivergent minds, especially those with ADHD and autism. An overview and history of IFS then describes what the therapeutic process of parts work looks like. How traditional therapy models are often pathologizing and ableist. IFS is beneficial for neurodivergent people as it is empowering, playful, guided by the client, and creates space to "meet them where they at".
Michel Fitos, AAC discusses “From shame to compassion: Internal Family Systems and ADHD”
https://add.org/tadd-2017-shame-compassion-internal-family-systems-adhd/
Blogs and Articles
Neuro-Inclusive IFS and Support Meg Martinez, Candice Christiansen
Why IFS is an excellent therapy for neurodivergent clients, as a neurodivergent therapist. Jude Carn
IFS for Neurodiversity Alessio Rizzo
Supporting Your Neurotype with Internal Family Systems Clarissa Harwell
Embracing Neurodiversity with Internal Family Systema Therapy Tandem Psychology
The Autistic Self – Reframing Ideas of Pathology Sarah Bergenfield
My Autistic Identity Crisis Sarah Bergenfield
How the IFS Model Explains Medical Mistrust in Women with Autism Dr. Tasha Oswald
Autism and IFS Therapy Rayne Satterfield
Autistic System Map & Common protectors in autistic internal systems Siana McGarvey
Would you ever work with an Autistic Therapist? Siana McGarvey
Some thoughts about the Autistic internal system and therapy Siana McGarvey
Masking or Camouflaging: An Autistic Self-Advocate Dialogue Sean M. Inderbitzen
Can Self be Autistic?
Moxie, good chaos, and unusual connections: How to respect ADHD differences and use IFS in a neurodiversity-affirming way Sarah Ann Saeger
Understanding IFS Therapy for ADHD: A Comprehensive Guide to Inner Family Systems and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Neurolaunch editorial team
My Experience of Being AuDHD Jude Carn
Books
📘 Altogether Us: Integrating the IFS Model with Key Modalities, Communities, and Trends
Edited by: Jenna Riemersma and Richard Schwartz
Chapter: "Embodying IFS with Neurodivergent Clients: A Neuro-Inclusive Approach for Therapists" by Candice Christiansen and Meg Martinez-Dettamanti
This chapter offers practical insights into applying IFS with neurodivergent clients, emphasizing a neuro-inclusive therapeutic approach. 📘 Embodying Autism: Embrace Your Neurodivergence and Make Sense of Sensory Surplus with Internal Family Systems
Authors: Sarah Bergenfield & Martha Sweezy
This book delves into how IFS can be tailored to support autistic individuals, focusing on sensory experiences and embracing neurodivergence. 📘 An Autistic Anthology: Neuro-Narratives of Mental Health Professionals
Edited by: Nikita Shepherdson, Vicky Jervis, and Marianne Trent
Chapters: Includes narratives like “The world wasn’t built for us but here we are living in it” (Jude Carn) and “A Short Play: Navigating neurodiversity as a psychologist: A conversation about Unmasking at work with my parts,” (Emma Coyne) which discuss personal experiences of autistic professionals integrating IFS concepts.
Groups
Facebook Group: IFS Therapists/Practitioners Working With ADHDers & Autistics
This is list has been compiled by members of an IFS & ND Experience group.
