What is parts work?

We are all compilations of our parts. The part of you that says, "I love myself." The part of you that doubts yourself. The part of you that criticizes yourself. The part of you that's playful.
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Oftentimes, we find ourselves disconnected from these parts. Think about a behavior you engaged in to avoid feeling. Here's a personal example: I used to binge eat. Right before I'd binge, I would experience some combination of desperation, anxiety, and numbness. When actively eating, I felt relief. When I finished, either that night or the following day, I hated myself.

And then the cycle continued. Why? Because each of those feelings and thought patterns came from different parts of myself, and I wasn't connected to any of them. When I remained disconnected from those parts, I remained in a constant, miserable inner battle.

Parts work, in my definition, is the learning of each of our parts, and using that knowledge and relationship building to find alignment and inner peace.

It is the methodology I utilized to heal from my trauma, addiction, eating disorder, mental health struggles and more. Now, it’s the methodology I teach. It comes from the therapy modality Internal Family Systems, which I studied as a patient and then as a student with one of the leading experts of the industry, Dr. Frank Anderson. I quickly realized that alongside the work it took to shift my mindset, I needed to delve so much deeper in order to fully heal from my trauma experiences. I spent six years as a patient, and in the back half of 2025, I studied IFS as a student so I could incorporate this trauma-informed modality into my work as a coach.