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Attunigrate

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy in Michigan

IFS, also known as family systems therapy, works with the different parts of yourself instead of asking you to override them. The part that people-pleases, the part that shuts down, the part that keeps performing long after it's exhausted: IFS treats each as trying to protect you, and helps them work together instead of against each other. Sessions are virtual, across Michigan. 
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​Why it's worded this specific way. "Also known as family systems therapy" appears in the first sentence on purpose, immediately after the IFS acronym, so the page legitimately earns the 196 impressions currently going to a phrase it doesn't use, without burying it below the fold.

What we use IFS for

  • Feeling split between who you are and who you perform, especially at work
  • Anxiety driven by a part of you that won't stop worrying
  • Trauma responses that protected you once and now limit you
  • Depression that feels like a part of you has shut down
  • Grief where part of you is ready to move forward and part isn't
  • Eating and body image patterns that feel protective, even when they hurt

    • What an IFS session actually looks like

    You and your therapist get curious about a specific part of you: the one that worries, the one that shuts down, the one that performs. Rather than trying to silence or override it, you work out what it's protecting you from, and what it's afraid would happen if it stopped.


    This is not about deciding one part of you is right and another is wrong. Every part is trying to help, even the ones that are exhausting to carry. The work is getting them talking to each other instead of fighting, so you're not spending your energy on an internal argument.


    Why "no part is wrong" stays. This is the detail that separates IFS from approaches that treat one impulse as the problem to eliminate. It's also the line most likely to make the identity-conflict reader (performing self vs. true self) feel understood rather than pathologized.

    When IFS, and when something else

    IFS fits when you feel internally split, like different parts of you want different things and you can't get them to agree. The part that wants to rest and the part that can't stop producing. The part that wants closeness and the part that keeps people at a distance.

    CBT fits better when the issue is a specific, nameable thought pattern you want structured tools to interrupt.

    Somatic work fits when the experience is more physical than internally conflicted, a body that's braced rather than a mind that's arguing with itself.

    Most people end up with a blend, and the blend changes as you do. If you're not sure which describes you, that's genuinely fine. Working that out is what the first two sessions are for.

    What it costs?

    IFS sessions run $150 for 55 minutes, or $175 with Dr. Leija. With insurance, most clients pay a copay between $25 and $75 per session. We're in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, Aetna, Priority Health, and UnitedHealthcare, and we verify your exact cost before your first session.

    Check your coverage

    Every part of you is welcome here

    Tell us what's been pulling you in different directions, and we'll work out together whether IFS is the right way in.

    Start your becoming

    Insurance & Payment Options for Therapy in Michigan

    We accept most major insurance plans. Attunigrate is in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, Aetna, Priority Health, and UnitedHealthcare.

    Most clients using insurance pay a copay between $25 and $75 per session, depending on their plan. We verify your exact cost before your first session so there are no surprises.


    Private pay is $150 per session with most of our therapists, $175 with Dr. Leija.
    We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.

    Check your coverage
    See full pricing

    FAQ's

    IFS, also called family systems therapy, works with the different parts of yourself, the one that worries, the one that shuts down, the one that performs, instead of asking you to override them. Each part is treated as trying to protect you, and the work is getting them to cooperate instead of fight.

    No, despite the name. IFS works with the different parts inside one person, not with your actual family members in the room. It's individual therapy.

    No. Identifying and getting to know your parts is the work itself, not a prerequisite for it. Most people arrive with no framework for this and build it in session.

    IFS treats internal conflict directly, rather than trying to resolve it through insight alone. Instead of deciding which impulse is "right," you work out what each part is protecting you from.

    Yes. It's a conversational, reflective approach, so it translates directly to virtual sessions. You need a private space and a stable connection, same as any other session.

    Usually. We're in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, Aetna, Priority Health, and UnitedHealthcare. Most clients using insurance pay a copay between $25 and $75 per session. Private pay is $150, or $175 with Dr. Leija. We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.