--- title: "Internal Family Systems Therapy | Harlan Therapy" description: "IFS with Leah Harlan, MA, LPC: understanding your managers, protectors, and exiled parts so more of your life can be run by you." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://leahharlan.com/#leah-harlan", "name": "Leah Harlan", "honorificSuffix": "MA, LPC", "jobTitle": "Licensed Professional Counselor", "telephone": "804-395-5362", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Harlan Therapy LLC", "@id": "https://leahharlan.com/#harlan-therapy" }, "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "6610 Commons Drive, Suite C", "addressLocality": "Prince George", "addressRegion": "VA", "postalCode": "23875", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "State", "name": "Virginia" } }, { "@type": [ "MedicalBusiness", "ProfessionalService" ], "@id": "https://leahharlan.com/#harlan-therapy", "url": "https://leahharlan.com/", "name": "Harlan Therapy", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://leahharlan.com/logo-harlan-therapy.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 }, "image": "https://leahharlan.com/og-harlan-therapy.png", "telephone": "804-395-5362", "priceRange": "$300 - $2,500", "founder": { "@id": "https://leahharlan.com/#leah-harlan" }, "knowsAbout": [ "Birth trauma", "Traumatic birth recovery", "Perinatal and postpartum anxiety", "Pregnancy after loss", "Brainspotting", "Internal Family Systems", "Somatic therapy" ], "availableService": { "@type": "MedicalTherapy", "name": "Birth trauma therapy" }, "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "6610 Commons Drive, Suite C", "addressLocality": "Prince George", "addressRegion": "VA", "postalCode": "23875", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "State", "name": "Virginia" } }, { "@type": "Service", "serviceType": "Psychotherapy for birth trauma and the perinatal window", "provider": { "@id": "https://leahharlan.com/#harlan-therapy" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "State", "name": "Virginia" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://leahharlan.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Approach", "item": "https://leahharlan.com/approach" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Internal Family Systems", "item": "https://leahharlan.com/approach/internal-family-systems" } ] } ] --- Accepting new patients in-person or virtually across Virginia. [Harlan Therapy](/) - [Birth Trauma](/specialties/birth-trauma) - [Who I Help](/who-i-help) - [Services](/services) - [Individual Therapy](/services/individual-therapy) - [Therapy Intensives](/services/therapy-intensives) - [Rates](/rates-and-insurance) - [Facts](/faq) - [Blog](/blog) - [Resources](/resources) - [About](/about) [Request a consultation ](/contact#intake)Menu ![A potted olive tree in low morning sun, Internal Family Systems therapy in Virginia](/assets/approach-ifs-1920-CFE_6_mL.webp) Approach # Internal Family Systems The part of you that manages everything isn't the problem. It's doing a job it took on a long time ago. Internal Family Systems, or IFS, works from the idea that the mind is made up of parts, each with its own role, and that underneath all of them is a core Self that's calm and capable in a different way than the managing you knows how to be. ## Managers, Firefighters, Exiles Managers are the parts that plan, perform, and keep everything running. Firefighters step in when a manager can't hold the line, often through overwork, numbing, or urgency. Exiles are the younger or more vulnerable parts carrying pain that got pushed aside because there was no room for it at the time. Most of us are led, most of the time, by managers and firefighters, without much awareness of the exiles underneath. ## Why High Achievers Meet Their Managers First If you're a physician, an attorney, an executive, or a therapist, your managers are likely excellent at their job. They got you through training, through a demanding career, through motherhood on top of it. In our work, we usually meet those managers first, with respect, not with the aim of getting rid of them. Only once they trust that things won't fall apart can the exiled parts they've been protecting come forward. ## What This Looks Like in Session We talk with your parts rather than about them in the abstract. You might notice a part that's anxious about slowing down, or a part that's furious on behalf of something that happened during a birth or a hard season of parenting. We get curious about what each part is protecting, and from Self, with steadiness rather than urgency, we help those parts unburden what they've been carrying. This work tends to suit women who are tired of managing and want to understand why parts of them keep taking over even when they know better intellectually. Related Reading [ ### Brainspotting Read more ](/approach/brainspotting) [ ### Somatic Therapy Read more ](/approach/somatic-therapy) [ ### ADHD in Women Read more ](/specialties/adhd-in-women) [ ### Perfectionism and High Achievement Read more ](/specialties/perfectionism-and-high-achievement) [ ### About Leah Read more ](/about) ## A Conversation First The consultation is free and there is no pressure in it. We talk for a short while, you ask what you want to ask, and you decide afterwards. [Request a consultation ](/contact#intake)[Or send a note](/contact) Harlan Therapy 6610 Commons Drive, Suite C Prince George, Virginia 23875 [804-395-5362](tel:8043955362) [Request a consultation ](/contact#intake)![Proud member of the ABB Collective, A Brighter Birth](/__l5e/assets-v1/a0c7ddc9-14e0-4b02-a93f-76b9dec6cdaa/abb-collective-badge.webp) Specialties - [Birth Trauma](/specialties/birth-trauma) - [The Motherhood Wound](/specialties/the-motherhood-wound) - [Traumatic Birth Recovery](/specialties/traumatic-birth-recovery) - [Perinatal Anxiety](/specialties/perinatal-anxiety) - [Postpartum Anxiety](/specialties/postpartum-anxiety) - [Postpartum Depression](/specialties/postpartum-depression) - [Pregnancy After Loss](/specialties/pregnancy-after-loss) - [See All Specialties](/specialties) Who I Help - [Who I Help](/who-i-help) - [Professional Mothers](/who-i-help/professional-mothers) - [First Generation Professionals](/who-i-help/first-generation-professionals) - [Therapists and Helping Professionals](/who-i-help/therapists-and-helping-professionals) Approach - [How I Work](/approach) - [Brainspotting](/approach/brainspotting) - [Internal Family Systems](/approach/internal-family-systems) - [Somatic Therapy](/approach/somatic-therapy) Service Areas - [Service Areas](/service-areas) - [Northern Virginia](/service-areas/northern-virginia) - [Richmond](/service-areas/richmond) - [Virginia Beach](/service-areas/virginia-beach) - [Charlottesville](/service-areas/charlottesville) - [Telehealth Across Virginia](/telehealth-in-virginia) - [Prince George Office](/therapy-in-prince-george) - [The Tri-Cities](/therapy-in-the-tri-cities) Practice - [Rates and Insurance](/rates-and-insurance) - [Private Pay in Virginia](/rates-and-insurance/private-pay-therapy-in-virginia) - [Fees and Facts](/faq) - [Contact](/contact) - [For Providers](/refer) - [Blog](/blog) - [Resources](/resources) - [Privacy Policy](/privacy-policy) - [SMS Terms](/sms-terms) - [Good Faith Estimate](/good-faith-estimate) Services - [All Services](/services) - [Individual Therapy](/services/individual-therapy) - [Therapy Intensives](/services/therapy-intensives) - [Child and Adolescent Therapy](/services/child-and-adolescent-therapy) - [Family Therapy](/services/family-therapy) - [About Leah](/about) * * * Serving Prince George, the Tri-Cities, and by telehealth [across Virginia](/service-areas). - [Privacy Policy](/privacy-policy) - [Terms](/terms) - [SMS Terms](/sms-terms) - [Disclaimers](/disclaimers) - [Good Faith Estimate](/good-faith-estimate) - [Cookie Policy](/cookie-policy) Harlan Therapy LLC Leah Harlan, MA, LPC · Licensed Professional Counselor #0701013658 (Virginia) If you are in crisis, call or text 988. In person in the Tri-Cities area and by telehealth throughout Virginia. This website is informational and is not therapy, and it is not a place to share clinical details. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911. Therapy outcomes vary from person to person and no particular result is promised or guaranteed. © 2026 Harlan Therapy. All rights reserved.