Internal Family Systems Therapy for Individuals

Are you feeling curious about an issue, pattern, or relationship in your life? That's pretty much the only buy-in we need to get started! No matter the issue, curiosity is the gateway to find healing. I never try to "fix" anything in my clients' lives. Instead, we journey into the unknown together, to discover what could be leading to the "stuckness" you might be feeling. With compassion, courage, and a sense of calm, there is ALWAYS hope for healing. I can help you find those resources within yourself, because I know it's who you are at your core.

I specialize in treating individuals using the Internal Family Systems model. This therapy helps clients explore the issues in their lives that feel like Velcro. So many relationships, encounters, thoughts, and emotions tend to stick to us and it can be hard to figure out what keeps us stuck. IFS helps clients access their inner resources to find healing and transform those Velcro experiences into Teflon.

By accessing and attuning to my own internal resources, I create a safe, non-judgmental environment to help you explore your hurts, hang-ups, and hopes. Together, I know we can find healing for the parts of you that feel stuck. No matter the issue, IFS helps turn what others might stigmatize or view as "bad", "wrong" (fill in the blank), into workable issues. All parts are welcome!

About Me.

My name is Arianna Knowles, it's nice to meet you! I received formal training in the Internal Family Systems model in 2020, and have been applying the model with my clients ever since. Never before have I had so much hope for our individual and communal healing as I have since embracing this understanding of systems. If you'd like to learn more about the model, see the Resources link above. Luckily, you don't have to know ANYTHING about IFS to benefit from this sort of therapy - that's where I come in! I serve as a guide during your healing journey, and I am well equipped to do this because I'm engaged in my own personal journey. I see IFS as a way of living rather than merely a model of therapy, so when you sit with me, I feel confident that we can find ways to connect and collaborate no matter what your story or background is. Rest assured, I take care of myself so you will never need to worry about that in our sessions. I own my "stuff" so it won't take up space in our work, and welcome feedback and pushback all along the way if it does. I'm also regularly engaged in learning and training, so I can remain aware of what I don't know. I'm passionate about issues surrounding race, class, and gender, as well as spirituality of all sorts. I have personal experience and background in the Christian tradition, and speak that lingo fluently, but have background in Buddhist psychology and mystics from all the major religions as well. I welcome folks from any creed or none at all equally.

Whether you're here to process trauma, get curious about patterns in relationships, prepare for and integrate your experiences with plant medicine, or explore your inner world without any particular agenda, I feel comfortable and equipped to journey with you toward whatever goals you have. I have experience working with anxiety, depression, anger/rage, grief, cravings, compulsions, complex trauma, dissociation, and what others call "personality disorders". For me, I see all these things through the lens of our inner world, and experience all these as stemming from parts of ourselves. We needn't fear them or manage them, but rather our task is to befriend them and help them to heal.

When I'm not seeing clients, I enjoy savoring life in nature. My husband and I moved off our liveaboard boat and into the more rural area of Alpine in 2023, where we enjoy sitting by the creek in our backyard and getting to know the different bird calls. We particularly love doing this with our baby girl, Juniper. Being a new mom has opened me up in unpredictable and incredible ways, and this expansion of my heart has been an aid in my practice with clients. I'm an avid podcast listener (and was even mentioned on Tim Ferriss' episode #614!), HIIT exercise enthusiast, kombucha brewer, and sourdough bread baker. I received my BA in Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2013, and my MA in Marriage and Family Therapy from Bethel University in 2018.