IFS Therapy
in Ann Arbor
With Jennifer Janssen, LMSW
I use Internal Family Systems in its full form, helping you compassionately tend to and free the parts of you that feel stuck in overdrive, collapse, or conflict.
Does it feel like your mind never shuts off?
Are you stuck in conflict with yourself or others?
Did you try therapy before but progress plateaued?
You might feel pulled in different directions inside: One part of you pushes, another shuts down. You’re exhausted from overthinking, reacting, or trying to hold it all together. You’ve done therapy before, but progress plateaued.
When you’re ready to feel better inside, IFS is for you.
Clients Come to Me When They Experience:
Constant overthinking
Anxiety spirals
Loud inner critic
Feeling overwhelmed
Trouble sleeping
Sense of shame or failure
Perfectionism or fear
Life transitions stress
Too many plates spinning
These are not flaws.
They are parts of you trying to help in the only way they know how.
How IFS Therapy With Me Works
We start with a simple check-in on what’s been coming up for you. From there, we gently notice the thoughts, feelings, sensations or memories that are arising. In IFS, these are “trailheads” leading to places in your inner world that are in need of your care. You choose a trailhead to follow, and together we use the healing steps of IFS to tap into our inner compassion, set down old burdens from the past, and transform to the peaceful feeling of a more secure attachment inside.
Instead of pushing thoughts away or trying to change feelings, we slow down and listen. We help you befriend the parts of you that feel anxious, angry, or exhausted and help them not have to work so hard. And we help the places carrying difficult or overwhelming feelings set them down and finally experience freedom and joy.
Over time, you begin to feel more space inside. You’re no longer taken over by automatic reactions, and you can move through your day with more confidence and calm.
Modalities I Use
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Helps you access your own internal curiosity and compassion to help parts of you shift out of extreme roles, heal from past overwhelming experiences, and make more space for confidence and ease.
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Brings awareness of your body into the process so change happens at a deeper level, not just in your thoughts.
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Helps connect your internal patterns to your relationships so changes show up in how you relate to others.
At the core of this work is the idea that all parts of you are welcome. Even the ones that feel difficult or confusing first arose inside to try to help in some way, often many years ago.
When they’re listened to with care, they can change.
You Don’t Have to Fight Yourself
When your inner world shifts from conflict to harmony, life feels clearer and more manageable.
After Therapy With Me, Clients Report:
More internal calm
Quieter inner critic
Less reactivity
Better sleep
Clearer decisions
More trust in self
Feeling present
You begin to feel like you are leading your life, instead of being pulled around by strong automatic reactions inside of you.
About Jennifer Janssen, LMSW
My individual therapy is designed for people who want to feel different on the inside so life can change on the outside. Insight is great, and it’s not enough.
Internal Family Systems is my core approach because it is so effective in facilitating deep, lasting transformation. Clients often tell me they feel at ease quickly, even if therapy is new or didn’t quite hit the mark before.
Outside of therapy, I stay grounded through hiking in nature and swimming in local lakes. I’m also a parent to two children, one a pre-teen and the second a toddler, which gives me a lived understanding of just how much loved ones can shine a light directly onto the young places inside that could really use our tending to with the help of IFS.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked in environmental advocacy and engaged in sociology research on women’s activism. These experiences shape the way I think about people within the broader systems they’re part of, and informs a more contextual and nuanced understanding of both systems and change.
Education, Training and Credentials
Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)
Master of Social Work, University of Michigan
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level I
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level I & Level II
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples Level I & II
EFT for Couples training assistant
Founding member, Emotionally Focused Therapy Community of Michigan
Sex therapy training
Infant mental health training to support parents
Training in working with parents and youth
Assertive Community Treatment Internship, Washtenaw County Community Mental Health
Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan Clinical Internship
Availability: I work with couples and individuals in person in Ann Arbor, and via telehealth throughout Michigan.
3 Steps To Get Started
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Fill out the contact form and I’ll get back to you to help guide next steps.
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We’ll have a short call to see if this feels like a good fit.
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We’ll begin getting curious about your internal system and compassionate towards the stuck places inside.