#091 Colleen West - Meet Your "Inner Crew" – The IFS Key to Overcoming Anxiety & Healing Trauma

Jun 2, 2025

Colleen West, a seasoned Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 25 years in trauma healing, shares insights on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach. She explains how understanding your 'Inner Crew' can transform your relationship with anxiety and trauma. Listeners learn about the significance of childhood wounds and how they shape adult behaviors. Colleen emphasizes the power of self-compassion, and shares practical techniques for accessing your authentic self, urging us to embrace all parts of ourselves to foster healing and emotional balance.

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INSIGHT

The Core Self Essence

Each person has an internal essence or "Self" that acts as a force for growth and healing.
This core self is constant and distinct from our fluctuating internal parts or parts of personality.

ANECDOTE

Colleen's Personal Journey

Colleen grew up in a chaotic, alcoholic home and naturally became a family therapist.
Her childhood pushed her to learn to connect and listen, fueling her passion for trauma therapy.

INSIGHT

Mind as Multiple Parts

Internal Family Systems (IFS) views the mind as made of sub-personalities or parts.
These parts have distinct experiences and roles but are a normal aspect of human psychology.

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That voice in your head telling you you're not enough? It's not your enemy, it's part of your "Inner Crew" trying to protect you.

In this mind-blowing episode, therapist Colleen West reveals why understanding your internal parts is the key to healing trauma and conquering anxiety. She breaks down the revolutionary Internal Family Systems approach that's taking the therapy world by storm.

Discover why your anxiety exists, how childhood wounds still drive your adult decisions, and why that inner critic won't shut up. Plus, learn how to access your authentic "Self", the calm center that can finally bring peace to your mental battlefield.

Cody shares his own journey using IFS to understand his workaholic tendencies, while Colleen explains how even pre-verbal trauma from infancy can be healed.

Stop fighting yourself. Meet your Inner Crew and transform your relationship with every part of you that's been misunderstood.

ℹ️ About the Guests

Colleen West is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 25 years of experience helping individuals heal from trauma. As an Internal Family Systems Clinical Consultant and former EMDR Approved Consultant, Colleen brings a depth of expertise in transformative healing approaches that go beyond traditional talk therapy.

She is the author of "We All Have Parts: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Trauma With Internal Family Systems," which makes complex psychological concepts accessible through thoughtful illustrations, as well as "The IFS Flip Chart: A psychoeducational Tool for Unlocking the Multiple Mind". Drawing from her own journey of healing childhood wounds, Colleen specializes in pre-verbal trauma and has developed unique insights into how our earliest experiences shape our adult lives.

Instagram: @colleenwest
Twitter/X: @colleenwest
Facebook: Parts Work: Trauma-Informed IFS
Websites: https://www.colleenwest.com/ and https://smarttherapytools.com/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colleenwest
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👨‍💻 People & Other Mentions

Colleen West - Our guest, LMFT, IFS Approved Consultant, and author.
Richard Schwartz - Founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS), mentioned as Colleen's mentor.
"We All Have Parts: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Trauma With Internal Family Systems" - Colleen West's book, providing a guide to IFS.
"No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model" -

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