Parts Work
Healing Intergenerational Trauma Through Internal Family Systems
Parts Work therapy offers a powerful path toward self-awareness and healing inner conflict, and as an Asian-American therapist specializing in intergenerational trauma, I bring this approach to clients throughout Oakland. My practice combines Parts Work with somatic therapy, Attachment-Focused EMDR, and Emotionally-Focused Therapy to address the unique challenges faced by second and 1.5 generation immigrants.
Parts Work therapy can offer profound healing and transformation if you feel stuck navigating the tension between honoring your parents' sacrifices and pursuing your own dreams, experience inner conflict between the part of you that wants to maintain family harmony and the part that needs to speak your truth, or struggle with patterns of perfectionism and people-pleasing that may have helped your family survive but now feel overwhelming.
What is Parts Work Therapy?
Parts Work therapy, rooted in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy developed by Richard Schwartz, recognizes that we all have different parts within our internal system. Rather than seeing conflicting thoughts and emotions as problems to fix, IFS therapy views these different parts as natural aspects of your self that developed to help you navigate life experiences—often the complex experience of growing up between two worlds.
Through Parts Work therapy, you'll learn to:
Communicate with different parts of your internal system
Develop self compassion toward all aspects of your self, including the parts that carry cultural shame or family secrets
Heal wounded parts carrying childhood trauma or the weight of immigration stories
Resolve internal conflicts that keep you feeling stuck between expectations and authenticity
Lead from your core self with the wisdom that comes from understanding your full story
In my Oakland practice, I create a space where all your parts are welcome—the part that speaks perfect English at work, the part that dreams in your parents' language, the part that feels responsible for your family's happiness, and the part that just wants to be seen for who you truly are.
Who Benefits from Parts Work Therapy?
My Parts Work therapy practice in Oakland serves Asian-American adults aged 25-50 who are navigating the complex landscape of identity, family, and belonging:
Identity and Cultural Navigation:
Inner conflict between the part of you that wants to honor your parents' dreams and the part that has different aspirations
Wrestling with perfectionist parts that developed when excellence became the family's pathway to security and acceptance
Feeling disconnected from your cultural roots while also feeling like an outsider in American spaces
Carrying guilt about educational or career choices that your parents may not understand
Struggling with parts that learned to minimize your cultural identity to fit in
Family Dynamics and Intergenerational Patterns:
Feeling responsible for your parents' emotional well-being in ways that exhaust your own spirit
Carrying anxiety that seems bigger than your own life experiences—anxiety that may include your family's survival stories
Relationship struggles rooted in patterns you witnessed growing up, particularly around emotional expression
Taking care of everyone else's needs while your own inner child still feels unmet
Navigating family expectations around marriage, career, and life choices that may not align with your authentic path
Personal Growth and Emotional Well-being:
Healing your inner child and young parts that may have grown up too quickly or carried adult responsibilities
Working with your inner critic that may carry not just your own voice, but generations of survival vigilance
Addressing burnout from trying to excel in every area of life while managing complex family dynamics
Building authentic relationships where you can be fully yourself rather than just the parts others expect to see
My Approach to Parts Work Therapy
In my Oakland practice, I weave together Parts Work therapy with other approaches that honor both your individual healing and your cultural context:
Internal Family Systems Therapy Foundation
Through IFS therapy, we'll explore your internal system and get to know the different parts that make up your inner world:
Protective Parts: These parts developed to help you and your family navigate challenges:
The part that learned excellence was the path to safety and family pride
The part that smooths over conflicts because harmony felt essential for family survival
The inner critic that tries to prevent rejection by being harsh with you first
The part that takes care of everyone else's emotions, sometimes carrying worries that span generations
Wounded Parts: These parts hold struggles and pain:
Your inner child who may have learned early that your own needs came second to family stability
Parts that carry grief—for homeland left behind, languages being lost, or dreams deferred
Parts that learned to hide emotions because there wasn't space for them in a family focused on survival and success
Parts that hold cultural shame or family secrets that were never meant to be your burden
The Self: Your essential core that naturally holds wisdom, compassion, curiosity, and calm. Through Parts Work therapy, you'll learn to lead from this authentic self—the part of you that can honor your heritage while writing your own story.
Integrated Healing Approaches
Somatic Therapy Integration: The body often holds what words cannot express—the stress of code-switching between cultures, the weight of unspoken family trauma, the exhaustion of constant vigilance. I combine Parts Work therapy with somatic approaches to help you reconnect with your body's wisdom and release patterns that no longer serve you.
Attachment-Focused EMDR: When Parts Work therapy brings up memories or overwhelming emotions—perhaps from your own childhood or stories passed down through generations—I may weave in EMDR to help process these experiences gently while maintaining the Internal Family Systems perspective that honors all aspects of your story.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy: For clients in relationships, I integrate Parts Work therapy with EFT to help you and your partner understand how your different parts show up in your connection. This might include the part of you that learned love meant sacrifice, or the part that struggles to ask for what you need because you learned early that others' needs mattered more.
Getting to Know Your Internal Family
We begin by exploring your internal system with curiosity and compassion, understanding how your parts developed in response to your unique story:
Recognizing patterns of inner conflict that might mirror the external conflicts you've navigated between cultures
Developing gentle curiosity toward all aspects of your self, including the parts you might wish were different
Understanding how your parts learned to help you survive and thrive in complex circumstances
Beginning to distinguish between your parts and your core Self—the part of you that exists beyond roles and expectations
You might discover, for example, how your perfectionist part developed not just from personal experiences, but from understanding that your success reflected on your entire family's journey and sacrifices.
What to Expect in Parts Work Therapy
Creating Space for Wounded Parts
As safety builds in our work together, parts that have been carrying pain begin to feel safe enough to share their experiences:
Gently approaching childhood struggles and family patterns that may have shaped your inner world
Helping your inner child express emotions that may not have been welcome growing up—anger, sadness, or even joy that felt too risky
Supporting parts that carry grief for what was lost in immigration journeys, whether your own or your family's
Working with your inner critic with understanding rather than judgment, recognizing it may be trying to protect you from dangers that are no longer present
Integration and Living Authentically
Through Parts Work therapy, you'll develop practical ways to maintain healthy relationships among your different parts as you navigate daily life:
Daily Awareness: Learning to check in with yourself and recognize which parts might need attention—the part that's exhausted from people-pleasing, the part that misses feeling connected to your culture, or the part that needs space to just be
Boundaries with Compassion: Discovering how to honor your own needs while maintaining the cultural values of respect and family connection that matter to you
Emotional Presence: Developing the ability to respond from your authentic self rather than reacting from wounded or protective parts, especially in family dynamics or cultural pressures
Cultural Integration: Finding ways to honor your heritage and family story while giving yourself permission to write new chapters
The Healing Benefits of Parts Work Therapy
Clients who engage in Parts Work therapy often experience:
Enhanced Self Awareness: Understanding your internal system leads to clarity about your emotions, reactions, and patterns in relationships—including recognizing when you're responding from old survival patterns versus your present-day wisdom.
Improved Relationships: As your internal relationships heal through Parts therapy, your external relationships often flourish with better communication, healthier boundaries, and more authentic connection—both with family and in your broader community.
Reduced Inner Conflict: Instead of feeling torn between different aspects of yourself—the dutiful child and the independent adult, the cultural part and the assimilated part—you'll learn to create internal harmony where all parts can coexist.
Cultural Integration: Rather than feeling like you have to choose between honoring your heritage and being true to yourself, you'll develop an integrated sense of identity that celebrates both your roots and your individual path.
Authentic Self-Expression: Leading from your Self rather than reactive parts allows you to express your values, needs, and desires in ways that feel true to who you are, not just who others expect you to be.
Healing Generational Patterns: Parts Work therapy provides a gentle framework for understanding and transforming patterns that may have served previous generations but no longer serve your life, while still honoring the wisdom and strength they represent.
Addressing Common Concerns
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Parts Work therapy doesn't ask you to abandon what matters to you. Instead, it helps you distinguish between cultural values that truly serve your well-being and survival patterns that may have been necessary once but now feel restrictive. Many clients find they can honor their heritage more authentically when they're not operating from wounded or fear-based parts.
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Healing your Internal Family Systems often actually improves family relationships, though it may change them. As you develop healthier internal dynamics through Parts therapy, you often find more skillful ways to navigate family relationships—setting boundaries when needed while maintaining love and respect.
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Parts Work therapy offers a unique framework that honors the complexity of your internal experience without pathologizing any aspect of who you are. Instead of seeing different aspects of yourself as problems to solve, IFS therapy recognizes all parts as having developed for good reasons, even when their strategies no longer serve you.
Examples of Parts Work Therapy in Practice
Navigating Career Expectations: A client's traditional part felt anxious about disappointing parents who expected them to pursue medicine, while another part yearned for creative expression. Through Parts Work therapy, they learned to honor both parts' concerns and found a path that respected their family's sacrifices while pursuing their authentic calling.
Healing Perfectionism: Another client's inner critic had learned to be vigilant about mistakes because excellence felt like the only way to prove their family belonged in America. IFS therapy helped them understand this part's protective intention while developing internal support and self compassion.
Relationship Authenticity: A client's people-pleasing part had learned that their own needs were less important than maintaining harmony, a pattern that served their family's immigration adjustment but was exhausting their marriage. Parts therapy helped them practice honoring their own needs while maintaining their values of respect and care for others.
Connecting with Heritage: Someone's assimilated part had learned to minimize their cultural identity to fit in, while their traditional part carried grief about losing connection to their roots. Through gentle Parts Work therapy, they found ways to reclaim cultural practices that felt meaningful while honoring how they'd grown and changed.
Working with Me: Your Healing Journey
As your therapist specializing in Parts Work therapy for Asian-American adults, I bring both professional expertise and personal understanding of what it means to navigate between worlds. My approach honors:
Your Full Story: I understand that your struggles didn't develop in isolation—they're connected to family stories, immigration experiences, and the complex task of building identity across cultures. This understanding shapes how we approach your healing.
Gentleness with Trauma: All aspects of my work recognize how both personal experiences and inherited family patterns can impact your internal system, and we move at a pace that feels safe for all your parts.
Your Expertise: Parts Work therapy is collaborative. You remain the expert on your own experience while I provide guidance, support, and a framework for understanding your internal world.
Your Unique Path: Every client's Internal Family Systems reflects their individual story. I tailor my approach to your specific parts, family background, cultural experiences, and healing goals.
Getting Started with Parts Work Therapy
If you're ready to explore how Parts Work therapy can support your healing journey, I invite you to begin with a free 20-minute consultation. During this conversation, we'll discuss:
Your specific concerns and hopes for our work together
How Parts Work therapy might address the patterns and struggles you're experiencing
What you can expect from our collaboration
Practical details about scheduling and my approach to care
Many clients feel relief just from learning about the Internal Family Systems framework—finally having language for the internal complexity they've always known was there, and understanding that carrying multiple perspectives and loyalties isn't a flaw but a natural response to a complex life.
Take the Next Step Toward Healing
Parts Work therapy offers a path toward greater self compassion, authentic relationships, and freedom from patterns that may have once protected you but now feel limiting. Through this work, you can honor your family's journey and cultural heritage while giving yourself permission to live fully as your authentic self.
Whether you're navigating anxiety, depression, perfectionism, burnout, relationship struggles, or the ongoing work of integrating your cultural identity with your individual path, Parts Work therapy provides gentle, effective tools for lasting transformation.
In my Oakland practice, I'm committed to providing care that honors both your heritage and your individual healing journey—understanding that true healing happens when all parts of your story can be welcomed and integrated.
Ready to begin healing your Internal Family Systems and creating more harmony within yourself? Contact me today to schedule your free consultation and take the first step toward resolving inner conflict, developing deeper self awareness, and creating the authentic life that honors both where you come from and who you're becoming.
Location:
Oakland, CA
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Parts Work therapy is an approach that recognizes we all have different aspects or "parts" within us that developed to help us navigate life. Sometimes these parts carry painful emotions, outdated beliefs, or protective strategies that once served us but now create inner conflict. In our sessions together, I help you develop a compassionate relationship with each part of yourself, understand what it needs, and create greater harmony within your internal system. This approach is particularly helpful for healing patterns rooted in childhood experiences and family dynamics.
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While many therapeutic approaches focus on changing thoughts or behaviors, Parts Work goes deeper by helping you understand the origins and intentions of different aspects of yourself. Rather than trying to eliminate or override parts of you that feel problematic, this approach invites curiosity and compassion toward every part. In my practice, I integrate Parts Work with somatic therapy, Attachment-Focused EMDR, and Emotionally-Focused Therapy to create a holistic healing experience tailored to your unique needs.
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Yes, Parts Work is especially effective for understanding and healing perfectionism and people-pleasing. These patterns often develop as survival strategies, particularly in families where achievement was highly valued or where keeping the peace felt essential. Through Parts Work, we explore the parts of you that drive these behaviors, understand what they are protecting you from, and help them relax as you develop new ways of feeling safe and worthy. Many of my clients find relief from the exhausting pressure of perfectionism once they understand its roots.
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Parts Work offers a compassionate framework for exploring the inner tension many second and 1.5 generation immigrants experience. You may have parts that deeply value honoring your family's sacrifices and maintaining cultural traditions, while other parts long for independence and self-expression. Rather than choosing one over the other, Parts Work helps you understand and integrate these different aspects of yourself, allowing you to honor your heritage while also living authentically. This approach creates space for the complexity of your experience without forcing you to pick sides.
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Each session is tailored to where you are in your healing journey. We might spend time getting to know a particular part that has been showing up strongly in your life, exploring its origins and what it needs from you. Sometimes we work with parts that carry difficult emotions or memories, helping them release burdens they have been holding. I often integrate body awareness into our work, since parts often communicate through physical sensations. Throughout our sessions, I guide you in developing your own inner leadership so you can continue this healing work between appointments.
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The timeline varies for each person depending on your goals, history, and the complexity of what you are working through. Some clients notice shifts in self-awareness and inner calm within the first few sessions. Deeper healing of longstanding patterns or early wounds often unfolds over several months. I work collaboratively with you to check in on your progress and adjust our approach as needed. My goal is to help you develop skills and self-understanding that will serve you long after our work together concludes.
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Parts Work is highly effective for understanding and soothing anxiety and emotional overwhelm. Often, anxiety stems from protective parts working overtime to keep you safe from perceived threats, including emotional ones. Through Parts Work, we help these anxious parts feel heard and understood, which often allows them to relax. We also work with the vulnerable parts they are protecting, helping them heal so the anxious parts no longer need to work so hard. Many clients experience significant relief once they understand their anxiety as a well-intentioned protector rather than a problem to fix.
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Yes, Parts Work is one of the most effective approaches for healing childhood experiences and family of origin wounds. Many parts develop in childhood as ways to cope with difficult family dynamics, unmet needs, or painful experiences. These parts often continue operating from that younger perspective even as we grow into adults. Through Parts Work, we gently connect with these younger parts, help them feel seen and understood, and support them in releasing pain they have carried for years. This healing can transform not only your relationship with yourself but also your current relationships with family members.
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Guilt and shame often live in specific parts that developed to help you stay connected to family or community, or to protect you from criticism or rejection. In Parts Work, we approach these parts with curiosity rather than judgment, understanding the important role they have played in your life. We explore where these feelings originated, often in family messages about worthiness, success, or belonging. As we help these parts feel understood and release their burdens, many clients experience a profound shift in how they relate to themselves, moving from harsh self-criticism to genuine self-compassion.
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Parts Work may be a good fit if you experience inner conflict, feel like different parts of you want different things, or notice patterns in your life that feel difficult to change despite your best efforts. It is also helpful if you struggle with self-criticism, carry guilt or shame from your family or cultural background, or feel disconnected from yourself or your emotions. The best way to find out if this approach resonates with you is to schedule a free 20 minute consultation where we can discuss your goals and I can answer any questions about how I work. Reach out to learn more about scheduling and how Parts Work might support your unique healing journey.