Chicago IFS Therapist
Feeling like you're constantly running on empty while your inner critic works overtime? If you're a high-achiever struggling with burnout, anxiety, or that nagging feeling that you're somehow not enough despite all your accomplishments, you're not alone—and you don't have to keep white-knuckling your way through life. IFS therapy can help you embrace all parts of you, especially those that have gone unseen for so long.
Meet Your Chicago IFS Therapist
Elizabeth Bodett Dresser, LCPC
Hi, I’m Elizabeth. I know what it's like to live caught in anxious overthinking and constantly overfunctioning. I've been there too. I also know, through both my personal journey and my professional experience, that it’s possible to break these patterns and start feeling like your true self.
I specialize in helping overwhelmed high-achievers quiet their inner critic and embrace authenticity through Internal Family Systems therapy. Sessions with me are a safe space where perfectionism can finally take a back seat, and you can reconnect with the confident, calm person underneath all that pressure to perform.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, IFS Level 2, EMDR Trained
IFS Training: Level 2
EMDR Training: EMDRIA
Specialties: trauma, anxiety, burn out
Clientele: Adults
Location: Chicago, IL
Virtual therapy: Yes
Private pay. Superbills provided for out-of-network insurance reimbursement.
Learn more about IFS Therapy
Elizabeth Bodett Dresser, LCPC, explains how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy works and who it tends to help. IFS is a way of working with the different parts of yourself, especially the parts carrying old pain, fear, or protective patterns. If you are interested in IFS therapy in Chicago, schedule a free 15-minute intro call to talk through what you are working on and how the process might fit.
FAQs About IFS Therapy
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IFS is based on the idea that we're all made up of different parts: the overthinker, the inner critic, the one that keeps pushing harder, the one that shuts down when things get hard. These parts aren't problems to fix. They developed for good reasons, usually to protect you from something painful. But over time they can take over in ways that leave you feeling stuck, exhausted, or disconnected from yourself.
In IFS, we get curious about those parts instead of trying to manage or silence them. We figure out what they're carrying, what they're afraid of, and what they actually need. When parts feel genuinely understood rather than overridden, they don't have to work so hard. That's when things start to shift.That's when things start to shift. If you're also dealing with specific memories or experiences that feel stuck, we often integrate EMDR therapy alongside IFS for deeper processing.
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Most people who come to us have already done some version of therapy and a lot of them did CBT, which taught them to identify and reframe their thoughts. That can be genuinely useful. But if you're still stuck in the same patterns despite years of work, it's probably because changing your thoughts doesn't touch what's underneath them.
IFS goes deeper. Instead of trying to think your way out of anxiety or self-criticism, we get curious about the parts of you that are driving those patterns in the first place. The part that's always bracing for failure, the one that won't let you rest, the one that's been carrying something heavy for a long time. When those parts get real attention instead of management strategies, that's when lasting change actually happens. You can learn more about how we work at Still Oak and what to expect when you reach out.
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Sessions are conversational but they go somewhere most conversations don't. Rather than recapping your week or problem-solving what's in front of you, we slow down and get curious about what's happening underneath. You might notice a feeling, a tension in your body, or a familiar thought pattern, and we follow that inward rather than talking around it.
Most clients describe sessions as feeling different from any therapy they've done before. Not because it's harder, but because it's more specific. You're not just gaining insight into your patterns. You're actually working with the parts creating them.
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Yes. IFS was designated as an evidence-based practice by SAMHSA, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2015. Research supports its effectiveness for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and trauma. It has also shown strong results for burnout, self-criticism, and chronic stress, which are the patterns we work with most at Still Oak.
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Yes, and it's particularly well suited for the kind of anxiety and burnout that high achievers experience. Not the kind that comes from one bad event, but the kind that builds slowly over years of overworking, over-functioning, and never quite feeling like enough despite all evidence to the contrary.
Most anxiety treatment focuses on managing symptoms. IFS focuses on the parts driving the anxiety in the first place. The part that won't let you slow down, the one that catastrophizes, the one that ties your worth to your output. When those parts get the attention they've been working so hard to demand, the anxiety has less reason to stay at that volume.
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It depends on what you want to get out of it. Some people come in with a specific pattern they want to shift and make meaningful progress in a relatively short time. Others are doing deeper work that they've been carrying for a long time, and that takes more. What we can tell you is that most clients start noticing something different within the first few sessions, not after months of groundwork.
We'll be honest with you from the beginning about what to expect, and we check in regularly to make sure the work is actually moving.
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IFS and EMDR work together in a way that makes both more effective. IFS helps you get to know the parts of you that are connected to a painful memory or pattern and builds enough internal trust that you feel ready to process it. EMDR then helps your brain finish processing what got stuck, so it stops showing up in the present as anxiety, reactivity, or dread.
For a lot of clients, IFS does the preparation and EMDR does the processing. Together they address both the inner system that's been protecting the wound and the wound itself. We integrate both at Still Oak and will talk with you about what combination makes sense for where you are.
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IFS tends to work especially well for people who are self-aware enough to know they're stuck but can't seem to get unstuck on their own. High achievers who are exhausted by their own standards. People who are great at holding everything together for everyone else and are running on empty. People who have done therapy before and felt like they understood their patterns but couldn't actually change them.
If you've ever thought "I know why I do this, I just can't stop doing it," IFS was probably designed for you. It's particularly powerful for people navigating perfectionism and burnout.
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You'll notice it in the small things before you notice it in the big ones. Less inner tension. Less of that low-grade overwhelm that used to follow you everywhere. A growing sense that you can handle what's in front of you without white-knuckling your way through it.
You might find that the voice that used to be relentlessly critical gets quieter. That you can pause before reacting in a way that used to feel automatic. That rest doesn't feel as dangerous as it used to. Progress in IFS isn't always linear, but it is real, and most clients feel it earlier than they expected to.
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The first step is a free 20-minute intro call. We'll talk about what's bringing you in, answer any questions you have, and get a sense of whether we're a good fit. You don't need to have it figured out before you reach out. That's what the call is for.