IFS Therapy Intensives with
Heather Varnau
For deep healing in a short period of time.
IFS Therapy Retreats for Individuals in Bellingham, WA
IFS Therapy Intensives with
Heather Varnau
For deep healing in a short period of time.
IFS Therapy Retreats for Individuals in Bellingham, WA
IFS Therapy Intensives with
Heather Varnau
For deep healing in a short period of time.
IFS Therapy Retreats for Individuals in Bellingham, WA
An invitation to go deeper
You’re showing up, week after week, doing “the work,” still, the joy and ease you long for feel out of reach.
Somewhere deep inside, you know: coping can’t be a way of life.
You’re ready for a profound healing experience—something traditional therapy doesn’t seem to offer.
What you need now is dedicated time, a safe, expert-guided container, and a proven, evidence-based approach to help you finally find what you’ve been longing for: A sense of lightness and rightness within yourself.
IFS Therapy Intensives are retreat-style healing experiences designed for exactly this moment in your journey.
If you’re ready to release, heal, and transform, you’re in the right spot.
Hello, I'm Heather Varnau, MA, LMHC.
I am a Level 3 Trained, Certified IFS Therapist and an Approved Clinical Consultant with the IFS Institute. I am passionate about helping clients heal in profound ways through IFS therapy. As the founder of Inside Passage Counseling, this is my signature service: IFS Therapy Intensives for Individuals.
If you are looking for a safe container, expert guidance, and an effective and evidence-based approach to help you find a holistic sense of calm, peace, ease, and lightness, you’ve come to the right place.
I help clients with:
- Self-esteem issues
- Healing traumatized parts of your personality
- Body image and eating patterns
- Internal conflict about what to do next
- Family of origin patterns and legacy burdens
- Healing from abuse, neglect, and abandonment
- Compulsive behaviors
- Anxiety & Depression
- Understanding yourself in relationships
- Grief and loss
- Life transitions: marriage, separation, divorce, death, birth, career etc.
- Self-discovery
- Spirituality
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a transformative, evidence-based approach to healing and self-discovery. It’s rooted in a simple but profound idea: you are not one single self—you’re made up of many inner parts, each with its own voice, emotion, and story.
Some parts protect you.
Some carry pain from the past.
There are no bad parts — but some are stuck in outdated roles and some carry burdens from trauma.
IFS therapy helps you meet these parts with curiosity and compassion, so you can understand their intentions, release what no longer serves you, and reconnect with your innate calm, clarity, and confidence.
How I Work
With expert, compassionate guidance, you’ll witness and honor your parts without judgement, uncover the root causes of inner conflict, release emotions, beliefs, and burdens that no longer serve you and restore a felt sense of harmony within your system.
We start with safety
I start by developing a safe working relationship with you and your internal system. We will address any parts of you that are concerned about working intensively and make sure you feel ready to begin the healing experience.
Then, we get clear on what matters most.
Then, we’ll identify your goals for the intensive and decide where we need to start.
Healing through witnessing
Over the period of 2 to 4 days, I’ll help you focus on the parts of you that need your attention and guide you in relating to your parts from a place of Self.
As we get to know your parts, we’ll witness their story, helping these parts feel heard, seen, and appreciated for what they are trying to do or what they have experienced.
Unburdening, updating and rebalancing
As we go, we’ll unburden parts that are carrying negative beliefs and emotions, and anything else that no longer serves them, so that you can be free to update and reconnect with your true essence. We’ll also rebalance your system as parts unburden so that the relationship between your parts becomes healthier and more harmonious.
Integration and after-Care
Before you leave, we’ll discuss a plan for maintaining your growth and I’ll provide you with a summary of the different parts we worked with and key take-aways.
After we’re done, I’m happy to coordinate care with your regular therapist or provide referrals for traditional follow-up IFS therapy. Many of my clients enjoy the intensive format so much that they come back again when they want to do more work. For some people, this retreat-style of therapy fits their personality and is easier to schedule than weekly appointments.
What is an IFS Intensive? And how is it different from weekly therapy?
An IFS Intensive is a private, retreat-style therapy experience designed to help you move through deeper healing in a shorter amount of time. Rather than spreading out your progress over months or years of weekly sessions, intensives offer concentrated time and space to focus fully on what your system most needs.
Held over 2–4 days, with 3–4 hours of therapy per day, intensives allow you to drop beneath daily stressors and access the parts of you that are ready to heal — but may not show up in a 50-minute session.
Is an IFS Intensive Right for You?
This is for you if:
- You’ve worked with IFS before and found it meaningful — or you’re already familiar with the model
- You’re ready to go deeper and dedicate focused time to healing
- You want a collaborative, compassionate partnership with an experienced IFS therapist
- You feel a pull to tend to your internal world — and you’re ready to listen
This may not be a good fit if:
- You’re hoping to be “fixed” or want to change someone else
- You don’t currently have outside support in place for after the intensive
- Your home or post-intensive environment doesn’t feel emotionally safe for integration
- You aren't prepared to continue nurturing an ongoing relationship with your parts.
I offer:
2-Day Intensives
A powerful introduction to IFS, my 2-day intensives are ideal for people focused on a deeper internal connection and understanding with all their parts.
*Most Popular*
3-Day Intensives
The sweet spot for many — my 3-day IFS therapy intensives allow for a balanced unburdening and meaningful full-system rebalancing.
4-Day Intensives
A true therapeutic retreat, my 4-day intensives are perfect for deep, sustainable transformation or those individuals traveling from out of state.
Therapy Intensives are perfect for people that are ready for relief now. If you’re ready to see things change (or movement) in your life, your healing, and your relationships but you don’t want to wait for that to happen next year – an IFS Therapy Intensive may be right for you. If you have a specific topic, trauma, or stressor that you want support with – this can be the focus of your IFS Therapy Intensive. The dedicated time will be customized specifically to you and your goals.
IFS Therapy Intensives are more effective and efficient than normal 50-minute therapy sessions. Typically, in a 50-minute session, there are at least 5-10 minutes of “check-in” at the start of the session and usually, 5-10 minutes spent on “closing up” or “checking out” at the end of a session – Leaving only 30-40 minutes for deep therapeutic work. Therapy Intensives are different. A 4-hour IFS Therapy Intensive allows for 3.5 hours of depth work. That’s the equivalent of five 50-minute sessions or more than a month of therapy – in a single day! Doing 2-3 days of this, will allow space to go deep and really connect with your own healing journey.
Great question! This depends on your goals for the Therapy Intensive. Each day will be 4 hours of IFS therapy plus breaks. Some goals can be reached in a 2 Day Intensive, but other goals are more complex and may require a 3 Day Intensive (total 12 hours face-to-face intensive therapy). For people who are traveling from out of state and want a therapeutic retreat experience, 4 days (16 hours) may be desirable. I can help you determine the number of days that would work best for your therapy goals.
Absolutely! IFS Therapy Intensives work very well as an adjunct therapy. I would ask that you sign a Release of Information so that your current therapist and I can collaborate/coordinate to best serve you.
I’m sorry, Therapy Intensives are not covered by insurance.
First, call today and speak with one of our professional client care coordinators. They will answer your questions about cost and availability.
If you are still interested in proceeding with scheduling, the next step is to do a free 30-minute consultation with me, Heather Varnau, MA, LMHC. The consultation will be held by Zoom. You will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire (sent via email) prior to the consultation, which will help me focus the conversation to address your needs.
If we both believe it is a good fit to proceed, I will follow up with an email with my first available dates, and our scheduling team will assist with scheduling your intensive. A deposit of $300 is required at the time of booking and the remaining balance will be charged the day before the first day of the intensive.
Cancellation policy: I require at least 2 weeks’ notice to cancel or reschedule your intensive to receive a refund of your deposit. If you cancel your intensive with less than 2 weeks’ notice, you may use your deposit toward the cost of a future service at Inside Passage Counseling.
Let’s schedule a time to talk! I’m happy to answer any questions and explore your unique situation to see if an IFS Therapy Intensive may be helpful for you during a no-obligation 30-minute Zoom call to discuss any questions you may have.
Frequently Asked Questions about IFS Therapy Intensives
What's Included in Our IFS Therapy Intensive?
Airfare and travel costs not included.
Pre-Intensive Interview
60-minute Zoom meeting, structured similarly to an intake session. We’ll use this time to understand your history and get an idea of what parts you are wanting to focus on during your intensive. This will help us identify the goals of the IFS Therapy Intensive and prepare for the experience. We will identify the painful memories, beliefs, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief. This will be scheduled 2-4 weeks prior to your intensive day(s).
Tailored Therapy Intensive
2-4 consecutive days of 4-hour intensive IFS therapy. During the scheduled days, we will in Bellingham, Washington. Breaks will be taken as needed (at least one 15-minute break per 3-hour session). We’ll create a plan for after-care and how to continue your growth when you go back into your life.
Post-Intensive Interview
A 60-minute session to debrief the experience and reflect on areas of insight, relief, and transformation. We’ll also discuss next steps for continued growth and healing. This will be scheduled within 1-3 weeks of the intensive sessions, along with a consultation follow up with your regular therapist (if applicable).
A Happier, Healthier Life is on the Horizon.
If you are ready to improve your emotional well-being and quality of life, contact Inside Passage Counseling today.
Click on the link above to book a FREE 15-min consult with one of our Client Care Coordinators