Healing From the Inside Out: Bringing Reiki and Internal Family Systems Together for Inner Harmony
Many of us know what it’s like to be in conflict with ourselves. One part of you wants to rest
while another insists you have to keep pushing. One part is desperate for connection while
another keeps everyone at arm’s length. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapy model built
on the idea that this inner conflict is normal. It’s the natural result of having a mind made of
many parts, each trying to help.
In my work, I’ve found that IFS pairs well with something that may surprise you: Reiki energy
healing.
A Quick Look at IFS
IFS understands the mind as a system of many “parts,” each with its own feelings, beliefs, and
role. Most parts fall into two groups:
• Protectors work hard to keep us safe. Some are managers, like the inner critic, the
perfectionist, or the caretaker. Others are firefighters, which step in with intense urgency
when pain feels unbearable, through numbing, overeating, or using drugs.
• Exiles carry the pain, fear, and shame from earlier experiences. Protectors often work so
hard because they are trying to keep these tender parts hidden.
Finally, at the center of every person, IFS says, is the Self: a calm, compassionate core. Self-
energy is often described through qualities like calmness, curiosity, compassion, clarity,
confidence, courage, creativity, and connectedness. Healing in IFS doesn’t mean getting rid of
parts, but rather that through building a strong, trusting relationship between Self and parts, a
new operating system emerges that is more balanced and parts don’t feel like they need to
urgently protect us as much.
Where Reiki Fits
Reiki is a gentle practice of compassionate presence, traditionally described as channeling
universal life-force energy. It is non-invasive and non-directive, with no forcing, fixing, or
pushing. Many people describe it as warmth, softness, or a deep settling in the body.
When I sit with clients in IFS parts work, I notice that the felt quality of Reiki and the felt quality
of Self energy are very similar. Both are unconditional. Both welcome whatever is there without
demanding it change. In my experience, they feel like two doorways into the same room: one
through the mind and relationship, the other through the body and sensation.
I want to be transparent that Reiki is a complementary practice, and has research that suggests it
can support mental health, but it is not a substitute for therapy or medical care, and it’s always
optional and always with your consent. IFS is the foundation of my work. Reiki is an added layer
for clients who are interested and comfortable.
When Stress Shows Up in the Body
Sometimes the body seems to know we are overwhelmed before our thinking mind does. A
person may tell themselves, “I’m OK,” while their shoulders stay tight, their jaw aches, their
stomach churns, their breathing turns shallow, or an existing pain condition suddenly becomes
harder to tolerate. Anxiety doesn’t exist only as a collection of thoughts. We experience stress
through the whole nervous system.
This does not mean physical symptoms are imaginary. Pain is real. Fatigue, digestive discomfort,
and headaches are real, and physical symptoms always deserve appropriate medical assessment.
The word somatization simply describes one way that emotional distress and bodily experience
can become intertwined. So instead of asking, “Is this physical or psychological?”, I find a more
helpful question is: “What is happening in the whole person, and what could help my system
become better regulated?”
Stress can turn up the volume on pain.
Pain is much more complicated than a signal traveling
from an injured body part to the brain. Attention, fear, expectation, sleep, mood, past
experiences, muscle tension, and the meaning we attach to a sensation can all shape how pain is
felt. Many people recognize a familiar cycle: stress leads to muscle tension and physiological
arousal, which increases awareness of discomfort, which brings worry about the discomfort,
which creates more tension and vigilance, which brings more suffering. None of this means
someone is causing their own pain. It means parts of the pain experience may become more
manageable when the nervous system learns more flexibility.
Protectors can live in the body.
Through an IFS lens, a part may brace the muscles before
conflict. A part may scan the body for signs that something is wrong, because it believes that if it
stops paying attention, something terrible could happen. A part may catastrophize pain because
it’s trying to prevent future suffering. These parts aren’t enemies to be shamed or forced into
silence. Instead we get curious: What is this part afraid would happen if it stopped working so
hard? What is it trying to prevent? What does it need from Self right now?
Curious, not alarmed.
Telling an anxious person to simply “pay more attention” to their body
can backfire, because hypervigilance can magnify every heartbeat, twitch, and ache. Healthy
somatic awareness is different. Instead of scanning for evidence that something is wrong, we
learn to notice with curiosity. Where am I holding tension? Can I soften my jaw without forcing
it? What happens if my exhale gets slightly longer? Can I notice a sensation without immediately
deciding what it means? Can I experience my body rather than interrogate it?
Sometimes the shift is as small as saying, “Something in me is afraid right now.” That little bit of
space between the observing Self and the activated part is what IFS calls unblending, and it can
matter a great deal.
This is one place Reiki can fit. For some clients, the quiet, restful state of a Reiki session helps
the body settle enough that a protective part feels safe to be heard. Relaxation isn’t a
replacement for the deeper work, but it can lower the physiological activation surrounding a part
so that curiosity has room to grow.
Soothing Our Protectors
Protectors don’t respond well to being pushed aside. If you’ve ever tried to argue with your inner
critic or “get over” your anxiety, you know this. Protectors relax when they feel seen, respected,
and safe.
Offering Reiki to a protective part can help communicate that safety through the body rather than
through words. In a session, we might notice where a protector shows up, perhaps as tightness in
the chest or a clenched jaw. We get curious about it, ask what it’s afraid would happen if it
stepped back, and, with its permission, send calm, steady energy toward it.
Often the protector softens. It doesn’t disappear, and it doesn’t have to. It simply gets a little
more room to breathe, and a little more trust that it’s not alone in carrying the load.
Reaching the Exiles
Exiles hold the most vulnerable experiences, and healing them takes patience. Rushing toward an
exile before the protectors are ready can be overwhelming, which is why IFS moves slowly and
asks permission at every step.
As trust builds with protectors over time, they often allow access to the exiled parts beneath
them. Here, the combination can be especially supportive. Self-energy provides the
compassionate presence that exiles have been waiting for, and Reiki gives that presence a
physical, grounding form. Many clients describe feeling held while approaching difficult
material, rather than flooded by it. The exile is met with warmth, and its burdens can begin to be
released at a pace that feels safe.
What Does the Research Say about ifs and reiki?
Both IFS and Reiki have research behind them, and for both the evidence is still developing.
Some of it is encouraging. Here is an honest look at where things stand.
Research on IFS
Trauma and PTSD.
The first randomized controlled trial of an IFS-based PTSD program (60
participants) found that both the IFS group program and a comparison stress-reduction program
significantly reduced PTSD symptoms, with no significant difference between them. The IFS
group attended more sessions and reported higher satisfaction. (Joss et al., 2026) A small earlier
pilot with no control group also reported symptom reductions, which its authors called
preliminary. (Hodgdon et al., 2022)
Depression.
In a pilot study of 37 college women, depressive symptoms declined about equally
with IFS and with CBT or interpersonal therapy. (Haddock et al., 2017)
Chronic pain.
In a randomized trial of 79 adults with rheumatoid arthritis, an IFS-based
program improved pain and physical function more than an education control. Gains in joint
pain, self-compassion, and depression were still present a year later, though the control group
had much less clinical contact. (Shadick et al., 2013)
Research on Reiki
Anxiety.
A 2024 meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials (824 adults) found that Reiki
significantly reduced anxiety compared with placebo or no treatment, including in people with
conditions like fibromyalgia and depression. Results were less consistent for anxiety before
surgery and for death-related anxiety in cancer patients. (Guo et al., 2024)
Pain.
Two trials in that review involved people with chronic pain conditions. One found that
Reiki reduced pain, depression, and anxiety more than mock Reiki, and the other found reduced
anxiety in people with fibromyalgia. A 2025 meta-analysis of 661 participants found a small but
significant improvement in quality of life. (Liu et al., 2025)
The Deeper Goal: Flexibility, Not Perfection
Parts work, Reiki, mindfulness, and body-based practices can look like very different activities.
Underneath, they may share a theme: learning to notice internal experience without being
immediately controlled by it.
The goal is not to eliminate every anxious thought, make the body completely free of pain,
silence every protective part, or stay relaxed every moment. It is to develop flexibility:
• I can feel activated and still find my way toward regulation.
• I can experience a frightening thought without immediately believing it.
• I can notice pain without adding an entire imagined future to the sensation.
• I can notice that a protective part is afraid and approach it with compassion.
• I can learn what safety feels like in my own body.
For people who have spent years feeling as though anxiety, stress, trauma, or pain controls them,
discovering even a little more influence over their internal experience can be deeply meaningful.
Sometimes that is where change begins.
What a Session Might Look Like
Every session is shaped around you, but a typical flow might include:
1. Grounding, arriving in your body and breath
2. Noticing sensations in the body with curiosity, and identifying a feeling
3. Getting curious about the part connected to that feeling
4. Listening to what the part wants you to know
5. Offering compassion, and Reiki if you’ve chosen it
6. Reflection and integration, including journaling if it’s helpful
You are always in the driver’s seat. We go only as far as your system is ready to go.
Is This Right for You?
This approach may be a good fit if you:
• Feel stuck in patterns you understand intellectually but can’t change
• Struggle with a harsh inner critic, people-pleasing, anxiety, or emotional shutdown
• Notice stress showing up in your body, such as tension, headaches, stomach upset, or a
pain condition that flares when you’re overwhelmed
• Want a gentle, body-aware approach to healing
• Are curious about integrating mindfulness and energy-based practices with traditional
counseling
Note: Counseling services are provided by a graduate-level intern under clinical supervision.
Reiki is offered as an optional complementary practice and is not a medical treatment. If you’re
living with physical symptoms or pain, please keep working with your medical providers.
Counseling is meant to complement medical care, not replace it.
References
Guo, et al. (2024). Therapeutic effects of Reiki on interventions for anxiety: a meta-analysis.
BMC Palliative Care, 23, 147.
Haddock, S. A., et al. (2017). The efficacy of Internal Family Systems therapy in the treatment of
depression among female college students: A pilot study. Journal of Marital and Family
Therapy, 43, 131–144.
Hodgdon, et al. (2022). Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) among survivors of multiple childhood trauma: A pilot effectiveness study. Journal
of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 31(1), 22–43.
Joss, D., et al. (2026). A randomized controlled trial of an online group-based internal family
systems treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: The Program for Alleviating and
Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS) study. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research,
Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0002089
Liu, et al. (2025). Effects of Reiki therapy on quality of life: a meta-analysis of randomized
controlled trials. Systematic Reviews, 14, 72.
Shadick, N. A., et al. (2013). A randomized controlled trial of an Internal Family Systems-based
psychotherapeutic intervention on outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis: A proof-of-concept
study. The Journal of Rheumatology, 40(11), 1831–1841.
Zadro, S., & Stapleton, P. (2022). Does Reiki benefit mental health symptoms above placebo?
Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 897312.
About the author
Colleen Watson
Colleen is a graduate counseling intern at Rogers Park Counselors, supervised by Tim Jenkins, LCPC. She works with adolescents and young adults navigating relationships, trauma, chronic pain, and life transitions. Her approach draws on Internal Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness, and body awareness. Her background also includes Level 2 Reiki training.
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