A community of healing and liberation - Book of sacred stories
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Marta Arriola
1st Cohort
The most significant part of my personal process with IFS – Internal Family Systems – has been establishing a healthy and consistent relationship with my system. Before IFS, I had many family and personal problems that led me into long periods of depression, causing me to always seek an escape from the challenges I faced, having lived through various stages of domestic violence.
It was a constant struggle to get out of bed and go to school or work, and I was exhausted because suicidal thoughts were always present. This struggle manifested physically, incapacitating me with severe pain in my right arm, from my neck to my fingertips, and I had lost sensation in two fingers.
Now, with joy, I can acknowledge the bravery and love of my system in protecting me. We are capable of listening to each other and making agreements. It makes so much sense to me now, the role that each of my parts took over all these years, and now we remain connected and trust each other to navigate daily life. My relationship with my family is healthier, and I can offer greater understanding to my son, who has been diagnosed with autism. I feel light and at peace, thanks to the relationship I now have with myself.
Geographical Location: Santa Tecla, San Salvador.
Social Work: I work with the Salvadoran Red Cross in the area of social inclusion, supporting women victims of violence by helping them strengthen their sustainable livelihoods. I also volunteer with the CDA community, supporting peacebuilders assigned to me from the community through the IFS model.
Adriana Mármol Aparicio
1st Cohort
Almost a year ago, I concluded my experience with IFS therapy, yet the lessons I learned continue to impact my life. I had never before considered “myself" as a temple where so many wise parts of me reside, explaining my feelings and existence.
The experience was also enriching due to the relationship I built with my therapist. Despite being on the other side of the world and communicating in a second language, it allowed me to surpass limits that one of my parts thought I had.
I am infinitely grateful for the opportunity and the work done by the team to organize such a great and wonderful community that allows us to grow from within.
Geographical Location: Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad
Social Work: I am currently working as a Women and Family Specialist at the NGO Counteract International.
Adonay Miranda
1st Cohort
This model (IFS) came into my life at a crucial moment, when my mother was dying of cancer and my family was in a state of uncertainty and anxiety due to her impending absence. During my initial IFS process, I had never before recognized the importance of my mental health and how daily life is affected by these circumstances. Since encountering this model, I have become aware of the many parts within me, whose intention is my overall well-being, originating from deep-seated causes like childhood and adolescent traumas, inherited burdens, and uncontrollable situations. These parts do what is necessary to provide me with physical and emotional stability.
From their intentions, I have also realized that there is a self—filled with spirituality—that has the capacity to heal, to understand, and to treat my parts with love and compassion so that they can integrate into a new internal system of light, harmony, essence, and clarity, enabling me to move forward day by day.
For me, IFS represents a continuous process of self-discovery, spirituality, and the hope of inner healing. It has also led me to seek harmony and integration through spiritual healing with the sacred plants of the Amazon. The goal is to move from inner healing to external healing, impacting others, society, the earth, and the Christian Base Communities to which I belong. I want to support and strengthen these communities through internal healing and service to others and the environment.
Geographical Location: Cantón El Triunfo, Santa Tecla, La Libertad, El Salvador.
Current Social Work: I am a member of the Latin American Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), which originated in the 1970s. From this, the Association of Base Communities Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero (ACOBAMOR) was formed, where I serve as the Director/General Coordinator. The organization's work focuses on grassroots support and community work with various populations and areas such as children, youth, women, the elderly, agroecology, and economic initiatives to achieve dignified lives and inclusive ways of living, for the common good, for the spirituality of the earth, for justice, for peace, and for resilience.
Daisy Díaz
1st Cohort
IFS (Internal Family Systems) has been a tool that has helped me discover and learn that, just as my body is made up of different parts, there is also an internal system formed by parts that are constantly present, responding with infinite wisdom to the situations life presents.
It has also given me the opportunity to recognize that the people around me have this same system and that every response or reaction they have comes from those parts—parts with fears, doubts, certainties, and limitations—that are simply trying to protect and take care of us.
Instead of passing judgment, this recognition has become my way of responding when I ask myself, "Why do I or others act this way?"
IFS has also allowed me to find and embrace an invaluable resource called the *Self*—my essence, the deepest part of my heart, which enables me to establish a smooth relationship with all of my emotions, internal blocks, conflicts, and feelings, with my *parts*, in order to transform them into wisdom. This wisdom helps me pay attention to my inner world, know it better, understand what is going on in my mind, and continue improving my ability to understand myself and my surroundings.
I still have a long journey ahead, filled with curiosity and gratitude for the opportunity to belong to a large network of people who, with love and openness, want to keep learning about this tool. The goal is for it to eventually reach more people and their internal family systems.
**Geographical Location:** Santa Tecla, La Libertad.
**Social Work:** I am a Social Worker collaborating with ConTextos, where I have had the opportunity to connect with children, adolescents, youth, and families in vulnerable situations. The aim is to accompany them in a process where they recognize, value, and embrace their individual stories and what has enabled them to reach where they are now, so they can project themselves forward, using their skills and abilities in the service of a community that also responds to a collective story.
Enrique Quintanilla
1st Cohort
Like many children in my country, I was born and raised in poverty, not only lacking in having enough food, but also facing a deeper complexity that, thanks to IFS, I came to understand as parts of myself that were abandoned and nameless.
We all grew up in a constant state of alert, defensive, with an uncomfortable inclination towards anger and aggression as a defense mechanism. This constant whirlwind of negativity pushed me to seek peace in spaces where I wanted to give back something I felt life had taken from me. I felt guilty for others' suffering, similar to mine, and wanted to "save them."
IFS helped me build a new way of seeing this need, with boundaries, understanding how far I can take responsibility without sacrificing what is valuable to me. Ironically, I’ve worked in many community spaces, with emotions, trying to build peace, but at 38, this was my first experience with self-discovery, healing, and psychological support.
As part of the first cohort of this transformative experience, I am deeply grateful for those months in which I was accompanied, listened to, understood, validated, and guided to embrace myself without judgment. With these steps, I am moving towards being a better man, husband, father, brother, friend, worker, educator, and human being—transforming my environment along the way. It’s never too late to heal.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
**Geographical Location:** San Luis Mariona, Municipality of Cuscatancingo, San Salvador Centro.
**Social Work:** For almost five years, I have been working as a Cultural Orientation Workshop Facilitator for Latin America, in the refugee program to the United States, implemented by the International Organization for Migration.
Xenia Velis
1st Cohort
With IFS, I have managed to heal that deep wound of abandonment. It used to be a topic that hurt too much, and I felt a lot of resentment toward my mom and sisters. I remember that, when I was a child and a teenager, I always wanted to eat—now that I am aware, I realize it was a part of me trying to fill that void of abandonment.
I am glad to have healed my relationship with my mom and sisters. Now, we have moments of connection filled with love and joy. IFS has become a way of life because it creates a real relationship with my parts, and any decision I make, I consult with the wisdom within my system. I recognize the positive impact this has had on me personally, within my family, and in my community.
On a community level, I facilitate spaces with women and children. I now feel more confident, trusting in the energy of Self that flows, and I can pass this confidence on to the people I work with. I no longer feel nervous or overwhelmed when facilitating any space.
**Geographical Location:** San Marcos, San Salvador.
**Social Work:** I currently work at Nueva Esperanza. I am the co-founder and co-coordinator of the "Community Building from Within." My experience is in social work, focusing on community-level work, group facilitation, and leadership strengthening, supporting the growth of both individual and collective resilience.
Jaime Rivera
1st Cohort
In 2023, I was invited to be part of the "Building from Within" (CDA) project in El Salvador. The project involved therapeutic support using the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. I was deeply impressed by the dedication, love, and availability of the therapist. I remember that at first, it was difficult for me, and it still is to some extent, as I am still on the path to fully accepting certain parts of myself that have gone unnoticed for a long time. But with the help of the therapists, this has become much easier.
Some emotions, sensations, and parts that I had never paid attention to, I even started naming them and learning about their identity. Understanding their role in my system brings me a lot of peace. This tool (IFS) has also been very useful in accompanying others in various moments in life, especially my family relationships.
**Geographical location:** Chalatenango.
**Social work:** I support veterans and ex-combatants from El Salvador's recent armed conflict in sharing their life stories. I recognize that many of their stories are laden with parts that have suffered through very difficult situations. Supporting them is a way to help heal them and also heal with them.
1st Cohort
The journey inward that I began with curiosity but also with skepticism has been the greatest gift of my life. To be able to connect with such small parts (like a baby) while also holding large legacy burdens, such as war trauma—the sound of bombs going off and triggering an entire protective system to care for that baby part whenever I heard my own child cry or throw a tantrum. Caring for, consoling, and gently nurturing this part has allowed me to mother with more tenderness and presence of self.
As it is inside, so it is outside. The relationship I build every day with each of my parts is reflected in all my relationships. I had been single for eight years, as some parts, burdened with abandonment trauma and domestic violence, believed, "it's better to be alone than poorly accompanied." Creating a safe space within my system and listening to their stories has allowed them to trust me. Now, I am able to fall in love again and enjoy life with a partner. At a community and leadership level, I grew up with very driven parts that wanted to serve my community, but it was so difficult for me to receive feedback because I come from a childhood filled with hard work and many criticisms. These parts needed to stay on constant defense, always working without rest. Now, I can receive feedback as a gift and an opportunity, and my relationship with the community has changed because my system now has more space and willingness to connect with curiosity and compassion.
**Geographical location:** Apopa, San Salvador
**Social work:** I currently work at Nueva Esperanza. I am co-founder and co-coordinator of the "Building from Within" community. My experience is in social work, focusing on community-level initiatives, group facilitation, and leadership development, supporting the strengthening of both individual and collective resilience.
Katy Alvarenga
1st Cohort
With the IFS model, I have reconnected with each of my parts, discovering that I can connect with myself and express my emotions by embracing them with love, without reproaching what they might become. For me, it has been a rewarding experience to receive individual therapeutic care, and I am very grateful to the "Building from Within" community and my therapist, who supported me with their knowledge and dedication throughout these months in which I listened to my internal family system. There is nothing like making a change from within.
Among the most significant changes in my IFS process has been regaining my self-confidence and security, paying more attention to my health, and taking actions to care for myself by allowing time for rest. I used to focus primarily on others rather than on myself. I continue to be in a constant state of learning, connection, and curiosity about what each of my parts might reveal, to whom I now say "welcome," as I am here to listen to and accompany them.
**Geographical location:** Tonacatepeque, San Salvador
**Social work:** I work at the Office for the Protection of Human Rights of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, providing individual and family psychosocial care to victims of internal forced displacement, families of missing persons, migrants in need of protection, and victims of other forms of violence.
Andrés Urias
2nd Cohort
There are many significant things to highlight from my personal process, but the main one, and what I will continue to cultivate throughout my life, is the mental and emotional map it provides—a highly detailed map that allows me to differentiate the various areas and parts of my inner world. It enables better self-dialogue and deeper understanding when I encounter contradictory opinions or wishes. Each inner part is like a point on the map, and each point has something worth exploring and understanding.
With IFS, I began to understand this map, and it has become a great tool that I use daily. At the same time, this language has helped me better understand others, seeing their virtues and faults with more depth, because in the end, we all have the same parts, just with different faces and stories. It's like a multicolored mirror. All parts want to be seen and heard, but we must know how to see and listen.
**Geographical location:** Tamanique, La Libertad
**Social work:** Ancestral medicine
Selene Mangandi Calderón
2nd Cohort
I discovered the Internal Family Systems (IFS) in 2023, a year that marked my life. At that time, my internal insecurities, anxiety, self-criticism, and various circumstances led me to quit my job, resulting in three months without employment which had a significant emotional and family impact. I found myself living on autopilot, merely surviving.
During these most challenging moments, I struggled to understand the function of my internal parts. However, I had and still have the support that, at my own pace, has allowed me to connect with, listen to, understand, and have compassion for those parts that have protected me for so many years.
I continue on my journey of healing and self-discovery, now with greater clarity about my needs and childhood wounds. This has allowed me, up to this point, to step out of my comfort zone, trust myself more, reduce my anxiety levels, listen to my body, and connect with my family history. IFS has become an integral part of my life and has provided me with valuable tools to support others more effectively and compassionately.
Geographical location: Ilopango, San Salvador
Social work: I am currently working at a foundation focused on defending the rights of children and adolescents. In my role as a social worker, I have supported individual protection cases for this population, but I am also working at the community and group levels (children, adolescents, youth, adults), facilitating spaces for dialogue, strengthening soft skills, leadership, and helping to reframe their stories.
Christopher Alarcón
2nd Cohort
With IFS, more than achieving something, it was about giving myself the opportunity to work through a process where I could heal things from my childhood and adolescence, while being clear about my role within my family and not taking on responsibilities that aren’t mine. I’m happy to have a healthy relationship with my family that allows me to enjoy them.
IFS became a part of my everyday life, and the therapeutic process over more than a year had a big impact in all areas where I relate: work, personal, family, and spiritual.
In my professional life, the model allowed me to connect more genuinely with the populations we work with. It helped me recognize how essential the process is for each of us who have gone through it ourselves, and it has encouraged me to motivate others to become part of this journey.
Mercedes Monge
2nd Cohort
**THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PART OF MY PERSONAL PROCESS WITH IFS**
With IFS, I was able to identify my inner child, gradually healing the wound of abandonment that I had been carrying since childhood. This also included the abandonment wound caused by the absence of my mother and father during times of war.
I had experienced many losses and didn’t understand why I always tried to give everything to satisfy the people I loved, fighting to keep them from leaving my life and to avoid feeling the loss of someone I loved dearly. Throughout my life, people would come into my life, and after a while, they would leave. This caused me a lot of pain, anxiety, and fear of being alone. With IFS, I began to identify and dialogue with my parts, which helped me heal the pain in my heart more quickly.
IFS helped me identify the parts of me that needed healing, through practicing each day with the parts that would surface.
At the community level, I am working with other women who are going through similar situations, situations that harm their physical health. I try to support them in their own processes.
IFS offers tools that we have available to heal on both personal and collective levels.
Geographical location: Santiago Texacuangos, San Salvador
Social work: At Comunidades Unidas Santiago Texacuangos, as a coordinator, I do social work and focus on ancestral and holistic health with the women of Santamaría la Esperanza and organized women from other municipalities in the country.
Arquimedes Guevara
2nd Cohort
At first, I must confess that throughout my life, I’ve always been skeptical of what I see, hear, or read. When the IFS workshop was suggested to me, I approached it with some hesitation, despite the positive impact described by the person who recommended it. I accepted it with a mix of curiosity and openness. During the first sessions, both in the group and in the personal sessions with the therapist, I felt a bit lost regarding what we were talking about, but gradually, I began to gain confidence and understand the methodology.
My therapist was always respectful of my process and my skepticism. However, as the sessions progressed, they knew how to ask the right questions about my current life, my childhood, and my lived experiences. This helped me develop curiosity about those behaviors, phobias, or frustrations that prevent me from moving forward in what I want to achieve. It was during the last sessions that I began to experience changes in my life as I observed my behaviors and what triggered them.
Despite the positive learning I gained through IFS, I still feel that I have more to work on. Now, I approach things more calmly and thoughtfully, I am more tolerant of myself, and I accept my imperfections in a better way. I want to express my gratitude to the entire therapeutic community and to my fellow participants who walked this path with me toward a healthier and more fulfilling life.
Geographical location: San Salvador, El Salvador
Social work: I work at the MOJE Association as a facilitator for life skills for youth in rural communities in my country. For more than 25 years, the MOJE Association has been making an impact on young people with fewer opportunities and those excluded in the department of Cabañas and surrounding communities, providing opportunities for economic and social development.
Deisy Valdes de Rivas
2nd Cohort
I come from a family where my father was a very chauvinist man, and because of that, I suffered a lot of verbal and psychological abuse. He was always telling me that I couldn’t continue studying because women were only good for giving birth and doing household chores. But I wanted to break that pattern and prove that women can also achieve what we set out to do if we have clear goals.
With IFS, I have been able to heal those wounds I carried, which I may have unconsciously passed on to others. Thanks to IFS, I have found myself, and today I feel very happy. I no longer hold resentment. In the past, when I talked about this, I would burst into tears, but today I understand that it was just a part of me that was feeling that pain.
In my healing process, I have been able to connect more with others. It fills me with satisfaction to be able to love and show solidarity in various situations.
I am in a coordination role for violence prevention with children, youth, and adults. I’ve come to feel more confident in myself and recognize the wisdom within my system, allowing those energies to flow and sharing that same feeling with others I interact with in daily life.
Geographical location:
San Salvador, San Salvador
Social work: I am a morning teacher at the Catholic School Maria Madre de los Pobres. In my free time, I support the violence prevention team in the La Chacra area, and at times, I help children with school reinforcement and homework, especially those who don’t have anyone to assist them.
Ana Espinales
2nd Cohort
When I began this process with IFS, I assumed it was just another process to acquire new tools and knowledge to share with the population I work with. But a part of me said that this space would be "especially for me," since before the pandemic, I had gone through an emotional and health crisis, just like many of us who were affected by COVID. Before this global event, I had experienced many losses and had unresolved grief. When the COVID-19 lockdown occurred, it triggered me to relive all those moments of loss. Each session I had with my therapist helped me understand that I had left those processes of loss and grief incomplete. Each session I attended helped me connect with myself and give a name to everything that didn’t have one at the time.
I clearly remember one of those sessions with my therapist (INMA), where her way of guiding me helped me release so many emotions and feelings that time flew by. That session helped me connect deeply with my parts, which I hadn’t understood at first—“the parts?” What is that? How does that work in practice?
By exploring a bit more into the parts that make me up as a human being, it helped me understand that my brain, my mind, works with each of its parts, and those parts interact. I came to understand that my affected parts had led to physiological symptoms, and now, for example, I know that my strong emotions manifest in my stomach. Now, I am certain that I need to learn how to channel my emotions so they don’t impact my physical health.
I know I still have much to learn and discover, but starting with IFS has opened a path to follow and given more meaning to my being, believing that my healing will be step-by-step, and that I am responsible for achieving it. That makes me happy!
Geographical location: San Salvador, Cuscatancingo
Social work: I currently work at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), El Salvador, as a specialist and coach in rehabilitation and reintegration methodologies for young people with criminal liability. Participating in IFS has allowed me to broaden my vision of how I provide support and guidance to the youth, as getting to know myself and deepening my understanding of how my parts, my emotional system, and my physical system interact helps me be more aware of how I am in order to give. It also reminds me that I have the need to receive, and that I must learn to ask for what I need to receive.
Yanira Monjaras
2nd Cohort
A year ago, I participated in the IFS program. It is truly a beautiful program, especially for healing from within. I met my therapist, María Samayoa, and I also shared with many women who have similar wounds. Personally, it has helped me a lot—my character, my way of seeing things is different now. I feel much more at peace. I carried wounds from my childhood, including the death of my father when I was nine, which had been a huge wound that kept me from moving forward. I projected that wound of protection onto my daughter.
IFS is a great program that grows day by day in our lives. What is important is to allow yourself to change and put it into practice. Often, we don’t realize that our inner peace is more important than anything else. If we could manage to look within and heal, we wouldn’t harm those around us and would see things with tranquility and things wouldn’t affect us.
I am grateful to my friend Luis Monterrosa, who gave me the gift of knowing about this program, and to Magdalena and Xenia, women who were always attentive to every detail, asking why we hadn’t attended the sessions. To María Samayoa, a therapist and a dear friend who helped me so much, and to the women in the program for sharing their experiences.
“Gratitude is a virtue practiced day by day.”
Geographical location: I live in Colonia San Luis #2, La Chacra area, San Salvador.
Social work: I work at Clínica Madre de los Pobres as a pharmacist and clinical records manager. I volunteer in 33 communities of District Six of the San Salvador City Hall, and I am a member of my community’s board of directors.
Wendy Borja
2nd Cohort
Discovering the healing process that comes from looking through the lens of compassion, and understanding that everyone carries a story which is reflected in their current behavior, has been the best part of my training with IFS.
Also, recognizing our history and honoring past generations helps to lighten the load of criticism and self-criticism (legacy burdens) and strengthens family bonds by understanding that each person had to face various situations with the personal resources they had. Thanks to this, my curiosity for learning about family constellations has grown, and I hope to train in this one day, as I believe that connecting with family history helps any individual cultivate a healing process, reconciliation, and forgiveness, and to take responsibility for their life as an adult.
Through learning circles, I was able to discover some very introspective techniques, which I applied to my work (workshops), and the results were very meaningful.
Geographical location: San Salvador, San Salvador.
Social work: I currently work at an organization focused on empowering women by strengthening their personal capacities and life skills.
Douglas Rafael Mejía
Cohorte 2
Personally, it has been one of the most impactful experiences in my life, and the IFS process has helped me identify what had been so painful for me for so long. When I talk about pain, I’m referring to the hurt caused by the absence of a paternal figure, something that I hadn’t recognized internally because my father hadn’t been with us for a long time already, as he passed away 41 years ago. It (this pain) was something I couldn’t forgive myself for. That pain transformed me into an insecure, distrustful person who was held back from exploring his surroundings. Today, I am aware that this was a kind of armor that parts of my internal system had created when I hadn’t yet accepted or understood the part that carried this pain.
Currently, I feel a sense of peace and have a good relationship with my paternal grandmother and aunts (my father’s sisters). They have given me the love and support that he was not able to. I now recognize and understand that my father never wanted to leave us.
For me, IFS has transformed me into a confident person in the environments where I move, and I now have an excellent, close, and continuous relationship with my internal parts. These parts have given me a new perspective and allow me to develop more compassionate and harmonious relationships. This 180-degree shift has been beneficial in my life, as I can now apply my IFS experience to various aspects of my life (family, work, and community life).
Geographical location: District of Ilobasco, Western Cabañas, Department of Cabañas.
Social work: I am currently the coordinator of a project at the MOJE Association in Ilobasco, where we work with youth from rural areas on two components: Sustainable Livelihoods and a Culture of Peace. This takes place in various districts of Western Cabañas, in the Department of Cabañas. I am a social worker, and provide psychosocial interventions to target groups, strengthening resilience, community youth leadership, and creating skills through technical training for young people to generate economic income to improve their lives and those of their families.
Gregoria Leonor Acevedo
Cohort 2
IFS has helped me gain clarity about the parts of me that have been protecting me. It has been significant to identify key points where traumas have affected me deeply. I am grateful that I have been able to heal and accept my own existence, to forgive myself, to have more compassion for my parts, to value them, to start helping them find some peace, and to listen to them. To allow emotions, which I had long silenced, to begin to flow little by little.
I have been able to take a step back to visit and embrace the child who faced difficult situations. Accepting my own identity and forgiving the past has led me to value the lineage of women I come from, strengthening my resilience. I have managed to release the wounds that grew within my family, to value the experiences that have shaped me, and to recognize that my father had his own story; he, too, was a wounded child. I have learned that forgiveness relieves me of burdens that have weighed me down for a long time. I recognize that I must continue exploring myself and my parts to strengthen the emotional connection that was once missing, and to live every moment I have with my family to the fullest.
Through IFS, I was able to accept the dynamics in the community where I live and to recognize that I have strong roots. I learned to set boundaries regarding other people's expectations and to contribute from my abilities while ensuring my own safety and that of others around me. Being with different people makes me feel alive and fortunate because they pass on knowledge that I will never gain from academia—truly, life lessons.
Geographical Location: Tonacatepeque, San Salvador.
Social Work: I currently work at the Cristosal Foundation as a Civics and Human Rights educator. I have experience as a community liaison in a scholarship program, providing individual and group support to children, adolescents, and young people, as well as coordinating and monitoring small social projects in the community with youth, and facilitating training processes for young people and women.
María Celina Cartagena
Cohort 2
It has been a beautiful experience, as I learned to meet and listen to my parts, and learned to be at peace, and I healed some resentment I felt toward my little sister. Participating in Cohort 2 was an excellent experience. Healing in a community, I learned a lot about the burdens we carry from our ancestors, and I feel very happy and grateful to the community. I also improved community relationships.
Geographical Location: Chalatenango, El Salvador.
Social Work: I work in a human rights committee in my community and with a group of women; we address issues of food sovereignty.
Mariana Quintanilla
Cohort 2
For me, the IFS process has been one of constant healing. I had many inner wounds and suffered from the after-effects of situations of domestic violence, which for a long time made it difficult for me to meet a basic need—getting a restful night of sleep, feeling safe, whole, and recognizing myself. I harbored a lot of resentment towards my mother, which made it hard to connect with her.
As I got to know each of these parts and listened to their stories, we became friends. Now, I accompany all these parts, listening to them when I notice they need it. I can sleep soundly, which was impossible for me before. I feel fulfilled with what I do, and can now acknowledge my efforts and accomplishments and feel proud. If there’s one word that defines me and my system today, it is "Brave." IFS has become a part of my daily life, integrated like a superpower—the wisdom of noticing what the body says, what triggers it, what it needs. I can see a before and after in myself and in my surroundings, thanks to this process.
Geographical Location: Apopa, San Salvador.
Social Work: I am currently collaborating in the community "Building from Within," offering support using the IFS tool to peacebuilders from Cohort 4.
Claudia Rodríguez
Cohort 3
This is the first time I’ve participated in a healing process. It has been a space that has lent itself to self-knowledge and the acceptance of each and every one of my parts, who in turn take care of me when they show up. It has been a place of refuge and affection for my Self, which at times felt disconnected from my essential parts, and the question arises, "Why?" Those essential parts were there all along, and I didn’t understand what they wanted from me!
Through the sessions, I learned to dialogue with my inner Self, to breathe, and reconnect without violence, without the guilt from the past that was hurting my present. IFS has become an intangible place of warmth that lets me see life in different colors, enriching my being with tranquility, peace, and personal harmony. I try to share it with the people I am close to. IFS is liberating, transformative, and welcoming! I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the IFS affective community.
Geographical Location: San Salvador.
Social Work: I work at an environmental organization and am part of a group called the Ecofeminist Movement, which includes women of all ages. At the heart of the effort is a life of biodiversity, free from violence, focusing on self-care and collective care. I do community work with women, strengthening processes of organization, education, awareness-raising, and empowerment, using some IFS tools in the various groups so that other women can also forge their paths from a place of self-love.
Gabina Dubón
Cohort 3
My IFS goals were to heal personal and family issues, and to practice it in the work I do with the various groups I serve in this mission. It has been very valuable, a personalized therapeutic gift that I hadn’t experienced before, despite having lived through so many traumas—domestic violence, political and economic struggles, losses, grief, disappearances, etc. Learning a new tool to recognize, understand, and love my family system, to heal part of the family burdens from my ancestors, and some that are systemic, has been invaluable. I have no doubts about the richness of the methodology and the love and dedication of the facilitators and therapists. I am grateful and committed to continue putting it into practice in all areas of my life, which has helped me find inner peace and well-being.
Geographical Location: Apopa, San Salvador.
Social Work: I am currently the coordinator of the Transformative Social Pastoral Care team at the national office of Caritas El Salvador, encouraging, accompanying, and supporting various areas, such as Transformative Social Pastoral Care, Pastoral care for victims of violence, using different methodologies, and women's pastoral care using various methodologies like GAM (women’s support groups), GAAP (savings and microloan groups), entrepreneurship, and new masculinities. The work is national in scope, involving diocesan Caritas offices, parishes, learning communities, and other stakeholders. I am a member of the community Walking Towards Peace and part of its education commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, made up of 15 faith-inspired organizations. Our goal is to contribute to peace with social justice, applying proven methodologies through diplomas, conversation spaces, and materials that have been shown to bring about personal, family, community, and social changes. I am also part of the Gender Commission of Caritas in Latin America and the Caribbean, encouraging women's participation in the church and in society and raising awareness among the Caritas network and parishes on issues of gender and eliminating violence against women and girls.
Evelyn Portillo
Cohort 3
IFS came into my life at just the right moment, when I was trying to process the pain and wounds from my childhood and adolescence. I felt very sad and confused. Many situations from the past were affecting how I socialized and formed relationships with others. Through IFS, I felt deeply supported, both in group and individual sessions. I became aware of all the parts that live within me, and I learned to understand, appreciate, and make room for each of them.
A very significant moment was realizing that I possess a tremendous power to heal, and that I have my Self who can embrace all the parts within me. This process has helped me feel like I belong, not only among the members of the IFS community but also with my own parts. It has been the beginning of slowly healing the wounds of abandonment, loneliness, and abuse that I experienced many years ago. I feel stronger now, and I know how to manage my emotions more wisely and with compassion toward myself. I respect and recognize my parts, which has allowed me to have healthier relationships with those around me. I am grateful for this space and the opportunity to be part of this community.
Geographical Location: Ayutuxtepeque, San Salvador.
Social Work: Today I work for the Center for Exchange and Solidarity, facilitating exchanges between people from different communities in El Salvador and solidarity partners from the United States who support scholarship programs in these communities, promoting mutual respect and solidarity among peoples.
Gelen Cristina López
Cohort 3
With IFS, I’ve learned to manage my emotions and parts, which often turned into anxiety because I didn’t know how to handle or understand what was happening inside me. As a young woman who had to learn from a very young age to solve family problems and had to take on responsibilities to get ahead, this process came at the right time in my life. I was fortunate to learn about IFS, and I loved it from the moment I started my sessions, progressing gradually from the easiest topics to the most difficult ones to discuss.
I am grateful to my therapists for teaching me that there are no bad parts. Today I can say that I am a different young woman who is still learning, but I am slowly uncovering a new version of me—someone who loves what she does and is proud of who she is and what she has accomplished so far.
Geographical Location: Lourdes Colón, La Libertad, El Salvador.
Social Work: Currently, I am working as a communicator for ACOBAMOR, an association of Christian Base Communities that works with communities in the El Bálsamo Mountain Range, Santa Tecla. We work with groups of elderly people, women, youth, and children.
José Arturo Ramírez Bernal
Cohort 3
Throughout life, emotions suffer many fractures, and personally, many of these fractures accompanied me for many years. I came to normalize each one of them, as if I was destined to carry them as almost visible scars, reflected in how I responded to everyday life situations, responding out of pain, trauma, and other difficulties. IFS has been a space for healing, for releasing burdens, and for Self discovery, fulfilling the need to be heard and cared for in a deeply satisfying way.
I can say that IFS has brought healing, liberation, and reconstruction of my being, helping me find forgiveness toward the parts of others who caused wounds. Each of my parts has found a safe space that offers the compassion and attention they need. IFS has greatly improved the dynamics among my parts, allowing me to be more aware of them at all times. It is a method that, through collective and individual work, has helped me feel whole and lighter—like a warm embrace that offers hope, accompanying me with empathy, professionalism, and solidarity toward each of my parts.
This has been an exceptional experience, where I have felt fully supported and invited to feel comfortable among people who are committed to giving quality time and dedication. It has also been a learning process that has allowed me to accompany others and connect with their parts with compassion, empathy, and humble admiration. Through my work with vulnerable communities and their youth, I have perceived how my parts are allowing me to accompany others from my Self, providing a better level of care for each person and their parts.
Geographical Location: Santa Ana, Santa Ana.
Social Work: I currently work at an NGO as a youth mentor technician, in a project in communities affected by high levels of violence and stigmatization of youth, accompanying a group of young people living in two different communities.
Juan Carlos Urías Huezo
Cohort 3
The first thing that impressed me about Internal Family Systems (IFS) was the deep level of acceptance of everything one is. Understanding and experiencing that all our parts are welcome and have good intentions was, in itself, a healing experience that moved me deeply.
Additionally, I find it fascinating how our Self, when given space, presents itself with an energy that calms, stabilizes, and builds trust with the parts, to the point where they begin to express themselves and tell their story. In my case, part of that story contained pain from experiences I did not consciously remember, but it helped me to make sense of why I felt overwhelmed by emotions that were difficult to manage. Through this process, I have begun to heal these parts, experiencing not only a greater sense of freedom but also how that energy seems to transform into something more manageable and beneficial.
Geographical Location: San Marcos, San Salvador.
Social Work: I currently work part-time at an Addiction Treatment Center in an outpatient program, serving people with substance use problems and their families. The rest of the time, I provide psychological care in my private clinic. Occasionally, I do trainings, especially in therapeutic approaches to substance use disorders. I am also part of the training team for the “Universal Treatment Curriculum for Substance Use Disorders” for the Western Hemisphere and conduct other national trainings with rehabilitation centers and the healthcare system on therapeutic approaches to substance use disorders.
María Cristina Velásquez
Cohort 3
What has been valuable about my process with IFS is giving myself permission to listen to my parts and realizing that each of them is valuable, important, and deserves space within me. I feel happy to be able to share what I’ve learned with those around me. I’ve identified that in this healing process, my body, emotions, and spirituality have forgiven me, offering me the gift of gratitude every day. IFS is woven into my daily conversations, and when I interact with my family, friends, and at work, it allows me to understand others better and be more empathetic with their circumstances, helping to build healthy relationships.
Geographical Location: Chalchuapa, Santa Ana.
Social Work: Currently, I work as a case manager for internally displaced people who have suffered human rights violations or violence that put their lives at risk.
Nikol Mercado
Cohort 3
With IFS, I felt that accepting all my parts and emotions opened my being to self-compassion and self-empathy. In individual therapy, it was surprising to go back to my childhood and recall scenarios I thought I had forgotten, even from as early as one year old. I was struck by the realization that, although we may think we have healed a wound, we can always delve deeper as the process progresses. We just need the right guidance to reach that key point in our lives.
In my case, not growing up with my mother was something I had worked on using different approaches, but new layers of understanding continued to emerge. Going to the SELF brought me to something greater than emotions, allowing me to see my experiences from a new perspective. I also loved forming a community with other women, like me, seeking to heal and practice self-care. Many of us work caring for others, and if we don’t care for ourselves, it’s hard to support others. IFS reaffirmed some healing practices I was already familiar with, like meditation, but was neglecting, due to daily activities getting in the way.
I have been applying the techniques I learned in IFS with my patients, and they feel they are able to go deeper inside, without judgment. They find answers more spontaneously to the questions their Self asks, and they feel more at peace with their lives. I am grateful for the opportunity given to us by the coordinators of the IFS community, both for this healing space and for the learning.
Geographical Location: Colonia Vista Hermosa, San Salvador.
Social Work: I am the founder of Love and Balance, a psychotherapeutic space where people of all ages can come for both individual and group therapy to resolve childhood traumas, heal wounds, and address relationship or parenting issues. Love and Balance also conducts workshops at companies to raise awareness on the importance of mental health care for employees and managers. In addition to my mental health and wellness project, I continue teaching at the university and doing research.
Karla Iveth Rivas
Cohort 3
My experience with Internal Family Systems (IFS) has been transformative. It helped me understand how my internal parts work and to be more empathetic with myself. It also allowed me to see people, even those I once considered “bad,” from a different perspective, recognizing that everyone has their own story of suffering and parts that protect them. However, I also learned the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing my own personal growth. This community supported me during one of the hardest times of my life, and thanks to IFS, I have been able to gain deep insight and cultivate compassion for myself.
Geographical Location: Ciudad Delgado, San Salvador.
Social Work: I am a psychologist working at an NGO where I interact mostly with women, providing trainings on human rights, gender, and a culture of peace.
Leslie Rodríguez
Cohort 3
The most significant part of my personal process with IFS
First, I thank God for allowing me to be part of this wonderful IFS community, and my partner Adonay Miranda, who always encouraged me and helped me to take an interest in it.
I want to emphasize that my childhood was filled with both good and bad moments. Good, because I always had the support of my family, friends, and school mentors who were always looking out for me, offering love and care. Bad, because my father passed away when I was five years old, and it’s worth noting that I didn’t heal from that wound at the time because I didn’t understand what was happening due to my young age. As I grew older, I really felt his absence, but through IFS, I located those parts of me that felt most hurt and healed them. I also sent comfort, hope, and above all, love to that little girl. I am with her now, I love her, and despite everything, I admire how strong she is, always pushing forward despite the circumstances, never giving up on her dreams.
At the community level, I haven’t yet replicated what I’ve learned, but I am committed to helping those who need to be heard, giving them my trust and support so they feel free to express what they feel.
Geographical Location: Calle a Comasagua, Cantón El Limón, Santa Tecla, La Libertad.
Social Work: I currently work at a social organization that supports sectors such as women, children, the elderly, and youth. I help with the administration of this organization and support different colleagues who run workshops for these various groups. I offer constant support and understanding, building bonds of trust and hope.
Karla Orellana
Cohort 3
The most significant part of my personal process with IFS
At the beginning of the first few sessions, I felt a bit anxious about whether I would be able to open up to myself and listen. Committing myself to improving felt like a big challenge. In the IFS sessions, I encountered parts of myself I had not known before. This has been a revealing and sometimes unsettling experience, but it has helped me better understand my behavior and emotions. Each session, whether in group or with the therapist, made me feel that I was taking a step forward in my self-knowledge. Although it is difficult to face certain emotions, the clarity and understanding I’ve gained have brought me relief. Working with my internal parts has been an emotional journey, and I feel so fortunate to have set out on this path. In particular, there is a part of me that has always felt afraid to open up in unfamiliar spaces, and that part gradually began to open up. Even though it was painful at times, it also gave me a sense of peace knowing I was starting to heal. During this process, I felt very supported and accompanied. The IFS sessions have given me tools to manage my emotions in a more constructive way. I’ve noticed a significant change in how I face daily challenges, and I have more confidence in myself, which has improved my communication with the people around me in all areas of my life.
Geographical Location: Santa Tecla, El Salvador.
Social Work: I am an architecture student and currently work as an assistant at the Ignacio Ellacuría Center (CIE) at José Simeón Cañas Central American University. The CIE has programs that aim not only to promote social justice but also to foster personal and community development. In my role, I collaborate to make the programs’ training comprehensive, strengthening Ignatian leadership among young people. I personally believe that such initiatives can have a significant impact on improving various aspects of society.
Wendy Lorena Araujo
Cohort 3
For me, it has been an incredibly profound and healing experience. I have been able to reach parts of myself that I hadn’t been able to discover or understand through previous self-knowledge or therapeutic processes, both spiritually and in my professional development. My protectors and firefighters were familiar figures, but when we realized we were in a safe space, we were able to reach my most well-guarded exiles, anchored in very significant stages of my life. These exiles had been left with wounds of physical and emotional abuse, loneliness, anxiety, pain, and even a certain degree of abandonment. In those moments, I learned to resolve situations from a place of wisdom I didn’t know I had, and now I understand that something greater was always with me, which I now am becoming increasingly more aware of through the qualities of the Self.
I have a much clearer understanding of why I love working with children and adolescents so much (in addition to the rest of the population I work with). It comes naturally and seems to flow when I connect with their wounds, desires, and even their rebelliousness. Each time I can help, I see how more of those parts that were once hurt are healing. Another area that has filled me with immense wonder and surprise is how I have been able to heal my lineage, the women who came before me. These women experienced major losses and pain, and they were caregivers for everyone around them, often taking on responsibilities that were not theirs. This is connected to another area of healing—the physical realm. By healing this lineage, I’ve worked through a chain of hereditary diseases (several types of cancer, including the one that has affected me most—breast cancer, from which my mother passed away). I’ve made a lot of progress in healing during this process to prevent passing this legacy on to my daughters and future generations.
Today, I feel more connected to my Self, to that essential energy that has always been there. I am recovering my true self, and I feel much more authentic in the world. I can feel my energy returning, a genuine energy that is closer to those around me. I continue to work on maintaining and nurturing this balance.
Geographical Location: Zaragoza, La Libertad, El Salvador.
Social Work: I work as a psychiatrist, splitting my time between my private clinic, where I treat children, adolescents, adults, and families dealing with various mental health issues, and treating patients from different foundations that require care in this area. The other part of my time is dedicated to working as part of the multidisciplinary team at the Therapeutic Addiction Center, where I apply another area of expertise in this field. Additionally, I provide consulting to pharmaceutical companies for research and conferences, I give academic presentations for universities and conferences, and I write articles for my official blog—a way to stay closely connected with my patients since the pandemic. I’ve been married for 21 years, have two teenage daughters, and actively participate in the PTA at their school to support the school and its community.
Zulma Larín
Cohort 3
Experiences of learning from within. Starting from the inside of my being, I found myself facing my parts and realized that we need to give ourselves the opportunity to get to know ourselves from within. The personal therapies I’ve undergone have helped me recognize which parts need the most attention. When I started my personal therapy and was asked, "How are your parts?" I already had an answer: my parts were rebellious. On January 29, 2024, I spoke of seeking the little girl I lost when I was 10 years old—the girl who witnessed my father’s murder on March 3, 1981, at 10 p.m. Talking about this chapter of my life was a special moment in this process because it helped me let go of some of the pain I had been carrying for almost 43 years. By thanking my parts, I was able to identify the importance of communicating with them, as we are normally disconnected from the ways we communicate with our bodies.
Throughout this process, what has stood out to me is the importance of learning new methodologies that can help us know ourselves better, recognizing how we can improve our lives by letting go of the burdens we carry. Of course, this is a whole process of self-knowledge, and for me, that has been one of the best lessons—realizing that we can heal by acknowledging all our parts and understanding how they are interconnected. I also learned to interpret the contradictions between these parts—the reasons they emerged and at what point in my history they were born. This experience also made me realize how much women like me need to look inward and how necessary it is for us to have tools to attend to the "sick" parts we carry. In my case, I need to be very careful with my liver, which is weak, and with my right foot, especially the ankle, where I have acute pain due to obesity but also as a result of polio. Finding a way to help my body is still a big challenge.
I want to thank the facilitators of this process for helping me discover new learning tools for getting to know ourselves better through our parts and for validating our parts when they leap into action. I’ve learned to recognize and accept them and to speak for them, which is like giving voice to an important part of me. To continue learning the methodology and working with our parts, it seems important to keep holding meetings that strengthen this knowledge, and of course, I will keep discovering my parts, especially those that need more attention, so I can make myself stronger and create more inner harmony.
Geographical Location: Soyapango, San Salvador.
Social Work: I currently work at the Popol-na Association.
Cecilia Margarita Pocasangre
Cohort 3
Hello, my name is Cecilia Margarita Pocasangre -- psychologist by profession and a Biodanza teacher. I am a 60-year-old woman, mother of three young adults, and I work as an independent consultant on mental health and historical memory issues. I do volunteer work in the project "Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador," specifically in the municipality of Arcatao, Chalatenango, where I accompany alcoholics and their families in their recovery process, as well as provide mental health and self-care support to historical memory groups.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) came to me during a Mental Health and Historical Memory meeting held in 2022 in Arcatao, Chalatenango, El Salvador. Magdalena, Xenia, and Jaime were there and shared this tool, inviting all attendees to join the IFS training for Cohort 2. Out of that group, I joined in for Cohort 3, and I am very grateful for this gift. I was drawn to IFS because it’s a tool that anyone can use—accessible to the public. I’m attracted to self-help tools that can be shared with others.
IFS found me during a significant life transition, as I was entering retirement. I actually retired in 2023 but kept working throughout the year, so I didn’t feel the change. That year was full of adrenaline. In 2024, though, I started the first four months without work and without the usual income, just relying on my retirement fund, which was like having my wings clipped. During that period, I experienced grief over my retirement and the desired but unresolved process of closure with the place where I had worked most of my life. I felt very sad, even though I stayed busy, studying, working at home, accompanying my parents to medical appointments, and taking care of my health.
IFS, and the people who share this tool, helped me listen to all my parts during that time: my rational part, which provided explanations about what was happening; my sad part, because I no longer had the same income and somehow wasn’t feeling useful; my angry part, which I couldn’t quite understand, but it was angry nonetheless; and my happy part, which was also important because now I had the time to do what I had always wanted—live at a slower pace, have time for family, for my parents, for myself, for more self-care, and to offer higher-quality mental health services. And then, there was my fearful part, as it was also time to face an old issue with my youngest son.
I want to thank IFS because it helped me out of that depression and has allowed me to take on some short-term consulting jobs that have improved both my income and personal fulfillment. I haven’t made much progress with my son’s situation, but I’ve gained clarity on the parts of me that are involved in that fear and how it relates to the issue of suicide. I’ve made some progress dialoguing with the parts of me that protect me from facing such a radical change, and I am grateful to them, and I understand how expressing gratitude toward those parts and loving them really helps me. They have given me guidance in encouraging my son to seek compassionate, professional help. I still have a lot of personal and family work to do with patience, love, and without violence.
Another gift of IFS is that it allowed me to examine how my parts react during my volunteer work, accompanying the family members of people struggling with alcoholism. When I reviewed my polarized parts, the sensations led me to an old pain I experienced during the encephalitis I suffered in 2015, and an exiled part—the story of my co-dependence from living with an alcoholic person. This was something I had worked on in the years that followed, but it resurfaced again during that time. For a few weeks, I heard voices. Due to my history of encephalitis, I was concerned and tried to suppress them. From an IFS perspective, it was a relief to recognize that no part is bad, and so it was okay to listen to them—and I did. Soon after, the voices stopped.
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