Parts Work & ADHD: An Introduction to Internal Family Systems

Parts Work & ADHD: An Introduction to Internal Family Systems

A 3-Week Experiential Exploration of ADHD, Nervous System Regulation & Parts Work

In this three-week experiential course, we’ll explore Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a framework for understanding ourselves and developing a more compassionate relationship with the experience of ADHD.

ADHD affects far more than our ability to pay attention. Differences in executive functioning can influence motivation, inhibition, emotional regulation, task initiation, working memory, and our ability to direct our attention—even when we deeply want to.

And our ability to access these capacities is also influenced by the state of our nervous system.

When we’re overwhelmed, stressed, under-stimulated, exhausted, or emotionally activated, executive functioning can become even harder to access. Alongside this, many of us develop internal patterns in response to years of struggling, compensating, masking, or feeling as though we should be able to function differently.

Parts may criticize, push, perfect, avoid, procrastinate, people-please, shut down, or work incredibly hard to hold everything together.

Through the lens of IFS, nervous system education, and practical ADHD-informed tools, we’ll explore both what our brains need to function well and how to relate differently to the parts of us that have formed around our experience.

This is an experiential course: you won’t just learn about these concepts—you’ll explore them within yourself. Each session includes teaching, guided inner work, practical tools, and opportunities for group reflection and connection.

What You’ll Explore Over 3 Weeks

Week 1: Understanding Your Inner System

• Learn the core IFS framework: parts, protectors, exiles, and Self

• Begin mapping your own internal system and recognizing when a part has taken over

• Explore how our experiences shape protective patterns and internal relationships

• Practice meeting your inner experience with curiosity rather than judgment

Week 2: The ADHD Brain, Nervous System & Our Parts

• Explore how ADHD can affect attention, motivation, inhibition, and executive functioning

• Understand how nervous system state can support—or further challenge—these capacities

• Explore the parts that develop around experiences of overwhelm, procrastination, inconsistency, masking, perfectionism, and self-criticism

• Learn practical, in-the-moment ways to support regulation and executive functioning

Week 3: Working With Your Brain, Not Against It

• Explore the difference between ADHD traits and the protective patterns that can develop around them

• Learn how to respond to overwhelm, avoidance, and internal conflict with greater awareness and choice

• Explore what Self-leadership can look like within an ADHD nervous system

• Build practical ways of supporting your brain while developing greater trust and cooperation within your internal system

This Course Blends

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) theory and experiential practice

• ADHD-informed neuroscience and psychoeducation

• Nervous system regulation and somatic awareness

• Practical tools for supporting executive functioning

• Guided personal processing and group connection

• ADHD-friendly learning, with shorter teaching segments, varied ways of engaging, movement, and plenty of experiential practice

You’ll Leave With

• A foundational understanding of IFS and your own internal system

• A clearer understanding of how ADHD and nervous system state can influence your experience

• Tools for supporting regulation and executive functioning in the moment

• A more compassionate framework for understanding procrastination, overwhelm, self-criticism, and other protective patterns

• Practices for building greater internal connection, choice, and Self-leadership