Why Integrating DBT and IFS Is the Fastest Path to Trauma Healing (And Why Intensives Work Even Better)
- Kristin Kurian
- Jul 9
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 12
By a Therapist Who Works with Teens and Young Adults
When you’ve lived through trauma, the idea of healing can feel like climbing a mountain with no summit in sight. The emotional pain, relationship struggles, shutdowns, or outbursts may feel confusing or even unbearable. You may have already tried talking it out, reading self-help books, or coping the best way you can, only to find yourself circling the same emotional patterns.
As a therapist who specializes in trauma therapy for teens and young adults, I want you to know: it doesn’t have to take years to feel better.
When we combine two powerful modalities, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), something shifts. These approaches are at the heart of integrative trauma therapy. They don’t just scratch the surface. Together, they get to the heart of trauma, quickly, compassionately, and effectively.
Let’s talk about why this integrative approach works, and why intensive trauma therapy using DBT and IFS can begin to offer symptom relief in a matter of days, not years.
The Power of DBT + IFS: A Game-Changing Combo For Healing From Trauma
You may have heard of DBT before. It was originally developed to help people who feel emotions deeply, sometimes too deeply. DBT offers concrete tools to help you manage intense feelings, reduce impulsive behaviours, and improve communication. It teaches emotional regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance in a structured and skills-based way.
IFS, on the other hand, takes a different route. It helps you understand the why behind your emotional patterns. Why you shut down when someone raises their voice. Why you people-please even when it drains you. Why you lash out at loved ones and feel ashamed afterward. IFS works by helping you connect with the different "parts" of you, the ones that carry pain, the ones that protect you, and the core Self that’s calm, curious, and capable of healing.
Individually, both DBT and IFS are powerful. But when you integrate them? You get something remarkable.
DBT and IFS therapy for trauma help to stabilize your present-day symptoms, while also healing the root causes beneath them. DBT says, “Here’s how to cope today.” IFS says, “Let’s figure out what wounded you in the past so you don’t have to keep reliving it.”
That’s the magic. That’s how we move fast, without rushing. Safely. Deeply. Effectively.
Why This Approach Works So Well for Teens and Young Adults
Teens and young adults are in a unique stage of life, full of possibility but often overwhelmed by internal and external pressure. When trauma is layered on top of that, whether it’s complex trauma, family dynamics, social rejection, emotional neglect, or something harder to name, it can disrupt everything from identity development to academic motivation to friendships.
This age group needs something more than just coping skills. They need to feel understood. They need to learn why they react the way they do. They need a way to access healing that feels empowering, not patronizing.
DBT helps them feel more in control
IFS helps them understand themselves on a deeper level
Together, they create sustainable change, not just symptom management
If you're a parent or young adult searching for trauma-informed therapy in Ontario, this integrative method is especially suited to you.
Want Faster Results? Consider a Trauma Therapy Intensive
Weekly therapy is incredibly valuable. But let’s be real, it can be slow. Not because you or your therapist aren’t working hard, but because healing takes time when you’re only touching into it for 50 minutes a week between the rush of everyday life.
That’s why I offer therapy intensives for trauma healing.
A therapy intensive is a 3-hour (or multi-session) deep dive. It’s designed for clients who want to move through a stuck place more quickly or are ready to make significant progress in a short period of time.
Using DBT + IFS in an intensive format allows us to:
✔ Get below the surface much faster
✔ Map out your inner system of parts
✔ Learn and practise DBT tools in real-time
✔ Begin to release burdens from past experiences
✔ Feel tangible relief, often in just a few sessions
And yes, this is possible even if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, shut down, or stuck for years. The key is having enough time in one session to build trust with your inner world and follow the healing process all the way through without needing to stop just as things start to open up.
If you’re looking for accelerated trauma recovery, therapy intensives may be the right path.
Ready to Start Your Healing Journey?
If you’re ready to take the next step or just want to learn more about how to heal from trauma in a supportive and focused way, you can view my availability and book online at anewperspectivepsychotherapy.janeapp.com.
Everyone is different and your unique therapy journey depends on a number of factors.
Trauma Healing Doesn’t Have to Take Forever
You don’t have to “just manage” your symptoms for the rest of your life. You don’t have to numb out or soldier through. And you definitely don’t have to go it alone.
Whether you're a teen trying to navigate school and friendships, a young adult feeling lost in transitions, or a parent reading this and hoping for answers for your child, you deserve support that works.
Integrative trauma therapy using DBT and IFS is one of the fastest and most compassionate ways I know to help people move from surviving to truly living. And if you’re ready to accelerate that healing, trauma therapy intensives might be the next step for you.
Curious? You’re always welcome to reach out and learn more. Healing is possible, and it might happen faster than you think.
Warmly,
Kristin Kurian, RP, MHSc, MA, CCTP-II
Therapist for Teens, Young Adults, and Parents
