Choosing the Right Therapist

Not Every IFS Therapist Is Trained the Same Way. Here's What to Check.

Internal Family Systems is a specific clinical model, and India doesn't have one single licensing body covering every kind of psychologist who might offer it. Here's what actually indicates real training and clinical skill — and how our team at Coach For Mind is qualified to practice it.

Short answer: To find a qualified IFS therapist in India, verify three things. First, their postgraduate psychology qualification — Clinical Psychologists can hold RCI registration, while Counselling Psychologists complete an equally rigorous postgraduate path that RCI's current mandate simply doesn't cover. Both are qualified to practice therapy. Second, their specific IFS training: workshops, clinical supervision, and continuing education in the model, not just a book they've read. Third, their trauma and attachment experience, since IFS work usually goes there. Ask all three directly in a first call — any genuinely qualified therapist will answer plainly.
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Medically reviewed by Lekh Bajaj, Licensed Clinical Psychologist (RCI CRR-A79125)

Before You Book, Check For This

Use this checklist when evaluating any IFS therapist — including us.

  If you're unsure about any of these for a therapist you're considering, it's worth asking directly in a first call. A qualified IFS therapist — whatever their specific psychology background — will welcome the question.
Our IFS Team

IFS-Informed Therapists at Coach For Mind

Eight of our psychologists work with Internal Family Systems. Each is IFS-informed through training workshops, clinical supervision, and ongoing study of the model — applied within their core postgraduate training. Their credentials are listed plainly below, exactly as we'd want you to check them.

Lekh Bajaj, Clinical Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Lekh Bajaj

Clinical Psychologist RCI CRR-A79125 IFS-Informed View full profile →
Kudrat Sachdeva, Clinical Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Kudrat Sachdeva

Clinical Psychologist RCI CRR-A91587 IFS-Informed View full profile →
Anasuya Dasgupta, Clinical Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Anasuya Dasgupta

Clinical Psychologist RCI CRR-A94499 IFS-Informed View full profile →
Keziah Verghese, Counselling Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Keziah Verghese

Counselling Psychologist IFS-Informed View full profile →
Akshita Gupta, Counselling Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Akshita Gupta

Counselling Psychologist IFS-Informed View full profile →
Bhavya Sekhri, Counselling Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Bhavya Sekhri

Counselling Psychologist IFS-Informed View full profile →
Vidhi Sharma, Counselling Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Vidhi Sharma

Counselling Psychologist IFS-Informed View full profile →
Sagar Takker, Counselling Psychologist practicing IFS therapy at Coach For Mind

Sagar Takker

Counselling Psychologist IFS-Informed View full profile →
What "IFS-informed" means here. Our therapists have built their IFS practice through training workshops, clinical supervision on IFS cases, and continued study of the model — applied on top of full postgraduate psychology qualifications, three of them RCI-registered. None currently hold formal IFS Institute Level 1 or Level 2 certification, and we'd rather say so than let you assume otherwise. If that specific certification is essential to you, the IFS Institute directory lists certified practitioners worldwide.
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Understanding Indian Credentials

Clinical Psychologist or Counselling Psychologist — What's the Difference?

Both are legitimate, postgraduate-trained paths into practicing therapy in India. They're licensed differently, which is worth understanding before you ask a therapist about their background.

Clinical Psychologist

Clinical Psychologists who meet the required training criteria can register with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) — India's statutory licensing body for this specific category. RCI registration means recognized clinical training and formal accountability to a professional body.

Counselling Psychologist

Counselling Psychologists complete an equally rigorous postgraduate qualification, but RCI's current mandate doesn't extend to licensing this category. For a Counselling Psychologist, what matters most is verifying their postgraduate degree, supervised clinical training, and any professional body memberships they hold.

What This Means for You

Whichever path a therapist has taken, ask directly: what's their postgraduate qualification, is it RCI-registered (if Clinical Psychology), and what specific IFS training have they completed on top of it. At Coach For Mind, every therapist practicing IFS can speak clearly to all three.

Beyond Credentials

What Else Separates a Skilled IFS Therapist

Qualifications are the floor, not the ceiling. Here's what else to look for once you've confirmed a therapist's training is genuine.

01

Real, Immersive Training

IFS isn't a technique to casually add to a toolkit. It requires accredited training where therapists study and experience the model themselves, not just surface-level technique.

02

Comfort With All Parts

A skilled therapist doesn't rush or bypass anger, fear, or freeze responses. They create space for every part — even the ones a client might be afraid to show.

03

Patience to Build Trust

Real IFS work happens when your protective parts trust the process. A good therapist moves at your system's pace, never prying open what isn't ready.

04

Respect for Your Autonomy

Healing through IFS is collaborative. A good therapist trusts your inner wisdom rather than imposing an agenda or timeline.

05

Ongoing Supervision & Growth

The best IFS therapists keep growing — through supervision, continued training, and their own internal work. They can only guide you as far as they've gone themselves.

What This Can Look Like

Trusting the Process

Illustrative Example
A client came to therapy after years of struggling with anxiety, having learned not to trust easily. Rather than pushing her to open up, her therapist patiently built a relationship with her protective parts first — honoring their fears, moving at the pace her system needed. Months later, she connected with a part of herself she'd long kept hidden: a lonely, ashamed part she'd believed would never be seen. That shift didn't happen because anyone forced it. It happened because her pace was respected. Illustrative example based on common patterns in this work — not a direct account of a specific client.

How to Book an IFS Therapy Session

1

Free Discovery Call (15 min)

Tell us what you're looking for. We'll help you understand whether IFS, and which of our therapists, is the right fit.

2

Check Credentials Yourself

Ask about their psychology qualification and IFS training directly. We'll answer plainly — and we'd encourage you to ask any therapist you're considering the same.

3

First Session

No pressure to dive into anything painful immediately. The first session is about understanding your history and what you're hoping for.

4

Ongoing Sessions at Your Pace

Frequency and depth of work are tailored to you — there's no fixed program everyone goes through identically.

Booking an IFS therapy session shouldn't feel like a leap of faith. Ask questions, check credentials, and move forward only when it feels right.

Available in-person in Gurgaon and online across India — including for NRI clients abroad.

Questions About Finding an IFS Therapist

There's no single licensing category called "IFS therapist" in India. What matters is the combination of a recognized postgraduate psychology qualification and specific training in the IFS model. Some IFS practitioners are Clinical Psychologists registered with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI); others are Counselling Psychologists, a category RCI's current mandate doesn't license. Both can be genuinely qualified — what matters is verifying their postgraduate training and IFS-specific education directly.

Ask directly about their postgraduate qualification (Clinical or Counselling Psychology), whether they hold RCI registration if applicable to their category, and what specific IFS training they've completed. A therapist who answers this plainly and specifically is a good sign.

An IFS-certified therapist has completed the IFS Institute's formal Level 1 or Level 2 certification programme. An IFS-informed therapist has built their IFS practice through training workshops, clinical supervision, and continued study of the model, applied within their core psychology training. Both can work skilfully with parts — what matters is that a therapist describes their training accurately rather than implying a certification they don't hold. Our team at Coach For Mind is IFS-informed, and we say so openly.

Not always. Many therapists integrate IFS with other modalities like EMDR or psychodynamic approaches. What matters most is that they deeply understand IFS principles rather than using it superficially.

Notice how they respond when you describe a difficult or "ugly" reaction — anger, shutdown, panic. A skilled IFS therapist won't rush past it or interpret it for you; they'll get curious about what that part is protecting.

Yes. IFS is built to meet you where you are. A good therapist builds internal safety first and never pressures you toward material you're not ready for.

Yes — online IFS therapy works well, since much of the model involves dialogue and guided imagination rather than in-person techniques. This also means location is less of a barrier than it might seem.

Start with a free 15-minute discovery call via WhatsApp or phone. We'll discuss what you're looking for and match you with one of our eight IFS-informed psychologists.

Continue Exploring IFS

IFS Therapy

The full picture of how Internal Family Systems therapy works.

IFS Therapy for Trauma

If trauma is what's bringing you to IFS specifically, start here.

IFS + EMDR for Trauma

For combining IFS with EMDR's memory-reprocessing approach.
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