About Me

Complex trauma cases that leave clinicians feeling overwhelmed and underprepared often transform when approached through the lens of Internal Family Systems. Colleen West has spent over 20 years specialising in the intersection of trauma and parts work, becoming a recognised expert in helping both clients and clinicians navigate the most challenging presentations with confidence and clarity.

As an IFS Certified Therapist and Approved Consultant, West has dedicated her practice to training clinicians in advanced trauma treatment since founding Smart Therapy Tools in 2015. Her books - including We All Have Parts: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Trauma With Internal Family Systems and The IFS Flip Chart - translate complex therapeutic concepts into accessible tools that clinicians can use immediately. Her training with luminaries like Richard Schwartz, Janina Fisher, and Philip Manfield, combined with extensive study of leading trauma experts including Bessel van der Kolk and Martha Sweezy, gives her comprehensive expertise in treating complex presentations.

West's specialty areas include preverbal trauma, complex trauma, attachment injuries, and the integration of IFS with EMDR and somatic approaches. Her focus on preverbal trauma - the often-overlooked period from conception to age two - helps clinicians understand how early developmental disruptions create lifelong patterns of emotional dysregulation and relational difficulties. She teaches practitioners to recognise when traditional therapy approaches fail because they don't address the parts of clients that formed before language and explicit memory.

What sets her training apart is practical wisdom gained from lived experience. As one of seven daughters from an alcoholic family who experienced significant childhood trauma, West brings authentic understanding to her teaching. She shows clinicians how to work confidently with highly polarised internal systems, thinking protectors, and clients who struggle with standard IFS approaches.

For your practice, expect to gain specific techniques for working with preverbal trauma, tools for helping clients who can't access traditional parts work, and frameworks for managing your own parts when working with complex trauma cases. Her approach particularly benefits clinicians working with clients who have attachment injuries, addiction, or severe emotional dysregulation.

Quick Win: West's "Double Whammy" concept teaches clinicians to recognise that preverbal trauma creates both immense shame and emotional dysregulation - a framework that immediately clarifies treatment priorities and intervention strategies.

Qualifications

• M.A., Counseling Psychology, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA
• B.A., Political Science, University of California San Diego
• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, California 
• IFS Certified Therapist and Approved Consultant
• Former EMDR Approved Consultant (EMDRIA)
• Additional training in Relational/Depth Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic child and family therapy

Selected Books

• We All Have Parts: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Trauma With Internal Family Systems (2021, Smart Therapy Tools)
• The IFS Flip Chart: A Psychoeducational Tool for Unlocking the Multiple Mind (2023, Smart Therapy Tools)

Teaching & Roles

• Founder & Trainer, Smart Therapy Tools, 2015–present
• IFS Certified Therapist & Approved Consultant, 2005–present
• Individual Consultant for trauma-informed clinicians, 2010–present
• Author & Content Creator, trauma-informed therapy materials, 2018–present

Specialised Training

• Studied with Richard Schwartz (IFS founder), Philip Manfield, Janina Fisher, Chris Burris, Cece Sykes
• Ongoing study of writings by Frank Anderson, Martha Sweezy, Bessel van der Kolk, Patricia Papernow, Michelle Glass
• Integration of IFS, attachment theory, Sensorimotor, and EMDR approaches

Ready to work more confidently with complex trauma and highly activated internal systems? Discover how Colleen West's IFS-based methods can transform your ability to help clients heal from their deepest wounds.