Meet Nancy Sowell, MSW, LICSW
I’m an Internal Family Systems (IFS) Senior Trainer for the IFS Institute, teaching internationally and in the US. I specialize in the use of psychotherapy to heal mental and physical health problems related to chronic stress, unmet needs, shame, and trauma.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked for many years with young children and their parents, which gave me an understanding of the impact of childhood adversity on development, health, and well-being.
I regularly witness how love, support, and connectedness promote healing and the capacity for adaptation and growth.
I’m a Harvard Medical School teaching associate at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, where I have been providing clinical supervision and teaching IFS for multidisciplinary medical staff and students for over twenty years.
In my role as the Behavioral Medicine Program Manager in the Department of Rheumatology, Immunology, and Allergy at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, I co-created an IFS intervention program for rheumatoid arthritis patients that enabled IFS to be listed in the National Registry for Evidence-based Programs and Practices. I know both personally and professionally the healing power of compassionate relationships – with the body, oneself and other people that support well-being and the open-hearted risk of living courageously.
I maintain a private practice, but primarily teach, offer consultation and retreats, and write about psychotherapy.
Expertise & Qualifications
IFS Leadership & Global Training
As a Senior Trainer with the IFS Institute, I teach Internal Family Systems therapy both internationally and across the United States.
Healing Trauma, Stress & the Body
I specialize in using psychotherapy to address mental and physical health challenges rooted in chronic stress, unmet needs, shame, and trauma. My clinical work is informed by a deep respect for how protective strategies develop—and how healing emerges when safety, connection, and understanding are restored.
Medical Education & Clinical Innovation
For over twenty years, I have served as a teaching associate at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, providing supervision and IFS education to multidisciplinary medical professionals.
Teaching, Consultation & Retreats
While I maintain a private practice, my primary focus is teaching, writing, offering consultation, and leading retreats. My work is grounded in the belief that compassionate relationships—with the body, oneself, and others—create the conditions for courage, growth, and meaningful change.