Making the World
Safe for Love.
Expert Sex, Passion & Intimacy Therapist in Orange County.
Helping couples overcome crisis, rebuild connection, and create relationships that actually thrive.
30+
Years in Practice
90%
Infidelity Success Rate
4
books Published
Internal Family Systems Therapy in Huntington Beach And Orange County | Todd Creager
Healing from the inside out — IFS therapy that helps you understand your parts, reconnect with your best self, and finally move forward.
WHAT IS IFS THERAPY?
If you’ve ever felt like part of you wants one thing while another part wants something completely different — you’re not broken. You’re human. And that’s exactly what Internal Family Systems therapy is built around.
IFS — Internal Family Systems therapy — is the most effective approach I’ve worked with in over 35 years of practice as a therapist in Orange County. It’s based on a simple but profound truth: we are not just one thing. We are made up of different parts. Some of those parts are trying to protect us. Some are carrying old wounds. And all of them, even the ones that cause us the most trouble, have a positive intent.
When we stop fighting those parts and start getting curious about them, something shifts. That’s where real healing begins. This is the foundation of Internal Family Systems, a very effective psychotherapy approach for individuals and couples.
TODD’S APPROACH: IFS + EMDR
What makes my work with IFS different is that I don’t use it in isolation. I integrate IFS therapy with EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — to create a deeper, faster path to healing. IFS helps you identify and build relationships with your parts. EMDR helps you process and release the trauma those parts have been carrying.
Together, they don’t just create insight. They create change you can feel.
I’ve been trained extensively in both modalities and have spent years learning how to weave them together in a way that meets each client exactly where they are. Whether you’re coming in as an individual or as a couple, the goal is the same: to help all your parts — and your truest self — work together instead of against each other.
WHO IFS THERAPY CAN HELP
IFS therapy is one of those rare approaches that genuinely works for everyone, because we all have parts. We all get stuck. We all have wounds we’ve been carrying longer than we should.
That said, there are certain struggles where I see IFS make a particularly powerful difference:
Healing from infidelity — Whether you’re the one who was betrayed or the one who strayed, IFS helps both partners understand what parts were driving the behavior, and how to begin healing with clarity and compassion rather than blame.
Trauma and PTSD — Old wounds don’t just disappear. IFS helps you locate where trauma lives inside you and begin to unburden it, especially when combined with EMDR.
Avoidance and shutdown — If you find yourself checking out, pulling away, or numbing out in your relationship or your life, IFS helps you understand which parts are behind that behavior — and why.
Addiction — Addictive behaviors are almost always a protective part doing its best to manage pain. IFS helps you work with that part rather than just trying to suppress it.
Toxic or dysfunctional family patterns — If you grew up in an environment that left marks, IFS creates a path to understanding how those early experiences shaped your parts — and how to finally set them free.
"There are no bad parts. Even the parts that have caused the most pain are trying to help. When people work with me using IFS, not only they but all their parts feel understood. And when people feel understood, they calm down. That's where healing lives."
WHAT HAPPENS IN AN IFS THERAPY SESSION
A lot of people come in wondering what IFS actually looks like in practice. It’s not just talking — though we do talk. It’s also about turning inward.
In our sessions together, I’ll guide you to tune into the part of you that’s causing the struggle. We get curious about it. We ask what it needs. We start to build a relationship with it rather than fight it. Over time, your self energy — that calm, clear, compassionate core that we all have — grows stronger. And as it does, the parts that have been running the show start to settle down.
For couples, this process is transformational. So much of what gets in the way of real connection isn’t you and your partner fighting — it’s your parts fighting. When both of you learn to show up as yourselves, the conversation changes completely.
I work with individuals and couples virtually with clients throughout California and beyond.
ABOUT TODD
I’m Todd Creager — a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, marriage and sex therapist, and relationship expert with over 35 years of experience helping individuals and couples in Orange County and across the country. My practice is based in Huntington Beach, and I work with clients from Irvine, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Corona del Mar, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Laguna Beach, and virtually anywhere in California.
I’ve spent my career finding approaches that actually work, not just in theory but in real sessions with real people. IFS therapy — especially integrated with EMDR — is the most powerful combination I’ve found. It’s compassionate, it’s accurate, and it hits the bullseye on how we actually work as human beings.
Frequently Asked Questions About IFS Therapy
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy?
IFS is a therapeutic approach that recognizes we’re made up of different internal “parts” — some that protect us and some that carry our wounds. The goal of IFS is to help those parts feel understood and unburden themselves, while strengthening your core “self” — the calm, compassionate, clear version of you that was there all along.
How is your IFS approach different from other therapists?
My main differentiator is that I combine IFS with EMDR therapy. IFS helps you identify and connect with your parts. EMDR helps you process and release the trauma those parts have been holding. Used together, the results are deeper and often faster than either approach on its own.
Do you work with individuals, couples, or both?
Both. IFS is powerful for individuals working through personal struggles, and it’s equally transformative for couples — especially when both partners start to see that their conflicts are often driven by protective parts rather than who they truly are at their core.
Is IFS therapy effective for infidelity?
t’s one of the most effective tools I’ve found. For the person who was betrayed, IFS helps integrate the competing parts — the one that wants to stay, the one that wants to leave, the one that’s lost its sense of self-worth. For the person who strayed, IFS helps them understand what part made that choice and why, and to make sure it never has to again.
Do you offer virtual IFS therapy sessions?
Yes. I offer virtual therapy sessions for clients throughout California. Whether you’re in Orange County or anywhere else in the state, we can do this work together.
Ready to Get Started?
Book a free consultation, explore my programs, or reach out with questions.
Todd Creager
LCSW, LMFT
Making the World Safe for Love
714-848-2288
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- 16052 Beach Blvd, Ste 214
- Huntington Beach, CA
- 92647
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- Fri 9–5pm · Sat 8–1pm
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