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IFS therapy Newcastle

Do you feel stuck in anxiety, overthinking, or emotional exhaustion like your nervous system is always in survival mode?

Perhaps you find yourself people-pleasing, overthinking in relationships, or struggling to set boundaries?

IFS therapy Newcastle can help you heal patterns and ease anxiety with compassion.

Hi I’m Victoria Hockaday from Newcastle Upon Tyne and I provide IFS therapy Newcastle and Internal Family Systems Therapy uk which is a compassionate and body-focused/somatic therapy for depression, anxiety and complex trauma such as Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN), abandonment, childhood abuse and narcissism abuse. 

For the past five years, I’ve supported people with IFS therapy Newcastle for people struggling with depression, rumination, social anxiety, and isolation often living in a constant state of fight-or-flight/survival mode, experiencing chronic stress, and feeling tired, anxious and exhausted.

Many of the people I work with at IFS therapy Newcastle and online have experienced complex trauma and grief, and want to feel safer within themselves—healing their inner child, regulating their nervous system, and building healthier, more fulfilling relationships.

healing people pleasing

With a deeply compassionate, intuitive, and somatic approach with IFS therapy Newcastle I help you to understand and validate the parts of you that developed to survive trauma. Instead of trying to get rid of symptoms, we begin to befriend these parts, recognising them as protective parts that are trying to protect you from feeling hurt and pain, such as rejection, loneliness, abandonment, and shame.

At IFS therapy Newcastle, this may show up as an inner critic that is very hard on you and tells you you’ve made the wrong choices; an angry part that feels hurt because your autonomy and boundaries haven’t been respected; or feelings of depression linked to feelings of isolation from growing up in an environment that was constantly unsafe and becoming the people-pleaser, over-giver, or caretaker to others and neglecting your own emotional needs.

We’ve found at IFS therapy Newcastle that often these people pleasing and caretaking parts are adaptive coping mechanisms and have positive intent to protect others from experiencing the hurt and pain you felt when you were younger, but the impact is that these parts contribute to depression and anxiety. IFS therapy Newcastle can help you with befriending these parts and finding emotional safety.

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healing complex trauma

We’ve seen at IFS therapy Newcastle that underneath these coping strategies are often wounded parts formed through trauma, such as a neglected part of you that didn’t receive enough love and affection in childhood. To compensate, you may have become the caretaker for others or highly empathetic towards others, while lacking empathy and consideration for yourself, abandoning your own needs and neglecting your self-care. You may also be drawn to unsafe and unsupportive relationships that are familiar but you struggle to trust your intuition, instincts and feel anxious, constantly ruminating about what might happen, struggling with self doubt and staying in relationships where your emotional needs aren’t fully met and your boundaries aren’t respected.

With IFS therapy Newcastle, I can support you in befriending all of these parts and help you to experience a deep, embodied sense of compassion in your mind, body, and soul. This allows these parts to feel heard and understood for the roles they play. Befriending your nervous system patterns is an essential part of the healing process, helping you to create emotional safety and build a healthier relationship with yourself.

IFS therapy Newcastle also helps to create an internal environment of compassion, safety, and presence; what we need to begin healing our inner child parts and trauma. It allows you to become the loving, supportive caregiver you didn’t have growing up. This can be deeply empowering, as you begin to bring wounded parts that are frozen in the past into the present moment, offering them the care, understanding, and compassion they need to heal and unburden from pain.

Releasing stored energy

Only when your system feels safe and ready do we begin to process and heal trauma, gently releasing stored emotional pain held in the mind, body, and nervous system at IFS therapy Newcastle. After this unburdening takes place, protective patterns such as anxiety,  overthinking, rumination, self-criticism, people-pleasing, and caretaking can begin to soften with IFS therapy Newcastle. This allows you to feel more connected to yourself and make healthier relationship choices from your grounded adult self—creating greater emotional and social safety, and more fulfilling relationships.

Together, we can build a positive and compassionate relationship with your adult self and the parts of you holding deep emotional pain. Through IFS therapy Newcastle, my intention is to offer the compassion and support you need so you can begin to emulate that same compassion within yourself; developing greater understanding, appreciation, and connection with who you are.

If you recognise these patterns and feel ready to explore change, I invite you to take the next step and get in touch for IFS therapy Newcastle. Simply fill in the contact form and I will get in touch. This could be the beginning of a powerful healing journey reconnecting with yourself, reparenting your inner world, and moving towards emotional wholeness, vitality, and more harmonious relationships in your life from IFS therapy Newcastle.

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ADHD & feeling overwhelmed

Many of the people I work with identify with ADHD traits or experience what is often described as executive dysfunction. This can show up as difficulty starting or finishing tasks, feeling easily overwhelmed, forgetfulness, procrastination, or struggling to prioritise, even when things feel important. You might also experience periods of hyper-focus followed by burnout, or a constant sense of being mentally scattered and behind.

From an IFS therapy Newcastle perspective, these experiences are not signs of laziness or failure. They are often protective responses from different parts of you that are trying to manage overwhelm, pressure, emotional intensity, or fear of getting things wrong. For example, there may be a perfectionist part trying to prevent mistakes, an avoidant part that shuts down when things feel too much, or an overachiever that pushes you through self-judgement and pressure.

In our work together at IFS therapy Newcastle, we don’t try to force you into rigid systems that don’t fit you. Instead, we gently get to know these parts and what they are protecting you from. As these parts begin to feel understood and supported, many people find there is more ease, less self-criticism, and a greater ability to work with their natural rhythms in a way that feels more sustainable and compassionate.

5

years of experience in IFS THERAPY

500+

clients helped

45k+

followers on social media

240+

essays written

get in touch today

Please share your availability and therapy requirements.

I will be in touch to arrange a free 15-minute consultation where we will discuss your reasons for seeking therapy and you can get a feel for whether IFS therapy Newcastle is right for you.

Your name

common presentations treated

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Depression

Depression can involve persistent low mood and loss of motivation and through IFS therapy Newcastle, we gently explore and heal underlying emotional pain and nervous system overwhelm contributing to these feelings.

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Generalised anxiety disorder

Anxiety often presents as constant worrying, overthinking, or feeling on edge, and IFS therapy Newcastle helps you understand and calm the protective parts driving anxiety while supporting nervous system regulation.

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trauma

Trauma can develop from overwhelming or emotionally unsafe experiences, and IFS therapy Newcastle supports the safe processing of stored emotional pain while helping restore a sense of safety, stability, and connection.

TestimonialS

"I've had years of different therapy and nothing has ever got to the root of my issues like what you've introduced me to"

“I just wanted to thank you firstly, for all the incredible sessions. You’ve made a massive difference to my inner children. I’m understanding myself better and I’m checking in with them and some of them are pretty much healed now. So thank you, thank you. Like I’ve said before, I’ve had years of different therapy and nothing has ever got to the root of my issues like what you’ve introduced me to so thank you. I’m very, very grateful to have found you and for all the incredible help you gave me. And I’ve had almost 40 years of just not feeling good enough and my inner critic ruling and I’ve really learned to love my inner children and understand where they’re coming from and I’ve just got a very different relationship with myself now and I don’t feel petrified of people anymore”.

I was fortunate to walk this path with my therapist, Vicky - a presence so calm, grounded, and steady that she created the safety I needed to grow, untangle, and release.

Over the past year, I committed to one of the most transformative journeys of my life: healing my inner child. I was fortunate to walk this path with my therapist, Vicky -a presence so calm, grounded, and steady that she created the safety I needed to grow, untangle, and release. Through this journey, layers of fear began to dissolve. I confronted limiting beliefs I didn’t even know I carried. I let go of inner blockages that had shaped my reactions, my expectations, and the way I received the world. With each session, something softened… and something strengthened.
This work liberated me. I found myself living, working, and connecting from a clearer, freer place. My meaningful relationships became richer and more authentic. The questions that once weighed heavily on my heart finally had space to breathe – and the clarity that emerged was invaluable. Inner child work is not instant. It peels gently, a layer at a time, and each layer reveals a deeper truth. But the unfolding is worth it. I am deeply grateful for this experience. It was exceptional – a gift I didn’t know I needed and I would recommend it to anyone seeking deeper alignment, peace, and a fuller sense of self.

Working with Victoria was an incredible and eye opening experience, she has a soothing and calming aura which created a safe space and made me feel comfortable to open up and address my worries and stresses. Through working together, I got to uncover parts of myself that I was unaware of and was able to better understand my inner conflict and how to work through them. I highly recommend her.

I worked with Victoria for inner child work. I knew I'd been blocking my emotions around some healing and Victoria really helped me bring it to the surface to resolve it! The sessions were really effective, very deep work and I always felt so calm afterwards! The emotions I was feeling have softened and Victoria has helped me tremendously to be more compassionate with myself. I highly recommend working with Victoria to help heal your inner child and any issues you might be having!

I 100% recommend therapy with Victoria. I had toxic shame and inner loneliness and Victoria was very supportive in helping me heal. She was the first person who really accepted me and listened to me without judgement and I am feeling less isolated and I am experiencing more social connectedness and intimacy in my life.

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General information

THERAPY FAQ's

Check below to see if your questions have been answered

IFS Therapy Newcastle is based on the idea that we all have different “parts” within us. These parts often develop as ways of helping us cope with difficult experiences, relationships, or emotions. Sometimes, however, these parts can become stuck in patterns that create distress, anxiety, low mood, or relationship difficulties.

In IFS Therapy Newcastle, we gently explore your thoughts, feelings, and life experiences, both past and present to better understand these different parts of your inner world. We work at a safe and manageable pace to help you notice how certain emotions, beliefs, or reactions may be connected to earlier experiences.

As therapy progresses at IFS therapy Newcastle, we often begin to uncover and understand parts of you that may hold painful memories, unmet needs, or strong emotions that have been pushed aside or protected over time.

By bringing compassionate attention and understanding to these experiences, many people find that these parts begin to feel less overwhelming or controlling.

Over time, this process helps reduce the influence that past experiences may have on your current mood, behaviour, and relationships. The aim of IFS therapy is to support a deeper sense of self-understanding, emotional balance, and lasting change.

If you are considering IFS Therapy Newcastle and would like to explore whether it feels right for you, you are welcome to get in touch.

It can be difficult to know at the beginning exactly how long therapy will last, as everyone’s experiences, goals, and pace of change are different.

At the start of our work together, we will talk about what you hope to gain from therapy and consider a realistic timeframe. We will also review progress together at regular intervals to make sure therapy continues to feel helpful and aligned with your needs.

Many people begin to notice positive shifts earlier on, but meaningful and lasting change often takes time. For deeper therapeutic work, IFS psychotherapy commonly involves a commitment of anywhere between around 6 months and 3 years.

Our aim is always to support improvement as early as possible, while working at a pace that feels safe, steady, and sustainable for you.

I aim to create a therapeutic space that feels relaxed, welcoming, and safe. I value therapy feeling different from a clinical or medical environment. Many people worry that therapy might feel formal, intimidating, or uncomfortable, and I work intentionally to create a space where you can feel at ease being yourself.

Sessions are guided by you. You’re welcome to bring whatever feels most important, whether that’s something current, something from your past, or simply how you’re feeling in the moment. My role is to listen carefully, support exploration, and gently help you understand patterns, emotions, and experiences that may be affecting you.

 

I often work with people who are highly sensitive, empathic, gentle and attuned to others. Many of my clients identify as Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) and may find themselves naturally caring for others’ needs, sometimes at the expense of their own.

Clients I work with frequently notice patterns such as people pleasing, over-extending themselves, over-functioning in relationships, or finding it difficult to set and maintain boundaries. Over time, these patterns can contribute to experiences of anxiety, depression, burnout and nervous system collapse.

I also work with many people who have experienced complex or developmental trauma, particularly those who grew up in environments where emotional safety, consistency, or understanding may have been limited. These early experiences can often shape how someone relates to themselves and others in adulthood.

My work often focuses on supporting Highly Sensitive People who are working through the impact of complex trauma, helping them develop healthier boundaries, reconnect with their own needs, and build more balanced and fulfilling relationships.

I support clients with a range of emotional and psychological difficulties, particularly those connected to trauma, relational patterns, and emotional overwhelm.

Some of the experiences clients commonly bring include:

  • Anxiety and chronic worry

  • Low mood or depression

  • Burnout and emotional exhaustion

  • Difficulties with boundaries and people pleasing

  • Relationship and attachment difficulties

  • Low self-worth or harsh self-criticism

  • Feeling overwhelmed by emotions

  • Patterns of over-functioning or feeling responsible for others

  • Effects of complex or developmental trauma

  • Difficulties linked to childhood emotional neglect or inconsistent caregiving

  • Feeling stuck in repeated life or relationship patterns

  • Emotional abuse

Although it can feel natural to want to go straight to your inner child parts, this can sometimes cause overwhelm or re-traumatisation. In IFS Therapy Newcastle, it’s important to first build safety and get to know your protective parts. These are the parts of you that are trying to keep you safe. This part of the process is just as important as working with wounded parts.

Working through resistance and protective patterns gradually helps create a sense of stability and safety in your nervous system. With the support of a skilled therapist, you can approach painful emotions and inner child work safely, at a pace that feels manageable, so healing becomes possible without feeling overwhelmed.

During consultation, you’ll be asked about reasons for seeking therapy with brief information about the presentations you’re struggling with to determine if I am a right fit for your needs. I will talk through my style and approach to therapy and guide you through how to book your first appointment.