If you’re a highly sensitive person (HSP) searching for therapy in Colorado, you’ve probably heard the same advice over and over: “You’re too sensitive.” “Don’t take things so personally.” “Just toughen up.”
But what if your sensitivity isn’t something to fix—it’s something to understand, honor, and work with?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy for highly sensitive people offers a compassionate approach that treats your sensitivity as a strength while helping you navigate the overwhelm, emotional exhaustion, and boundary struggles that often come with feeling everything so deeply.
What Does It Mean to Be a Highly Sensitive Person?
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) process sensory and emotional information more deeply than others. Research by Dr. Elaine Aron shows that 15-20% of the population has this trait, which includes:
- Deep emotional processing: You feel your own emotions intensely and absorb others’ feelings like a sponge
- Sensory sensitivity: Bright lights, loud noises, strong smells, or scratchy fabrics can feel overwhelming
- Subtle awareness: You notice details others miss—changes in someone’s mood, tension in a room, or shifts in energy
- Rich inner life: You think deeply, reflect often, and may feel easily overstimulated by too much input
Being highly sensitive isn’t a disorder or weakness—it’s a nervous system trait. But in a world that values “thick skin” and constant stimulation, HSPs often struggle with:
- Emotional overwhelm and burnout
- Difficulty setting boundaries without guilt
- Absorbing others’ emotions and losing touch with your own
- Feeling “too much” or fundamentally different
- People-pleasing to avoid conflict or disappointing others
Why IFS Therapy Works for Highly Sensitive People
Traditional therapy approaches often try to help you “manage” or “cope with” your sensitivity. IFS therapy takes a radically different approach: it helps you understand why you feel so much and befriend the parts of you that have developed protective strategies around your sensitivity.
Understanding Your Sensitive System
In IFS therapy, we view your mind as made up of different “parts”—each with its own feelings, beliefs, and protective roles. For highly sensitive people, common parts include:
- The Absorber: The part that takes on everyone else’s emotions, often losing track of what’s actually yours
- The Protector: The part that withdraws, numbs out, or people-pleases to avoid overwhelming stimulation
- The Critic: The part that judges your sensitivity as weakness or tells you to “get over it.
IFS therapy helps you:
- Differentiate between your emotions and others’ emotions
- Understand the protective strategies your parts developed to survive in an overstimulating world
- Heal the wounded parts that learned your sensitivity was shameful
- Access your core Self—the calm, compassionate center that can lead your system with wisdom
From Overwhelm to Empowerment
Rather than trying to make you less sensitive, IFS therapy helps you:
- Set energetic boundaries without shutting down or people-pleasing
- Honor your needs for quiet, solitude, and nervous system regulation
- Use your sensitivity as wisdom rather than seeing it as a burden
- Heal the shame around being “too much” or “too emotional”
IFS Therapy for Highly Sensitive People in Colorado: Nature as Your Ally
Colorado’s natural landscape offers unique healing opportunities for highly sensitive people. At Propagate Hope Counseling in Aurora, I integrate IFS therapy with nature-based healing to create a sanctuary for your sensitive nervous system.
Why Nature Heals Sensitive Nervous Systems
Research shows that time in nature:
- Reduces cortisol and calms the nervous system
- Decreases sensory overwhelm from urban environments
- Provides gentle, regulating stimulation (birdsong, rustling leaves, fresh air)
- Offers space for your system to settle and your Self to emerge
For highly sensitive people who feel bombarded by fluorescent lights, office noise, and emotional intensity in traditional therapy settings, nature-based IFS therapy provides:
- Forest therapy sessions in Jefferson County Open Spaces—quiet, spacious environments where your nervous system can relax
- Walking therapy that combines gentle movement with IFS exploration
- Grounding practices using Colorado’s landscapes to help you reconnect with your body and Self
Comprehensive Support for Deep Healing
Highly sensitive people often need more than weekly therapy to create lasting change. My comprehensive therapy program includes:
- Weekly individual IFS therapy tailored to your unique sensitivity and protective patterns
- Group therapy (6–8 participants) with other sensitive, thoughtful people who understand what it’s like to feel deeply
- Office hours for additional support when you’re navigating overwhelm or boundary challenges
This intensive approach helps you build the internal resources and external support you need to thrive as an HSP.
Common Struggles for Highly Sensitive People (And How IFS Helps)
Emotional Overwhelm and Burnout
The struggle: You absorb everyone’s emotions—your partner’s stress, your coworker’s anxiety, your friend’s grief—until you’re drowning in feelings that aren’t even yours.
How IFS helps: We work with the Absorber part to understand why it takes on others’ emotions (often to keep peace, prevent conflict, or feel needed). As this part learns to trust your Self, you’ll develop the ability to feel compassion for others without losing yourself in their experience.
People-Pleasing and Boundary Issues
The struggle: You say yes when you mean no, overextend yourself to avoid disappointing others, and feel guilty when you prioritize your own needs.
How IFS helps: We explore the parts that learned your worth depends on making others happy. As these parts heal, you’ll discover you can set boundaries, say no, and honor your sensitivity without being selfish or unkind.
Feeling “Too Much” or Different
The struggle: You’ve been told you’re “too sensitive,” “too emotional,” or “too intense” your whole life. You wonder if something is wrong with you.
How IFS helps: We heal the wounded parts carrying shame about your sensitivity. You’ll learn that being highly sensitive is a trait, not a flaw—and that the world needs people who feel, notice, and care deeply.
Sensory Overwhelm
The struggle: Bright lights, loud restaurants, crowded spaces, or even certain fabrics can leave you exhausted and overstimulated.
How IFS helps: We work with the parts that push you to “keep up” or “act normal” in overwhelming environments. You’ll learn to honor your sensory needs, create environments that support your nervous system, and communicate your needs without shame.
Difficulty Knowing What You Feel
The struggle: You’re so busy absorbing everyone else’s emotions that you’ve lost touch with your own feelings, desires, and needs.
How IFS helps: IFS therapy helps you differentiate between your emotions and others’. You’ll reconnect with your authentic Self and learn to trust your own inner wisdom.
Who Benefits from IFS Therapy for Highly Sensitive People?
HSPs Who Are People Pleasers
If you’re highly sensitive and a people pleaser, you’re likely exhausted from constantly monitoring others’ emotions and adjusting yourself to keep everyone comfortable. IFS helps you reclaim your energy and set boundaries that honor your sensitivity.
Neurodivergent HSPs (ADHD, Autism)
Many neurodivergent people are also highly sensitive. The combination of sensory sensitivity, emotional intensity, and executive function challenges can feel overwhelming. IFS therapy honors both your neurodivergence and your sensitivity, helping you work with your brain rather than against it.
HSPs in Helping Professions
Therapists, coaches, nurses, teachers, and other helpers who are highly sensitive often struggle with compassion fatigue and burnout. You give so much to others that there’s nothing left for yourself. IFS helps you heal your own wounded parts while maintaining your capacity to care for others.
HSPs with Borderline Personality
Borderline personality and HSP go hand in hand for many. The idea of being left alone and trying to strong arm all of your emotions to avoid it ring true to many. IFS Therapy also works for Borderline Personality and helps many feel rooted in healing.
Finding the Right Therapist for Highly Sensitive People in Colorado
When searching for therapy for highly sensitive people in Colorado, look for:
- Understanding of HSP trait: Not all therapists understand that high sensitivity is a nervous system trait, not a disorder
- IFS training: I’m IFS Level 1 Certified with specialized experience working with sensitive, empathic clients
- Trauma-informed care: Many HSPs have experienced emotional invalidation or relational trauma that needs gentle, informed treatment
- Sensory-friendly options: Traditional office settings can be overstimulating; nature-based therapy offers a calming alternative
Practical Support for Highly Sensitive People
Beyond therapy sessions, I offer resources to support your daily life as an HSP:
Nature-Based Healing
- Forest therapy sessions in Jefferson County’s quiet, spacious open spaces
- Walking therapy that honors your need for movement and sensory regulation
- Grounding practices using Colorado’s natural environment
Group Support
Group therapy with other sensitive, thoughtful people who understand what it’s like to feel deeply. You’ll discover you’re not alone—and that your sensitivity is shared by others who’ve learned to thrive with this trait.
Flexible Formats
- In-person therapy in Aurora for clients who prefer traditional office settings
- Nature-based sessions for those who find outdoor environments more regulating
- Virtual therapy throughout Colorado for HSPs who need the comfort of their own space
Insurance and Investment in Your Healing
At Propagate Hope Counseling provides IFS Therapy in Aurora Colorado and, I accept:
- SANA Health Benefits (in-network)
- Lyra Health (in-network)
- Out-of-network benefits via Thrizer for easier reimbursement
I also offer a sliding scale for those who need financial flexibility—because healing shouldn’t depend on your financial resources.
Ready to Honor Your Sensitivity?
If you’re tired of trying to be less sensitive and ready to understand, honor, and work with your deep-feeling nature, IFS therapy offers a compassionate path forward.
You don’t have to keep absorbing everyone else’s emotions. You don’t have to apologize for needing quiet, space, or gentle environments. You don’t have to be “less” to belong.
Propagate Hope Counseling serves highly sensitive people throughout Colorado, with in-person sessions in Aurora and nature-based therapy in Jefferson County Open Spaces. Virtual therapy is available for clients anywhere in Colorado.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is being a highly sensitive person the same as having anxiety? No. High sensitivity is a nervous system trait present from birth, while anxiety is a response to stress or trauma. However, many HSPs develop anxiety because their sensitivity wasn’t honored or understood. IFS therapy helps address both the trait and any anxiety that developed around it.
Will IFS therapy make me less sensitive? No—and that’s not the goal. IFS therapy helps you understand and work with your sensitivity rather than fighting it. You’ll learn to set boundaries, differentiate your emotions from others’, and honor your needs without trying to change your fundamental nature.
How is IFS different from CBT for highly sensitive people? CBT often focuses on changing thought patterns, which can feel invalidating for HSPs whose feelings are real and valid. IFS honors your emotional experience while helping you understand the protective patterns that may be causing overwhelm. It’s less about “fixing” your thoughts and more about healing your relationship with your sensitivity.
Can highly sensitive people really thrive, or will I always struggle? Absolutely, HSPs can thrive! Many of the world’s most creative, compassionate, and insightful people are highly sensitive. The key is learning to honor your needs, set boundaries, and work with your sensitivity rather than against it. IFS therapy helps you build these skills.
Tim Kelly, LCSW, is an IFS Level 1 Certified therapist and Forest Therapy Guide serving highly sensitive people throughout Colorado. At Propagate Hope Counseling in Aurora, he specializes in helping HSPs, empaths, and deep-feelers find peace with their sensitivity through compassionate, nature-informed IFS therapy.
Contact: 862-200-9918 | tim@propagatehopecounseling.com | www.propagatehopecounseling.com