When Good Moms Feel Bad: Supporting Mothers in Therapy with IFS and the Mom Parts Method – An Interview with Jessica Tomich Sorci, LMFT

Jessica Tomich Sorci, LMFT, creator of the Mom Parts Method, on IFS, maternal mental health, mom shame, and why “bad mom” parts are protectors, not problems.

Curt and Katie talk with Jessica Tomich Sorci, LMFT about what therapists often miss when working with mothers, and how Internal Family Systems (IFS) can be adapted for the real conditions of motherhood. Jessica is the creator of the Mom Parts Method and author of When Good Moms Feel Bad: An Empowering Guide for Transforming Guilt, Anxiety and Anger into Compassion, Confidence and Connectedness (Balance, 2026).

Drawing on more than fifteen years of clinical work in maternal mental health, Jessica translates IFS into accessible, motherhood-native language. The Mom Parts Method gives mothers simple tools to identify their parts, access their Inner Mom, and approach guilt, grief, rage, and overwhelm with curiosity instead of correction.

This is a useful conversation for therapists working with mothers, perinatal mental health clinicians, and anyone interested in more affirming, non-pathologizing approaches to maternal mental health.

In this episode, we discuss:

What therapists often get wrong when working with mothers

How the Mom Parts Method translates IFS into motherhood-native language

The role of patriarchy, under-resourcing, and matrescence in maternal distress

Why “bad mom” parts (rage, panic, perfectionism, the inner critic) are protectors

The five-step Mom Parts Method, from triggering event to remedy

How therapists’ own parts show up in this work

Why healing in maternal mental health is wholeness, not elimination

Full show notes and transcript: mtsgpodcast.com

Timestamps:

03:30 – What therapists get wrong with mothers

04:47 – Shame and the “bad mom” taboo

10:45 – Patriarchy, matrescence, and the systemic context

17:42 – The five-step Mom Parts Method

29:56 – Healing is wholeness, not elimination

33:48 – When to bring parts work into session

35:27 – When Good Moms Feel Bad and Mothercentered training

Guest Bio:

Jessica Tomich Sorci, LMFT is a Level 3 Certified IFS Therapist, IFSI Approved Clinical Consultant, and a Certified Perinatal Mental Health therapist (PMH-C) with advanced training in IFIO. She is the creator of the Mom Parts Method and author of When Good Moms Feel Bad (Balance, 2026). She trains clinicians through her Mothercentered certification program. Learn more at http://www.momparts.com.

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