Each May, Mental Health Awareness Month serves as a national reminder that mental health deserves our care, compassion, and commitment. At Haven of Hope, we meet adults every day who have carried emotional pain in silence for years—sometimes decades. We see their resilience, we hear their stories, and we walk beside them as they begin to reclaim their lives.
Mental health challenges—whether in the form of anxiety, depression, trauma, disordered eating, or burnout—do not appear in isolation. They affect the whole person: their relationships, work, physical well-being, and sense of purpose. Mental Health Awareness Month gives us an opportunity not only to raise visibility around these issues but to extend a hand to those who may be suffering in silence.
Healing is possible. And at Haven of Hope, healing begins with honoring every part of who you are.
One of the most powerful things that sets Haven of Hope apart is our use of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy as the foundation of care. We are proud to be the only eating disorder clinic in the world fully grounded in the IFS model, and we believe this is one of the reasons our clients experience such profound, lasting change.
IFS is based on the idea that every individual is made up of multiple inner parts—like a system or family within the self. Some of these parts carry pain, some try to protect us from that pain, and some may develop coping mechanisms that, despite their positive intent, are ultimately harmful, like an eating disorder. Rather than shaming or silencing these parts, IFS invites us to get curious about them. To listen. To understand the role they’ve played in helping us survive.
In IFS, an eating disorder is not viewed as the enemy. It is recognized as a protective part—one that once served a purpose, even if it's no longer working. Our goal isn’t to fight the disorder with force, but to gently unburden the part behind it and help it transform back to its innate, unburdened role. Over time, this opens the door to true internal harmony, where clients reconnect with what IFS calls the Self—a core, compassionate presence that is always there underneath the pain.
When healing is approached from this lens, it becomes deeper than symptom management. It becomes transformational.
Mental illness in adulthood often hides behind roles, responsibilities, and outward appearances. Adults may feel they’re supposed to have it “all together”—especially when caring for others, succeeding in their careers, or navigating long-standing relationships. But mental health challenges don’t disappear with age. In fact, they often become more complex.
Many adults have spent years masking symptoms or suppressing parts of themselves that feel unworthy, broken, or too much. That’s where IFS offers a radically different approach: it doesn’t try to fix you. It helps you understand why you feel the way you do—and it invites every part of you into the healing process.
Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to acknowledge that adults need care too. You don’t need to be in crisis to seek help. You only need to be willing to begin listening inward.
Stigma remains one of the biggest barriers to mental health care. Adults may hesitate to seek therapy because they fear being seen as weak, incapable, or selfish. For those living with eating disorders, this stigma can be compounded by years of misunderstanding, misdiagnosis, or internalized shame.
At Haven of Hope, we’re here to change that narrative. Using the IFS model, we help clients understand that all parts are welcome. Even the parts that feel chaotic, critical, or destructive. We don’t force change—we cultivate safety, connection, and curiosity. In that space, clients begin to feel seen not as a diagnosis, but as a whole person with a full inner world.
There is no shame in needing support. And there is immense strength in finally giving yourself permission to receive it.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), nearly one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental health condition. Yet many go untreated due to stigma, lack of access, or simply not knowing where to begin.
Mental Health Awareness Month is an invitation to shift that reality. By raising awareness, we normalize therapy, validate adult mental health struggles, and help create a world where seeking support is as natural as going to the doctor for a physical illness.
For adults with eating disorders—a group often overlooked in both research and public discourse—this visibility is even more important. Many have lived with disordered eating for years without ever being offered care that fully sees their emotional experience. The IFS model gives voice to that inner world and helps clients build new relationships with food, body, and self that are rooted in compassion rather than control.
Every aspect of care at Haven of Hope is grounded in Internal Family Systems therapy. That means our clients are not just taught coping skills—they are invited into a deep, experiential process of understanding the parts of themselves that have been exiled, ignored, or judged.
This work happens through:
We serve adults who are navigating eating disorders, trauma, anxiety, depression, and more. Whether someone is stepping into treatment for the first time or returning after previous attempts, we walk alongside them—without judgment and with deep respect for their inner world.
Many of our clients arrive after years of putting others first—whether in parenting, caregiving, or demanding careers. They may not know who they are outside of those roles. They may feel fractured, numb, or disconnected.
IFS helps reconnect those threads. Instead of focusing solely on symptoms, we support clients in rebuilding a relationship with themselves. That includes exploring patterns like people-pleasing, perfectionism, and self-criticism as protective parts that once tried to help.
With time and care, those parts begin to relax. In their place, a more authentic self begins to emerge—one capable of choice, clarity, and compassion.
Mental health issues rarely appear overnight. Often, the signs are subtle—difficulty concentrating, feeling overwhelmed, or a growing sense of isolation. Left unaddressed, these symptoms can deepen into chronic conditions.
By encouraging early conversations during Mental Health Awareness Month, we can catch these signs sooner. For adults, that might look like naming long-held emotional burdens for the first time. For those struggling with disordered eating, it might mean acknowledging that their relationship with food is connected to deeper pain—not just surface-level behaviors.
IFS provides a framework for this kind of early, internal listening. It helps people recognize the parts that are asking for help, even if they don’t know how to say it out loud yet.
Support systems are vital. Mental Health Awareness Month is also a time to invite families, friends, and partners into the conversation. Many adults feel they must carry their pain alone—especially when others depend on them.
At Haven of Hope, we offer support and education for loved ones, helping them understand the IFS model and how it can transform not just the individual, but the entire system around them. Healing is not a solo endeavor. When one person begins to heal, it sends ripples outward.
Ask yourself:
You don’t need all the answers right now. Just the willingness to be curious is a powerful first step.
Many adults carry shame for “still” struggling. But your struggle doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you have a story that deserves care. In IFS, every part of you has a reason for being. When we meet those parts with compassion, they soften.
Whether you’re navigating emotional exhaustion, an eating disorder, unresolved trauma, or anxiety that won’t let up—you are not alone. Therapy, especially IFS-based therapy, can offer the clarity and support you’ve been needing.
At Haven of Hope, we welcome you just as you are. There is no “too late.” There is only the next step forward.
Mental Health Awareness Month is about more than awareness—it’s about action, healing, and hope. At Haven of Hope, we are committed to offering care that sees every part of you and honors every step of your journey.
As the only eating disorder clinic in the world fully grounded in Internal Family Systems therapy, we offer something truly unique: a space where your symptoms are not shamed, your pain is not pathologized, and your wholeness is not just possible—but already present within you.
Let this be the month you start listening inward. Let this be the season you choose healing.
If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health concerns, you don’t have to walk the path alone. Haven of Hope provides compassionate, individualized care for adults ready to begin or continue their healing journey. Visithavenofhopeed.com to learn more or speak with a member of our admissions team.
Healing is not only possible—it begins with honoring every part of you.
