When I first stepped into Adult Child recovery a little over five years ago, I kept hearing about something called Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS). I was intrigued, but unsure. Could this “parts work” really be compatible with my Catholic faith? I wasn’t looking for another secular method that left the soul out of the story. So, I looked into it.
That search led me to Souls and Hearts, a community founded by Dr. Gerry Crete and Dr. Peter Malinoski, two Catholic psychologists who have helped thousands integrate faith and psychology. I joined their year-long program and soon discovered what many Adult Children of Dysfunctional Homes (ACDH) and Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) have also found—that IFS and adult child recovery beautifully complement each other.
Fast forward to just a few days ago, when I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Gerry Crete about his new book, Litanies of the Heart: Relieving Post-Traumatic Stress and Calming Anxiety through Healing our Parts. It was a full-circle moment to meet the very person who helped confirm that this kind of deep psychological healing is not only compatible with Catholicism but profoundly expressive of it.
In our conversation, Dr. Crete explained why he wrote the book: “People kept asking, ‘Is this Catholic?’ I wanted to show that it absolutely can be,” he said.
In Litanies of the Heart, he weaves together his background in psychology and theology, showing how IFS mirrors the Catholic understanding of the human person. We are not a single, seamless self, but rather a community within—a collection of “parts” shaped by love, fear, and survival. At our core, beneath all those parts, lies what IFS calls the “inmost self.” As Dr. Crete writes, “The inmost self, as the conscious spiritual center of the soul, reflects the imago Dei—the truth that we are created in the image of God—in its expression of freedom, creativity, and compassion.”
That insight resonated deeply with me. So much of adult child recovery is about rediscovering who we were before the pain, the child who could play, trust, and delight. Writer Brya Hanan captures this beautifully: “Our inner child unearths who we truly are—a child who has been knit together by our Creator and who is fearfully and wonderfully made…The child within us who bears the image and likeness of God without any wounds or self-protection to darken it is our authentic core.”
IFS helps us return to that place. This true self, reflecting the imago Dei, is meant to live in relationship with God, the Father of tenderness and mercy.
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was about “God concepts” versus “God images.” Many of us may conceptually believe that God is loving, yet deep down, wounded parts of us may still fear that He is harsh, indifferent, or absent.
Dr. Crete explained, “Exiled or very wounded parts of ourselves hold false beliefs about God. But when, through therapy and recovery, those parts are able to receive love from the inmost self, they begin to trust God and let go of their false beliefs.”
This truth has unfolded in my own recovery. Before I began this work, I was living in what I can now see as spiritual bypass—using religion to escape my pain rather than face it. When I finally came out of denial and started befriending my wounded parts, something remarkable happened: the idea of God as a loving Father stopped feeling like a theological concept and started becoming an experience. I especially sense this now through my growing relationship with St. Joseph, who quietly models that kind of steady, fatherly love.
The word litany in the title of Dr. Crete’s book isn’t accidental. Litanies are rhythmic, repetitive prayers that open the heart. For people with deep trust wounds, speaking truth aloud in prayer can help re-train the nervous system to rest in safety. It’s one thing to know you are loved; it’s another to feel it in your body.
Far from diluting our Catholic faith, IFS actually deepens it. It reminds us that grace works through the whole person, the mind, heart, and body. Dr. Crete also spoke about the Blessed Mother and the saints as gentle companions in this process. And the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist become powerful places of integration. When our hearts are open and our parts are no longer hiding, grace can reach us in ways that once felt impossible.
If all this stirs something in you, I invite you to join us for a Saturday study group. We’ll explore Catholic writings like Litanies of the Heart and other resources that help heal the wounds of a traumatic childhood. Many Adult Children find that therapy and recovery work best hand in hand. As the Big Red Book reminds us, emotional sobriety grows through both spiritual and psychological tools. Litanies of the Heart offers a way to integrate the wisdom of the Church with the science of healing. Dr. Crete’s book confirms what many of us have begun to sense: that true Catholic spirituality does not bypass the wounded child within—it embraces that child with the Father’s love.
Chloe was born and raised Catholic and attended Alateen during her youth. Now an adult child of alcoholics, she has rediscovered the transformative power of 12-step recovery through Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) and Catholic in Recovery meetings. After many years as an Evangelical Christian, she felt a renewed call to the Catholic faith, drawn by the Blessed Mother, the saints, and the inspiring example of a close friend.