Marcella Cox (She/Her) LMFT, CEDS-C
Founder of Kindful Body | Therapist, Consultant & Assistant Trainer for Somatic IFS
Marcella Cox is a therapist, author, and educator working at the intersection of embodiment, trauma healing, and eating disorder recovery. She is the founder of Kindful Body and is widely known for supporting both individuals seeking healing trauma and therapists seeking an embodied approach to healing in their practice.
Her work is grounded in a core belief: healing doesn’t come from fixing or forcing change—it unfolds through reconnecting with what is already wise, compassionate, and resilient within. Whether in the therapy room or in consulting with clinicians, Marcella brings an embodied, relational, trauma-informed approach that honors each person’s lived experience and cultural context.
Choose your path:
Professional Background
Education, Licenses & Certifications
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) 87274
Level 3 Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist, IFS Institute
Approved IFS Clinical Consultant, IFS Institute
Assistant Trainer for Somatic IFS developed by Susan McConnell
MS, Clinical Psychology, Notre Dame de Namur
BA, Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles
Professional Affiliations
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals
Project HEAL’s HEALers Circle
Other Trainings & Certifications
Certified Safe and Sound Protocol® Provider
Certified Rest & Restore Protocol® Provider
Somatic Experiencing® Student in Training, Advanced Level
Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-Supervisor, International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals
Certified Body Trust Provider, Center for Body Trust
Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Instructor, UCSD Center for Mindfulness
Completed 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Avalon Yoga, Palo Alto
A Practice Rooted in Embodiment & Self-Leadership
Marcella specializes in working with clients whose struggles with food, body and Self-trust are rooted in trauma, and for whom the non-pathologizing, compassionate Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach model deeply resonates for them.
Her clients are often outwardly capable and successful, yet feel internally stuck in survival patterns. Many are therapists themselves—insightful, highly attuned to others, and deeply caring—who are ready to tend to their inner world with the same care they offer others.
Areas of focus include:
Eating disorders and disordered eating
Relational and attachment trauma
Developmental trauma
Anxiety
Depression
Grief and loss
Therapy with Marcella is collaborative, attuned, and paced with deep respect for each person’s inner system.
As a Somatic IFS Therapist, Marcella integrates IFS, Somatic IFS, Polyvagal Theory, and Somatic Experiencing, supporting clients in healing emotional wounds, restoring body trust, and cultivating embodied, compassionate Self-leadership—both personally and professionally.
If you’re a therapist who supports others, you deserve a space where you don’t have to hold it all together. This is a place where you get to be supported.
Professional Consultation, Groups, Workshops & Retreats
In addition to her clinical practice, Marcella provides IFS consultation, groups, and workshops for clinicians, with specialized professional pathways including:
Somatic IFS workshops, retreats, and consultation
Explore Somatic IFS Professional Offerings »IFS for disordered eating and body issues workshops, retreats and consultation
IFS & Disordered Eating Professional Offerings »IFS with the Safe & Sound Protocol® and Rest & Restore Protocol®
Resonate Self Groups for IFS Professionals»
Her teaching style is experiential, relational, and embodied—supporting therapists not only in understanding the model, but in embodying IFS and Somatic IFS in their clinical work.
Writing & Thought Leadership
Marcella contributed the chapter “IFS and Disordered Eating” to
IFS Integration: A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Internal Family Systems Across Modalities, Populations, and Clinical Presentations (PESI Publishing, 2025).
She is also the lead author of the IFS and Listening Therapies Combined Delivery Guidelines (Safe & Sound Protocol® and Rest & Restore Protocol®, Unyte, 2026).
Speaking Engagements & Podcast Appearances
Marcella is available for conference presentations, workshops, trainings, panels, and podcast interviews on topics including:
Somatic IFS
Integrating IFS with the Safe & Sound Protocol® and Rest & Restore Protocol®
Internal Family Systems (IFS) & trauma-informed eating disorder treatment
Embodiment, nervous system regulation, and Polyvagal Theory
Therapist embodiment, Self-energy, and sustainable clinical practice
To request Marcella as a speaker or podcast guest:
Submit a Speaking or Podcast Inquiry
A Personal Note
Marcella came to this work through both professional training and lived experience. After an earlier career in public relations and marketing—and several years focused on raising her children—she felt a strong call toward work rooted in meaning, healing, and human connection.
She brings humility, warmth, and deep respect to every therapeutic and teaching relationship, and considers it a privilege to walk alongside clients and clinicians as they reconnect with their own inner wisdom and capacity for change
How Can I Support You?
I offer video therapy sessions. Please contact Kindful Body for a free 15-minute consultation, and we'll talk about your hopes and goals for therapy.