Survivors of human trafficking and poly-victimization navigate not only complex systems of care, but also internal systems shaped by trauma. From an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, these include protective “parts” such as dissociation, hypervigilance, shutdown, and over-compliance. While adaptive for survival, these responses are often misunderstood within service environments, creating barriers to engagement. This presentation argues that engagement challenges are not resistance or noncompliance, but interactions between survivors’ internal protective systems and external systems of care, which may unintentionally replicate dynamics of coercion, control, and disempowerment. Survivors engage services through multiple internal parts with differing needs, fears, and expectations of safety, making engagement dynamic and non-linear. Common system expectations - such as rapid trust-building, consistent participation, and verbal processing - may conflict with trauma-adapted strategies. Drawing on psychologist Steven Hassan’s BITE model (Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control), this presentation examines how system practices can unintentionally mirror trafficking dynamics, reinforcing protective responses that limit engagement. A parts-informed lens offers an alternative framework for understanding and responding to these dynamics. Attendees will be encouraged to reframe “noncompliance” as protection, examine systems for coercive parallels, and prioritize relational safety over performance. The call to action: systems must adapt to survivors, fostering safety, agency, and sustainable engagement.
Katie Watson is a therapist, clinical supervisor, and consultant specializing in attachment and complex and developmental trauma. Through her practice, Anchored Hope Therapy, in Austin, Texas, she brings a systems-level lens from work in anti-trafficking, residential, and inpatient settings, helping providers align care with survivors’ internal experiences to reduce re-victimization.