Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy was developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz in 1985 within the context of his own work as a therapist. He observed that clients often described their internal worlds as a collection of “parts” which embodied various roles and impacted the client’s present-day thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Dr. Schwartz began to conceptualize these parts as components of a system and used his training in structural family therapy to help facilitate dialogue between parts, as well as between what he later termed to be a client’s Self-Energy (that is, the core being of a client that is not burdened by adversity) and the parts themselves. IFS posits that everyone has parts and there are no “bad” parts – only parts that have been forced into extreme roles due to the need to respond and adapt to adversity.
Dr. Schwartz groups parts into two main categories – Protectors and Exiles. Protectors can either be Managers (proactively trying to prevent someone from experiencing pain) or Firefighters (reactively responding to someone experiencing pain in an effort to “put out the flames,” so to speak). Managers work tirelessly to keep Exiles at bay, as Exiles are the wounded parts carrying the full extent of the pain from the adverse incidents themselves. The goal of IFS therapy is not to rid one’s systems of any parts, but to help a client develop a relationship with their parts that embodies of one or more of the following traits: curiosity, compassion, courage, creativity, calmness, clarity, confidence, and/or connectedness (the “8 C’s”).
IFS can be a highly useful tool to help clients conceptualize their struggles in a non-pathologizing way (as we all have parts) and begin to develop non-judgmental observations and insights into their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This can, in turn, serve as a springboard to making positive changes. IFS also allows for parts to be witnessed by a client’s Self-Energy in a way which can be deeply healing. Sometimes, clients can use IFS to unburden at least some of what parts are carrying from past adversity, such that clients may be able to develop healthier ways of conceptualizing themselves and others.
I am currently an IFS-informed therapist undergoing IFS Level 1 training through the IFS Institute. In this work, I am also learning how to navigate my own parts so I can present as attuned and not mired by my own agenda for clients. I am a work in progress, just like everyone else! If you would like to determine if IFS-informed therapy may be the right fit for you, please contact me to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation.