The introduction to the Internal Family Systems model that you were waiting for

What is it and what benefits can it bring to your life?

Ok, you read about it hear and there, and now you're curioous to go a bit deeper into it and discover what exactly IFS is and what benefits can arise from embracing it as a new lens through which you can experience yourself and the world around you...Great! You landed in the ideal spot! Here is your freshly brewed introduction to the Internal Family Systems model. IFS is an incredible modality that offers the possibility to welcome what is, be with it and heal what needs to be healed ending up with an increased felt experience of harmony in the internal space as well as in the external one. It's a modality that was created about 40 years ago by the psychotherapist Richard Schwartz and it's a non-pathologizing approach that believes in the natural multiplicity of the psyche of each individual. The fundational aspect are that each person is born with an infinite number of parts and while growing up and interacting with the external world, some of them have been hurt and exiled and some other have been forced into roles that are not their natural role.

The goals of IFS are to return parts to their natural roles, unburden the parts that have been hurt and exile, create inner trust and a relationship between all the parts of the system and find harmony within that will automatically will reflect externally in the relationships with others.

There are no bad parts

In IFS each part has a positive intention, there are no bad parts. They had to take on a role because no one else was there to protect us from hurt and disconnection in the first place. They are often stuck in time and unaware that we are now grown up and that there are other ways to face situations and emotions. Even the most extreme parts have a positive intent and they're trying to do what is best to protect the system or parts of the system...even if their impact could be damaging to the person or those ones around.

It's a modality that brings hope to the system.

One of the pillars is that there is a Self, an innate healing entity, in the system of each person. This Self has some very specific qualities that allow us to recognize when some level of Self-energy is present in the system. Self is undamaged and present no mater the level of trauma a person has undergone in their life. What happens is that Protective parts (the ones forced into roles that are not their natural ones) might be covering it up and not allowing it to surface, convinced their way is the only way to deal with life's situations and emotions. This makes sense because these protective parts have been doing their job since a very young age when Self wasn't developed enough yet to protect other parts from hurt and disconnection...it's natural that parts will need some help and support in separatig from the person to allow more Self energy to surface and for the unburdenings and healing to happen.

The relationship between Self (of the practitioner/therapist or of the person) to the parts, is what allows the healing to happen.

In IFS the main Self qualities are collected in a list of 8 C's and 5 P's. Self is compassionate, creative, calm, connected, curious, clear, corageous and confident. Some other qualities that Self has are patience, perspective, playfulness, presence, and persistence. When one or more of those qualities are effortlessly present, it is possible to turn towards parts of the internal system and start having a relationship with them, build trust, increase understanding and become more and more aware of why parts are doing what are doing, how they are trying to be of service and what they're afraid would happen if they were to stop diong what they're doing.

Parts and their healing journey

Protective parts need to be honored and acknowledge for their work and effort. Then, it's possible to bring hope and perspective to them and possibly realising them from their job for them to choose what they truly want to do/be for the system. This can happen only after the part(s) they're protecting ("exiles") have been witnessed, welcomed, unburdened and they have securely attached to the Self of the person they belong to. At that point the protective parts have nothing left to protect and they become ready to transition into something they'd genuinely prefer. When there is a welcoming of the inner system, an acknowledgement and compassionate approach towards it, there is much more capacity to face also other people's parts and their inner systems. The compassion, curiosity and persepctive that I can bring to my parts will also be available for other people's parts. There is so much that can be said about IFS, the different parts of the system, the process in individual work and group work...

Stay tuned for more insights and in the meantime here's a short with Dick Schwartz, the founder of this amazing modality.

About this introduction to the Internal Family Systems model...

Thank you for reading and for allowing yourself to be curious and open to this incredible lens through which you can experience reality, within and without. You're making a difference in yours and other people's world.

With warmth, Alice