Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a healing approach that has been hailed by Dr Bessel van der Kolk (a leading world expert in trauma) as “the treatment method that all clinicians should know to treat clients effectively.”
IFS has also been integrated into his own training programme by renowned trauma expert Dr Gabor Maté.
Perhaps the best way to start with IFS is simply watching this short interview with its creator, Richard Schwartz.
It includes a guided visualisation so you can experience a little IFS for yourself…
You can find information about completed & ongoing evidence-based research into IFS here
The basis of the IFS Model is that human beings are naturally made up of ‘Parts’. So for example, if you’re considering whether or not to go to a party, you might have:
- a part that’s excited about who you might meet
- another that’s worried about what to wear
- one that would rather get an early night
- and another that’s feels guilty about leaving the kids with a babysitter
In IFS everyone also has a ‘Self’, in addition to parts. The Self is a place of
- calm
- curiosity
- compassion
- confidence
- courage
- clarity
- connectedness
- creativity
- patience
- presence
- perspective
- perseverance
Self is the natural leader of the whole system, so when we’re in ‘Self-leadership’, our parts are all able to be in relationship with our Self , and able to act as a resource for Self, creating a balanced, harmonious system.
Sadly most of us are not parented in ways that allow the Self to emerge as the leader of our system. This results in our parts becoming burdened. Some are forced into exile and others into a protective stance.
Protectors take on ways of behaving such as people-pleasing, dissociating, perfectionism, hyper-vigilance or addictions in an effort to keep out the painful feelings carried by young, exiled parts. Protectors jostle for influence in the system, resulting in internal tensions, and an internal system with little or no balance and harmony.
So in IFS therapy we reverse this process, building Self-energy and from there coming into gentle contact with protective and exiled parts, then gradually releasing them from their burdens, and so the system comes more into balance.
