What Is Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy? A Beginner’s Guide
There are so many different types of therapy practices out there, but not all of them might be right for your needs. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a practice that helps make sense of inner conflicts and teaches you how to bring compassion and balance to your inner world.
What are parts?
IFS, sometimes referred to as parts work, is based on the idea that our mind is made up of many different “parts,” each with its own thoughts, emotions, and motivations. These parts develop over time to help us cope, protect ourselves, and navigate life. For example, one part might be a perfectionist, another might be a small child afraid of getting in trouble, and another might be an inner comic who avoids pain with jokes. The movie Inside Out is a great example of how parts exist in our inner world.
None of these parts are bad; they all have good intentions, although sometimes their ways of solving problems might not be helpful anymore. Our perfectionist might obsess over the details of our work but then have trouble actually completing anything. Our fearful child might always put everyone else’s needs before their own so that no one is upset with them. Even our inner comic, whom we love, might prevent us from actually feeling valuable emotions. IFS is a therapeutic process that allows us to connect with these parts and support them in new ways.
What is Self energy?
While we all have various parts running our control panel, IFS believes we also all innately have a core Self. Self offers calm, curious, and compassionate energy to our parts and the world. IFS helps you reconnect with Self and learn to lead your inner system from a place of understanding rather than judgment.
Goals of IFS therapy
In IFS therapy, you and your therapist work together to:
Identify and get to know your different parts
Understand what each part is trying to do for you
Heal the wounded or burdened parts that are stuck in old roles
Create a healthier internal (family) system
Over time, this process brings more harmony to your internal world, which will reduce anxiety, guilt, and self-criticism and increase self-compassion and confidence.
Who is IFS for?
IFS can be especially helpful for people struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or inner conflict. Instead of trying to “get rid of” parts, IFS teaches you to listen to them, understand their fears, and build a more trusting relationship with your whole self.
At its heart, IFS is about becoming your own compassionate leader, learning to care for every part of you, even the ones that feel hardest to love.
How to get started with IFS?
If you are curious about IFS, please reach out to the team at Calm Mind Therapy. We have a passion for this therapy model and have helped numerous clients learn, connect, and love their parts.
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Calm Mind Therapy is a boutique mental health practice located in Ardmore, PA, specializing in the care of children, adolescents, and adults. Our mission is to provide the Main Line with high-quality mental health services for all ages. Our goal is to help our clients achieve emotional well-being and build a life worth living. Serving clients in Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Wynnewood, Narberth, Radnor, Lower Merion, Haverford, Havertown, Villanova, Swarthmore, Devon, Berwyn, Malvern, Bala Cynwyd, and more.
