Internal Family Systems
“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
- Walt Whitman from Song of Myself
Walt Whitman’s description of his own multiplicity elegantly embodies the premise of Internal Family Systems (IFS). We are made of many personalities (called parts) that take turns driving our behavior, thoughts, and emotions to best serve us for the given situation. This is adaptive when we have not been fragmented by life experiences because it provides inner agility to respond to anything life throws at us. There is synergy among the parts to work together for our highest good.
Life, as you know, can be messy. We come into the world little sparkles of light that soon learn that we have to protect ourselves from absorbing the pain of others projected onto us in various forms of abuse and neglect. This, too, is adaptive. Parts of ourselves start to wrap around our little light to protect it from harm. They become our protectors. The stronger the threat, the stronger the protector. The stronger the protector, the more extremely we feel its side effects in our lives. These side effects, or “symptoms,” is usually why people are seeking therapy. They want to get rid of the symptoms of anxiety, depression, or numbness.
IFS posits that the experience of anxiety, depression and numbness are not the cause of suffering, but a symptom of a part being overburdened by its protective role or being in conflict with another part that is trying to protect you in a different way. We can address the part or parts directly and go to the root cause of the experience of the symptom. What’s more, we can do this very gently and with self-love. We can all do this because this is how we are wired, to heal from the inside out. How?
"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”
- Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back
You have experienced your internal light. IFS calls it Self, but it goes by many names (wisdom, sense of oneness, centeredness, soul, source of love, higher-self). Just as the sun still shines even though clouds may be blocking it out, our protective parts can obscure the radiation of our inner light. We needed them to do this when we were in crisis, or when we were little, to survive long enough to get here today. However they may not know it’s safe to relax their protective behavior now. As your guide, I can help you learn how to interact with your parts from Self, which is the source of transformation and healing.
IFS is an evidence based psychotherapeutic approach that is based in systems theory and contains strong threads of mindfulness and somatic work. Below you can find some links if you would like to look into it further.
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
Evidence Based
I provide weekly and intensives for IFS.
See “Services and Fees” for more details.