IFS: Internal Family Systems TherapyInternal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) is also known as parts work. This approach sees the personality as divided into multiple parts, each with its own qualities and points of view.
Most of us have had experiences like:
IFS is an evidence-based psychotherapy which has been found to be effective in treating mental health issues including addiction, depression and anxiety. Working with parts or sub-personalities to help them heal and come into balance is a transformative tool for helping people to heal from childhood events and deal with current stresses and challenges. Getting triggered and overreactingYou might be frustrated to watch helplessly as you react to triggering situations around you in ways that don’t serve you. Perhaps getting completely overwhelmed and tearful or getting angry and aggressive. It can be so frustrating to see this happen whilst a part of you knows how much better it would work out for you if you could manage to stay cool, calm and collected. Maybe you are wondering if you will ever get a grip on this and are sick of seeing how it gets in the way in your life.
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I help you to work with the parts of you that get triggered. When we go through a transformative healing process with these hurt and stuck parts of you it is so wonderful to see how the same situations no longer have the same emotional impact. You will marvel at your ability to respond calmly and assertively, in a way that serves you well. This change happens not through consciously learning assertiveness skills, but rather through healing the parts of you that get activated in certain situations.
Feeling stuck
Do you feel like something is holding you back from living life to the full? There are adventures you want to have, relationships you want to build, projects you want to start, but life seems to wizz by in a cloud of social media and Netflix. You sometimes try to make a start on some positive action with the best of intentions but somehow you don’t get very far. It feels like a part of you is holding you back and not letting you grow.
I help you identify the blocks to doing what you truly want to do in life. Rather than trying to use willpower to force yourself to get on and do the things that really matter to you, we work to release the blocks to that through a process of inner healing. One day you’ll find yourself in the middle of a beautiful adventure and you’ll notice that it feels like it just flowed naturally from the person that you are now, rather than taking any conscious effort at all.
I help you identify the blocks to doing what you truly want to do in life. Rather than trying to use willpower to force yourself to get on and do the things that really matter to you, we work to release the blocks to that through a process of inner healing. One day you’ll find yourself in the middle of a beautiful adventure and you’ll notice that it feels like it just flowed naturally from the person that you are now, rather than taking any conscious effort at all.
Getting anxious about things you know can't hurt you
When you feel the anxiety rising and rising in your chest at the same time as telling yourself ‘it’s just a party, what’s the worst that can happen?’ it’s frustrating to see the lack of impact of this rational thinking on the anxious part of you. And even more frustrating to see yourself opt out of the party / business meeting / date / new hobby because it feels necessary to do whatever it takes to ease the horrible anxious feeling.
I help by a process of releasing the anxiety that parts of you are holding. We all have painful experiences in our lives starting from very young. Even if you don’t consciously remember anything that would make sense as a cause of your anxiety (which is really normal by the way), you might be suprised that when I guide you inward we can find and help the part of you that is holding the anxiety taken on in a difficult moment in the past. There is a lot we can do to help, you don’t need to stay stuck with this.
I help by a process of releasing the anxiety that parts of you are holding. We all have painful experiences in our lives starting from very young. Even if you don’t consciously remember anything that would make sense as a cause of your anxiety (which is really normal by the way), you might be suprised that when I guide you inward we can find and help the part of you that is holding the anxiety taken on in a difficult moment in the past. There is a lot we can do to help, you don’t need to stay stuck with this.
You know they're bad habits but you keep doing them anyway
You keep getting out of bed half an hour too late, and you can’t quite stick to just the two beers. You know life would be better without facebook and you would love to make time to learn to play guitar. Changing our habits is one of those things that sounds easy when we’re deciding to do it but can be really challenging to us creatures of habit.
I help you find the part of you that wants you to keep doing the bad habit. Maybe it’s afraid of what would happen if you stopped, maybe it’s been doing this for so long that to do anything else feels impossible. Maybe it needs to be seen and understood in order to work with you and help you make the changes you want to make. Most of the time when we are stuck in bad habits it’s because a part of us thinks it’s for the best. This part of you might be very young and not have all the relevant information. There’s a lot we can do to help, you will end up with a sense of choice about how you want to move through your day.
I help you find the part of you that wants you to keep doing the bad habit. Maybe it’s afraid of what would happen if you stopped, maybe it’s been doing this for so long that to do anything else feels impossible. Maybe it needs to be seen and understood in order to work with you and help you make the changes you want to make. Most of the time when we are stuck in bad habits it’s because a part of us thinks it’s for the best. This part of you might be very young and not have all the relevant information. There’s a lot we can do to help, you will end up with a sense of choice about how you want to move through your day.
IFS is a type of therapy that focuses on the internal parts of an individual. It is based on the belief that the mind is multiple and everyone is naturally made up of many different parts, each with its own unique characteristics and experiences.
These parts are often categorized into "managers," "firefighters," and "exiles."
- "Managers" are parts of ourselves that try to control our thoughts and emotions, often to protect us from pain or harm.
- "Firefighters" are parts that react to stress or pain by engaging in impulsive or distracting behaviors, such as substance abuse or binge eating.
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- "Exiles" are parts of ourselves that hold painful memories or emotions that we try to avoid or suppress.
These parts can often be at odds with each other, for example when one part of you wants to reach out to a loved one following an argument and reconnect, but another part of you feels too angry to do that. Another common example is when one part of you keeps you procrastinating on tasks even when they really matter to you, and another part of you is frustrated and baffled by this.
IFS therapy helps you to identify and understand these different parts of yourself. You are supported to interact with your parts and develop a relationship with them. This process helps you achieve self-awareness, self-compassion, and a sense of inner peace. Clients are often amazed at the depth of new self-knowledge and healing that comes from interacting with these internal parts with the support of a therapist.
IFS has been proven to be effective in treating a wide range of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and addiction. It is an approach that can help you heal from past wounds and move towards a brighter future.
You can learn more about IFS at the official IFS website here.
If you're interested in learning more about IFS and how it can help you, feel free to book a free initial consultation where we can discuss this further.