- What is Internal Family Systems? IFS Institute
IFS® is a transformative tool that conceives every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts lead by a core Self. We believe the mind is naturally multiple and that is a good thing. Just like members of a family, inner parts are forced from their valuable states into extreme roles within us. Self is in everyone. It can’t be damaged. It knows how to heal.
- The Internal Family Systems Model Outline IFS Institute
- It is the nature of the mind to be subdivided into an indeterminate number of subpersonalities or parts.
- Everyone has a Self, and the Self can and should lead the individual's internal system.
- The non-extreme intention of each part is something positive for the individual. There are no "bad" parts, and the goal of therapy is not to eliminate parts but instead to help them find their non-extreme roles.
- As we develop, our parts develop and form a complex system of interactions among themselves; therefore, systems theory can be applied to the internal system. When the system is reorganized, parts can change rapidly.
- Changes in the internal system will affect changes in the external system and vice versa. The implication of this assumption is that both the internal and external levels of system should be assessed.
- Parts and the Body in IFS Therapy Anna Vincent
If your therapist ask you if or how you notice a part in your body and you either don’t notice it in your body at all (it might be a thought, a voice, a feeling, an image or a body sensation — or it may be a combination) or you notice that you think the body in stead of feeling the body, that is absolutely fine (and an excellent observation).
- Guide for the IFS Client: Chapter 1: The System of Parts Anna Vincent
Our internal system of parts is an inherent aspect of human existence and when we are exposed to betrayal, wounding, trauma, abuse, etc., these experiences get stuck in us as burdens and burdened beliefs (for example: “I am not loved”, “I am alone”,“the world is the dangerous place”) and our parts create systems around these burdens to maintain our level of functioning and to ensure our survival.
- Self: The inner-self and\or whole person.
- Exiles are wounded parts our managers and firefighters keep hidden to prevent them from flooding our consciousness with negative emotions.
- Protectors
- Managers are protectors who use responsible means to prevent our exiles from getting triggered.
- Firefighters come out in emergencies, when the managers efforts fail, with destructive techniques like drugs, alcohol & compulsive sex.
- The Larger Self Richard Schwartz, Ph.D.
over the years, I’ve come to trust the healing power of what I’ll call the Self in clients and in myself. When there’s a critical mass of Self in a therapy office, healing just happens. When I’m able to embody a lot of Self, as was the case with Margie, clients can sense in my voice, eyes, movements, and overall presence that I care a great deal about them, know what I’m doing, won’t be judging them, and love working with them. Consequently, their inner protectors relax, which releases more of their Self. They then begin to relate to themselves with far more curiosity, confidence, and compassion.
- Internal Family Systems: 8 C's of Self Energy/Awareness List 2021-03-21 South Tampa Counselor
- Calmness
- Curiosity
- Clarity
- Compassion
- Confidence
- Courage
- Creativity
- Connectedness
- Guide for the IFS Client: Chapter 2: The Self Anna Vincentz
Our parts (or inner children) revolve around each other (Protective parts around Exiles) instead of revolving around the Self (the parent). It is thus an insecure internal attachment, as a result of an insecure external attachment and trauma in childhood.
- Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement, and Touch in Practice Susan McConnell, Amazon
Discover the innovative intersection of somatic therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), featuring 5 core practices to transform modern therapeutic approaches.
- The Evolution of Somatic IFS Embodied Self
As Somatic IFS has evolved, it has grown beyond simply including the body in the steps of the process. Attending to the inherent intelligence of the body has a powerful affect. The body has taught us a great deal about ourselves, others, and our relationships to each other and to the Whole that informs the process of psychotherapy. [...]
Somatic IFS presents five practices that lead to Embodied Self Energy. The foundational tool is Somatic Awareness. Resting on that pyramid base is Conscious Breathing. On top of that is Radical Resonance. With this practice we move more fully into the relational realm. Mindful Movement rests on Radical Resonance, and Attuned Touch is at the apex.
- Somatic
Soma means "body" in Latin, so somatic means "of the body" and is most often used in connection with one's health. You may be more familiar with the related word, psychosomatic, which describes a physical condition or illness caused by the mind rather than a virus or a sprain.
- Interoception Kelly Mahler
This sense is hard at work all of the time, monitoring your entire body—body parts like your heart, lungs, stomach, bladder, muscles, skin, and even your eyeballs—and collecting information about how these body parts feel.
- Proprioception Science Direct
Proprioception is the term given to the mechanism underlying the self-regulation of posture and movement through stimuli originating in sensory receptors embedded in joints, tendons, muscles, and the labyrinth of the ear.
- Exteroception APA Dictionary
sensitivity to stimuli that are outside the body, resulting from the response of specialized sensory cells called exteroceptors to objects and occurrences in the external environment.
- IFS therapy and attachement theory Anna Vincentz
IFS therapy and the IFS way of understanding human beings is a lot more hopeful than the early attachment theories, because in IFS we know that no matter the trauma and insecure attachment, we all have a Self (it’s just hidden away), which means; we all have a possible safe attachment awaiting inside.
- IFS Therapy: Attachment and The Elements in the Unburdening Process Anna Vincentz
As physical creatures of the world, we not only attach to other human beings and I believe our attachment to the elements is so primary that it is “just part of who we are;” that we take it for granted, just like the child in early stages of life take its mother for granted because she simply seems to exist for them and without her there would be no being; existence would cease.
- Translating People Anna Vincentz
Step one is listening with curiosity (instead for judgment and preconceived ideas of the other person). This sometimes means starting with step 2 (see below) if we are already triggered (or feeling judgemental and/or unsafe). When triggered we both react and listen from our own protective parts, not from and openhearted Self-led space. If this is the case, just slow down and notice yourself.
- What I want parents to know about IFS 2022-08-27 Anna Vincentz
Parenting, that is; the parent-child relationship, is someting we all know how to do — or be — but due to our own childhood pain, trauma and the cultural burdens of our societies, we disconnect from that inherent wisdom in many ways and thereby from ourselves and our children.
Therefore a lot of what we need to learn as parents, is not about our children— we can benefit from that too and I will get back to that in later articles — but about ourselves and what we in IFS language call our burdened parts.