Therapy Approaches: What is IFS?

A Quick Look at Internal Family Systems 

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a psychotherapy that sees the mind as being made up of different parts that surround our core Selves. These parts are protective and wounded parts of ourselves that can become distressing to us when they’re forced to play extreme roles. The good news is that who we are at our core - the Self - can’t be damaged. IFS uses this to help us heal these inner parts, become unburdened, and live authentically.

The Big Ideas Behind IFS

IFS is based on a few key principles:

1. We have inner parts that act like a family. 

2. There are no bad parts - just parts that have been forced to go to extremes to protect us. 

3. When we become Self-led and unburden our parts, healing can begin. 

   
   

Within our inner family there are three different types of parts: managers that try to prevent pain, firefighters that react to painful situations, and exiles that are the wounded, painful parts of ourselves. If we can access our Self energy and lift the burden from these parts, then we can live a more fulfilling life.

What IFS Looks Like in Session

In early sessions, your therapist will help you begin to think about things using “parts language” and help you get used to thinking about your internal family before exploring what parts are present in your system. 

Then, your therapist will use the 6F process to help you map out and get to know your parts. In the 6F process you’ll look at each part and: 

• Find

• Focus

• Flesh out

• Feel towards

• beFriend

• learn the Fear 

This process helps you get to know your parts and begin to understand what is burdening them. You’ll also work with your therapist to find out how to take the weight of the burden off the part based on its fear. 

You’ll also work with your therapist to discover who your Self is and how to tell when you’re living a Self-led life. This fuels authenticity. IFS uses the 8 C’s to help determine whether you’re leading from Self-energy: 

• Curiosity

• Calmness

• Clarity

• Compassion

• Confidence

• Courage

• Creativity

• Connectedness

Who Might Benefit Most from IFS

IFS can be used to address many mental health concerns since treatment is as individual as your parts. IFS can address: 

• Anxiety 

• Depression 

• OCD

• Eating disorders 

• Substance use disorder 

• Self-compassion

• Interpersonal relationship challenges

There’s also growing research that supports using IFS to treat PTSD and CPTSD.

What Makes IFS Helpful

IFS is a non-pathologizing therapy - it looks at our parts as protective rather than a problem. This allows clients to take a compassionate approach to healing and work with their parts rather than against them. 

Thinking about the mind as being made up of a family of parts is an unfamiliar way to think about our brains - but it’s this unfamiliarity that can allow clients to think about things differently and make a change. This makes it especially helpful for people who feel stuck and unable to make a change. 

What to Keep in Mind

IFS is still being researched and isn’t yet considered an evidence based treatment. While the theory is widely accepted by the mental health field, there needs to be more research conducted before it can be named an evidence based treatment. 

 Key Takeaways

Internal Family Systems Therapy uses parts work to help clients better understand themselves. Through self discovery and compassion, this approach to thinking about the mind can help clients make the necessary changes for healing. 

If you’re looking for an IFS informed therapist in Tallahassee, contact Victoria Wilder at Bloom & Heal to begin your journey. 

Sources and Further Reading 

https://www.foundationifs.org/about/about-ifs 

https://ifs-institute.com/