We all rely on our “inner voices” to form opinions and help us make important life decisions. As we go through life, our inner lives can become complex, with different “parts” or “voices” sending us conflicted messages. For instance, we often say things like, “A part of me wants to go to the ballpark tonight, but the other part wants to stay in and watch TV.” When thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are at odds, they can keep you from living a happy and satisfying life. An increasingly popular approach to therapy is Internal Family Systems (IFS), which addresses the parts of our mind that have been affected by past trauma and attachment injuries. Deer Hollow clinicians are trained to help individuals get to know these parts, listen to them, and learn how to be seen and heard.
What is Internal Family Systems Therapy?
IFS therapy is based on the concept that every human being has protective and wounded inner parts led by a core self. Over time, these parts transition from being all-valuable to forming extreme interior roles.
IFS is used to treat individuals, couples, and families for various conditions and symptoms, including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Panic
- Phobias
- Substance use
- Trauma
- Physical health conditions like rheumatoid arthritis
- General functioning and well-being
While IFS isn’t generally used for treating severe mental illness, studies show it can help with pain, mental health symptoms, and self-compassion in people with chronic health conditions.
How it Works
The IFS model lists three foundational roles in the relationship between the self and an individual’s different parts:
- Managers are protective parts that help control a person’s surroundings, manage emotions, and handle tasks as they navigate daily life.
- Exiles hold hurt, fear, and shame from early experiences and carry the related memories and emotions through the years. Managers work to keep exiles in the subconscious to help individuals avoid pain and distress.
- Firefighters are activated when exiles produce difficult emotions. They work to inhibit overwhelming, threatening, or painful emotions by any means necessary, including substance use or binge eating.
IFS stems from the belief that someone’s parts can be healed, changed, and better managed by the self, achieving the therapy’s primary goals of:
- Freeing different parts from their extreme roles.
- Restoring trust in one’s self.
- Aligning the self and parts so they work together as a team, with the self in charge.
IFS can be a life-changing form of therapy because as individuals do the work, they no longer fight inside or hate themselves for having certain feelings, such as shame, or exhibiting certain behaviors.
If you’re interested in learning more about how IFS therapy or to talk to a trained IFS clinician, contact Deer Hollow today.