Internal Family Systems Therapy

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is based on the premise that we are made up of many “parts.” You may have heard of “parts work,” which is the aspect of IFS that addresses conflict between different parts and seeks to create mental harmony.^[1]

IFS can address conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD,1 though it may not be suitable for people with psychosis or dissociation.^[2]

For those seeking mental health treatment, IFS can be profoundly helpful for emotional healing. The approach believes each of us has a true and capable Self that emerges once other parts are acknowledged and understood.

To clarify this fascinating approach to mental health, this article will explore:

• How Internal Family Systems therapy began.
• The key aspects of the IFS approach.
• What you can expect from IFS therapy sessions.
• How IFS therapists may treat depression, anxiety, and trauma.
• Why IFS may not be suitable for everyone.

DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that this article mentions self-harm. If you find this unsettling at any point, please contact us immediately.

Roots of Internal Family Systems Therapy

Internal Family Systems therapy was created by Richard Schwartz, a family therapist, in the 1980s. As he struggled to help clients who were at serious risk of harming themselves or other people, he began to work with the positive intentions behind their harmful thoughts. For example, someone who self-harms may think, “I want relief from my emotional pain,” which is actually a positive intention even if it’s achieved in a harmful way.^[3]

Schwartz noticed his clients would repeatedly refer to conflicted “parts” within them and decided to develop an approach that would involve these sub-personalities in the therapeutic process. Though the idea of conflicted parts wasn’t totally new to psychology (e.g., Freud’s Id, Ego, and Superego), Schwartz wanted to study how they functioned in relation to each other.^[4]

He observed that parts will take on certain roles and have relationships, similarly to how real families function (hence the approach’s name). Schwartz also noticed that these roles and relationships could change if he carefully and respectfully intervened.^[4]

Since its development, this approach to mental health support has become extremely popular in the world of therapy. As mentioned, it’s used to treat conditions like depression and anxiety, and also those with traumatic histories.^[1] However, it’s important to note that IFS is non-pathologizing, which means it sees a person’s distress as rooted in their environment and relationships, not in a medical disorder.

Key Aspects of Internal Family Systems Therapy

Internal Family Systems therapy is founded on several core ideas. These are as follows:

Each of us is made up of many parts or sub-personalities, consisting of wounded parts (known as Exiles) and protective parts (known as Managers and Firefighters).^[1]

• Managers maintain control of the inner and outer environments through vigilance, criticism, and control. They keep us from becoming too dependent on others, criticize our performance, and make us look after others’ needs instead of our own.^[4]
• Exiles are the parts of us that have been hurt. They hold fear or shame and carry the memories of painful experiences. They may lead to flashbacks of those memories and overwhelming emotions.^[1]
• Firefighters will jump into action suddenly and automatically, acting powerfully and with no regard for consequences. They may be responsible for impulsive behaviors such as substance use or binge eating, behaviors that distract and suppress the Exile’s emotions.^[1]

Exiles, Managers, and Firefighters can become trapped in a cycle of conflict. The protectors suppress and control the Exile, but the Exile lashes back more intensely. Again, protectors step in even harder, and the cycle repeats.

We also have a core Self (which is not a “part”) that is healthy and healing. Differentiating the Self from the other parts is key to therapy, helping individuals access inner leadership and harmony.^[4]

When individuals gain Self Leadership, they can facilitate communication between their parts and manage inner conflict.

Under Self Leadership, Exiles are cared for, not suppressed, and protectors become advisors and problem solvers. These parts are not banished; they’re highly valuable to the internal system when they’re less extreme.^[1]

The main goal of IFS therapy is to cultivate an individual’s Self Leadership through freeing parts from their extreme roles and restoring trust in the Self.^[1]

The Self in Internal Family Systems Therapy

The Self is integral to the IFS approach and seen as crucial to someone’s recovery.

What Are The 8 Cs of IFS Therapy?

The 8 Cs are the Self’s core qualities. They consist of:^[4]

1. Confidence
2. Calmness
3. Creativity
4. Clarity
5. Curiosity
6. Courage
7. Compassion
8. Connectedness

IFS therapists believe each of us is capable of allowing our Self to fully emerge. If many of these qualities are present, it shows a large amount of the Self has emerged. If some qualities are not present, it indicates which elements of the Self are still left to emerge.^[1]

The idea is that when we’re healed, healthy, and emotionally secure, we embody these 8 qualities in daily life.

What Are The Five Ps of IFS Therapy?

The 5 Ps are the Self’s qualities that help the healing process. When an individual is approaching their inner parts in therapy, the 5 Ps help them to be more compassionate and understanding towards themselves:^[1]

1. Presence
2. Patience
3. Perspective
4. Persistence
5. Playfulness

These qualities will be necessary to navigate the process of IFS therapy, which we’ll explore now.

What’s Involved in IFS Therapy?

IFS therapy techniques involve getting to know each of our parts and treating them with compassion to better manage our lives and stress. One thing you should know is that the names “Exile,” “Manager,” and “Firefighter” are actually optional. You might identify more with an inner “Worrier,” “Critic,” or “Striver.” In IFS therapy, you’re free to name each part yourself.^[5]

Your journey with IFS parts work will be totally unique. You may identify a hurt child within you who feels pain and shame. Your therapist will guide you to recognize that hurt child and unburden them. You may be guided from thinking “I am scared” to “I am with my fear,” which can be an empowering distinction.^[5]

IFS recovery strategies may include:^[5]

• Quietening your mind and listening to different parts (through bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions).
• Beginning a dialogue with each part. Perhaps asking, “What do you want me to know about you?”
• Gaining perspective and separating each part from your true Self. For instance, “One aspect of me is scared, but not all of me.”
• Reliving painful memories and being there with the part that remembers, not pushing them away.

Your therapist may follow a six-step process to help you identify your parts and release their burdens:^[1]

1. Find the parts that need attention.
2. Focus on the relevant part.
3. Flesh it out by describing it.
4. Feel your feelings towards this part.
5. BeFriend the part through acceptance and curiosity.
6. Identify its Fears and what it fears about change through therapy.

It’s important to note that these are just guidelines – every individual’s therapy will be unique to them.

IFS Therapy for Mental Health

Studies show that IFS therapy can support those with mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety, and trauma. Let’s explore each in turn.

How Does IFS Therapy Treat Depression?

Research shows IFS therapy is an effective treatment option for depression, with a similar effectiveness to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).^[6] As such, your ideal type of psychotherapy will most likely come down to personal preference and how strong a relationship you form with your therapist.

When treating someone with depression, an IFS therapist will help them connect with all their parts: the ones in pain and the ones suppressing these feelings. For example, Schwartz gives an example from working with a previous client. He invited her to ask her pessimistic part why it always told her she was hopeless. She discovered that her pessimism was a protective measure against taking risks and getting hurt.^[4]

This sort of insight can be extremely valuable: Each part has a positive intent, even if its actions aren’t helpful in the long term. Individuals with depression may be invited to explore their depressed part and any messages it gives about life and the individual themselves.

From there, therapists can facilitate greater self-understanding and treat the unheard part as a useful resource. Each part will have messages and intentions that keep the depression from being seen. Exploring them can explain and alleviate someone’s low mood, reducing symptoms and allowing the Self to emerge in their place.

How Does IFS Therapy Treat Anxiety?

Research also finds IFS therapy for anxiety to be an effective treatment option.^[7] The therapeutic process will be similar to the above, involving the acknowledgment of and exploration into the anxious part, as well as the parts feeding into the anxiety.

IFS therapists will look for polarizations within an individual, e.g., feeling anxious about relationships but deeply craving intimacy. The model usually begins with exploring the protective parts first, since these are the ones in control. Once these protectors have been befriended and understood, it can then be safer to approach the exiled parts.^[8]

How Does IFS Treat Trauma?

Internal family systems isn’t necessarily a type of trauma-focused therapy, but it can be. For example, it can be effective at treating people with post-traumatic stress disorder.^[7]

The IFS model suggests that some parts of us don’t know we’ve grown up into adults; they’re “frozen” in the time when traumatic events happened. When exploring your trauma, an IFS therapist may explain that this is why these parts continue to do what they did then to protect you. These protectors have beliefs and emotions about the trauma, and these drive their behavior.^[9]

Managers are an example of these protectors. In family therapy, Managers are sometimes known as “parentified children.” Parentification is when children are called upon to carry out tasks and bear responsibilities that should belong to their caregivers. For example, housework, childcare, and emotional support.^[9]

Parentification is a form of neglect. This may be the trauma itself, or children may have experienced something else but received no support. They may develop an inner Manager who takes on the responsibility, but they are not appropriate replacements for real loving parents. In adulthood, someone’s Manager will be preventing them from feeling the full spectrum of their traumatic past and acting as though it’s still occurring.^[9]

It may be critical in this sort of therapeutic work to reassure the parts that life is now safe and that they’ve served a helpful purpose.

Criticisms of Internal Family Systems Therapy

Though some studies find IFS therapy to be effective, the research is limited. It may be more suitable for certain mental health conditions, while not recommended for others.^[2]

For example, it may not be suitable for people with dissociation, psychosis, or schizophrenia. Since people with these conditions can struggle with reality testing (confidently determining what is and isn’t real), the idea of “parts” may be confusing.^[2]

In the case of dissociative identity disorder (DID), the experience of multiple identities (commonly termed “alters”) can be extremely distressing. The aim of therapy for people with DID is often to integrate these alters into one whole self.^[2]

Critics of IFS suggest that “encouraging splitting of the self into parts” may be disorganizing for some people. They recommend that clinicians using IFS in mental wellness programs should be trauma-informed so that they can handle these situations carefully.^[2]

Get Mental Health Support Today With Mission Connection

If you have been struggling with your mental health and are searching for a therapeutic approach that resonates with you, please get in touch with our team at Mission Connection today.

We offer personalized outpatient treatment tailored to your unique needs. Our expert clinical team provides medication management, when appropriate, in conjunction with a range of other evidence-based mental health treatment approaches.

In addition to standard outpatient care at our locations in California, Virginia, and Washington, we also offer more intensive levels of care, such as a partial hospitalization program (PHP) or an intensive outpatient program (IOP). We treat a variety of mental health conditions and are in-network with most major insurance providers.

To find out more about our in-person, virtual telehealth, or hybrid program that combines in-person and virtual care, call us at 866-833-1822. You can get started online.