WHY IFS?
IFS Therapy is a cutting edge approach to inner awareness, wisdom, truth, and healing. IFS Therapy is now posted on NREPP as an evidence-based practice (https://www.foundationifs.org/news-articles/79-ifs-an-evidence-based-practice)
IFS is based on two key concepts: that everyone has parts, and that everyone has a Self. The first key is that we all have different parts inside of us and that these parts do not always agree with each other.
IFS subscribes to a non-pathologizing mentality; instead of being tagged with a diagnosis or disorder, symptoms are merely viewed as a constellation of parts that have been activated and take on some extreme roles for reasons that can be explored and understood in a way that is transformational. Have you ever had a difficult time making up your mind about something, because you had two different opinions over the matter? That is an example of having different parts that don’t agree with each other. The concepts of “parts” helps people gain clarity about what’s going on inside of them.
As Dr. Schwartz posits, the human mind was created to be sub-divided. Does this mean that each of us has multiple personalities? The good news is NO!! Take for example an individual who struggles with bouts of anger. Instead of being condemned for it, it is more productive to think about it as a part (almost like a person inside of you) who feels that anger. We are used to dealing with other people's emotions every day; we instinctively know how to relate to other people. Why not think of these feelings and urges inside of us as if they were like other people inside of us who are expressing those emotions? If we can use our natural abilities to deal with people in the external world, than can we not do the same with our parts in our internal world? The most exciting part of the work, is to be able to discover and separate out some parts of yourself and get to know them as you would with a friend. You can befriend yourself in a way that will change your life forever.
The second key tenet is that everyone has a Self--a true self. The Self is the healing powerhouse of the system. It is a positive way of feeling or being that is separate from the various parts. The Self has unconditional positive regard and compassion towards ALL parts, no matter how extreme or negative they may seem. It is a normal phenomena for parts to feel scared of each other, or angry at each other, or shamed by each other. The Self never does this; it regards each part with equal acceptance and curiosity. What happens through IFS? An immense amount of healing. Your capacity to heal and overcome adversity (no matter what the circumstances are) is incredible. If we can learn to heal the wounds that interfere with our success and happiness on the inside of us, then we can simultaneously heal how we relate to others on the outside.