The Self IFS views people as whole underneath their collections of parts. According to IFS, everyone has a true self or spiritual center, called the Self, and everyone has access to it as well as its healing qualities: curiosity, connectedness, compassion, and calmness.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% IFS therapists first help clients to disengage from their parts and connect with their true Self. From there, they can understand each part and heal it. The aim is to let go of the destructive roles and enter into a harmonious collaboration, led by the Self. IFS emphasizes the spiritual nature of the Self, allowing growth for spiritual development and self-awareness as well as psychological healing.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% The internal system The first step is to help the client access the Self. Next, the Self gets to know the Protector(s), its positive intent, and develops a trusting relationship with it. Then, with the Protector's permission, the client accesses the Exile(s) to uncover the childhood incident or relationship which is the source of the burden(s) it carries. The Exile is retrieved from the past situation and guided to release its burdens. Finally, the Protector can then let go of its protective role and assume a healthy one . Applications%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% IFS proponents claim to have a "complete" form of individual therapy that is used for the full range of human development, from the healing of trauma to personal and spiritual growth. It has also been applied in the following areas: Trauma IFS has been supported by multiple studies to be an effective treatment of trauma. Richard Schwartz developed IFS while working with people who had experienced considerable trauma. By understanding the traumatized Exile, the client learns how to reside in Self and witness the traumatic memory without being flooded by it. In this way the trauma is revisited, processed and healed without the risk of retraumatization.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Couples therapy IFS proponents claim to have successfully applied the method to couples therapy, investigating the interactions between the parts of the two people and how a part in one person can activate extreme parts in the other. The method incorporates short pieces of individual therapy in a couples session along with work on communicating from Self. Self-help and peer counseling Because the Self is the agent of transformation in IFS, the IFS method naturally lends itself to self-help. The method has been taught in self-therapy classes as well as peer counseling for the general public.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Inner critic Jay Earley and Bonnie Weiss have applied IFS to working with the inner critic, showing how this difficult part is really an IFS protector that one can connect with and transform .
The %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% internal system The first step is to help the client access the Self. Next, the Self gets to know the Protector(s), its positive intent, and develops a trusting relationship with it. Then, with the Protector's permission, the client accesses the Exile(s) to uncover the childhood incident or relationship which is the source of the burden(s) it carries. The Exile is retrieved from the past situation and guided to release its burdens. Finally, the Protector can then let go of its protective role and assume a healthy one %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% .
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Self
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IFS views people as whole underneath their collections of parts. According to IFS, everyone has a true self or spiritual center, called the Self, and everyone has access to it as well as its healing qualities: curiosity, connectedness, compassion, and calmness.
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IFS therapists first help clients to disengage from their parts and connect with their true Self. From there, they can understand each part and heal it. The aim is to let go of the destructive roles and enter into a harmonious collaboration, led by the Self.
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IFS emphasizes the spiritual nature of the Self, allowing growth for spiritual development and self-awareness as well as psychological healing.
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The
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Applications
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IFS proponents claim to have a "complete" form of individual therapy that is used for the full range of human development, from the healing of trauma to personal and spiritual growth. It has also been applied in the following areas:
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Trauma IFS has been supported by multiple studies to be an effective treatment of trauma. Richard Schwartz developed IFS while working with people who had experienced considerable trauma. By understanding the traumatized Exile, the client learns how to reside in Self and witness the traumatic memory without being flooded by it. In this way the trauma is revisited, processed and healed without the risk of retraumatization.
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Couples therapy IFS proponents claim to have successfully applied the method to couples therapy, investigating the interactions between the parts of the two people and how a part in one person can activate extreme parts in the other. The method incorporates short pieces of individual therapy in a couples session along with work on communicating from Self.
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Self-help and peer counseling Because the Self is the agent of transformation in IFS, the IFS method naturally lends itself to self-help. The method has been taught in self-therapy classes as well as peer counseling for the general public.
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Inner critic
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Jay Earley and Bonnie Weiss have applied IFS to working with the inner critic, showing how this difficult part is really an IFS protector that one can connect with and transform