Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a modality of Psychotherapy conceptualized by Richard Schwartz, PhD and it is gaining increased attention as an Evidenced Based Psychotherapy modality as well as an accessible "life practice" that individuals can learn to help understand their life and emotional, physical and psychological difficulties. It is based on the premise that we exist internally in wholeness as well as multiplicity. Some people refer to IFS as "parts work" which means that this way of working allows individuals to understand how they have come to organize themselves internally around various stressors and traumas in their lives and provides insights into key pathways to healing when that system is out of balance. It is founded in values that include empowerment of the individuals doing the work (know as Self Leadership), trust in an inherent wholeness within (available to all individuals) and also an appreciation of how our internal systems' set of check and balances are ultimately, (if seen through the eyes of Self Compassion) protective in need of "unburdening" and understanding rather than judgment, criticism or elimination. It is also a trauma informed approach meaning that it approaches individuals based on what has happened to them, rather than what is wrong with them.
