What is Internal Family Systems? (17 Mins)

Richard Schwartz, Ph.D, founding developer of IFS, speaks about Parts & Voices, the Self, Healing and how Internal Family Systems got its name.

The mission of IFS Institute is to bring more Self leadership to the world. We provide IFS training for professionals, a practitioner directory for those looking for IFS trained providers, and international learning opportunities for those exploring personal growth through IFS. We want to make our programs as inclusive and accessible as they are informative and inspiring.

[nadineo]

I'm doing internal family systems because I have complex PTSD and it's amazing. I thought most my trauma happened as a teen because that's what I remembered. I started doing parts works and it turns out I have all these inner child that hold tremendous trauma to protect me. And then I have a dissociative part that depersonalizes when my little ones have taken on more than they can handle. I found that I have trauma all the way back to 2 years old. When I first started parts work, it was unbelievable to me. These parts had their own separate feelings from me. I could talk to then and they could answer me. If I didn't go through it, I wouldn't understand or probably even believe it.

[myownnamemontoya]

MY THERAPIST SUGGESTED I LISTEN TO IFS INFO. I'VE SUFFERED MY WHOLE LIFE FROM ABUSE, BRUTALITY AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. THIS IS TRULY A REAL ANSWER FOR ME... TO BAD I'M SO OLD.. THIS COULD HAVE SAVED ME A LOT OF SUFFERING AND CONFUSION IN MY LONG LIFE... I AM GOOD, I KNOW THAT. JUST DIDN'T HAVE HELP

[ktay]

I have been doing IFS now for about four months with a therapist trained in it and it’s been amazing. I have been in and out of therapy for over a decade and never really made progress. I have made more progress in healing in three months with this form of therapy than I ever had in the last decade.

I go twice per month. It’s been absolutely incredible.

[chentaichiireland]

Am very grateful for the huge efforts made to develop this understanding, articulate it and share it. An incredible legacy to leave humanity. Utmost respect and appreciation.

[AnotherVoice-jpkj]

IFS sounds very close to Roberto Assagioli's Psychosynthesis, founded around 1910. I'm sorry to hear that this is still regarded as "Woo woo" when it makes perfect sense. In Psychosynthesis, there is the analogy of an orchestra made up of subpersonalities, with the conductor at the centre being the 'I' (equivalent to 'Self' in IFS). The goal of therapy is to develop harmony by healing the individual parts in the orchestra - and this is done through dialogue in a very caring, compassionate way. Each subpersonality is recognised as having at its core a valuable role to play, but trauma has skewed its development and potential. It's very good to see the same approach being put into action by IFS. Thank you.

[VelvetCrone]

"...negotiating permission to go to what they protect" . That is so key. Thank you.

[garyd]

This work has absolutely transformed me. Indebted forever to Dick Schwartz and this work.

[dirkheeres]

IFS is definitely one of the most important innovations in clinical psychology of the 21st century

[gatorwoman-the-real-one]

This is fascinating and I want to try it sometime soon. I know a lot of people who have studied IFS and swear by how effective it is. What's interesting is that I experienced my Essential Self and that sense of peace that Dr. Schwartz described as "nirvana" --- an embodied sense of being totally okay with myself --- when I had MDMA-Assisted Therapy. I think MDMA, which quiets the amygdala (fight/flight/freeze) part of the brain, must facilitate or expedite accessing the IFS parts. Totally fascinating!!

[dianelaney]

I remember a dear friend explaining to me what it’s like to have multiple personalities and me thinking that that it’s not too far from how my mind works on a daily basis, just not separate people inside me, hiding and protecting me. I don’t know why I could recognize this. I do have a rather troubled and abused past. Not sure if that’s why or what. But I do find this fascinating.

[randee]

Instead of self with a capital "S" I thought of self with a "Spiritual S". This is all really speaking to me! Thank you!

[QuinnPrice]

I'm grateful for Dr. Schwartz's work. It works. If you stay with it, you'll release energy you didn't know you had.

[marajones]

What's really interesting about this is it reminds me of one of the little breakthroughs I had in my healing from childhood abuse. As an adult, I struggle with a lot of self hate and self harm because of this feeling of worthlessness instilled in me by my abusive mother. Well, I've been looking into inner child healing and doing meditations where I visualize myself meeting with my inner child and going through the events and letting the child now it's okay now. And even in my day to day life, I have started to address my inner child more and I use it to help me not hurt myself. If I wouldn't hurt a physical child, why would I hurt the child inside me who survived all this trauma. This has helped me be more kind to myself and do little things like make sure I eat or make sure I take care of myself. Really interested to look more into this, especially since right now I'm going through Exposure Therapy treatment and I just had to revisit one of my most traumatic child hood memories and I didn't even know that memory still existed inside me.

[FrilledMayfly_AmberlyFerrule]

This is exactly what I needed. I recently discovered a part of me that had always been there but never made itself known until directly addressed. It's this kinda emotionless childlike thing likely born of childhood trauma. It considers itself as having absolutely no worth aside from being abused, which... yeah, isn't great. Trying to get this part to value itself, or even feel emotions is hard but once it heals, it's going to be great. Now that I've found IFS i think that this healing, and the healing of my other parts can truly begin. Gonna take a while, but I've been in pain for so long and I feel like I'm finally seeing more clearly all of these parts and who they really are. Even a demon I have is less of a demon from hell and more this corrupted part that thinks peace can only be achieved through death, but now with finding this hidden part of me I can understand more where a lot of the pain comes from. One wants peace through dying, and one sees peace as having no emotions and renouncing any self worth. It's... a lot, but hey, I can finally start healing by talking to them

[CLK]

The short, simple book Your Many Faces- The First Step to Being Loved (1978) by Virginia Satir is another way for others to get a feel for this concept. I like the 1978 (first edition) because of the simple drawings. The updated edition has accurate facts but no drawings. This was a great interview!

[Wonderfeel__]

Yaaayy, making peace with our inner self! <3

[DjangobeatTV]

I had my doubts until I started working with clients using Brainspotting. These parts would naturally emerge. I am already operating with some using the IFS principles combined with BSP and now I really want to train in IFS. Incredibly useful and empowering for the client and very beautiful!!

[cheryls]

My parts are very diverse. From about 6 to at least 17, likely closer to 25. So they don't agree much.

At least that's the age where my traumas occurred. Working on it.

"what age are you when you have felt xx..." has helped me so much. It helps me even think about it in all interactions. Some of them are a small child in a closet cowering and crying. I tell my therapist it's like I'm sitting as a child with the animated child big eyes looking up at the big person cartoon image. Other parts are watching, others are trying so very hard to be accepted that they made me a workaholic so I could feel the rest of them.

[nsterling]

This is a powerful and trans-formative model that has helped me in my recovery from addiction and recovering from Brain Injury

[christianross]

A really weird and cool thing that happened when I started trauma therapy - not even knowing anything about IFS nor doing IFS - is that I described an experience I had post-session as being my “Self” - I used the term Self when talking with friends and then my therapist without ever having known that this was an actual psychological term/like, Thing!!! I think it happened because of how my therapist does a form of hypnotherapy with internal family systems used in it, aka asking my managers to find and tell the story of a trauma it felt was most important at the time, which was a very interesting and cool feeling because I was aware of what was my own observing self, like the very core part of me that was just seeing and hearing, and I could sense that sub-part of my psyche “move”/react and actually do it. Its been so fascinating to me, and makes me see that this really is true!!