
IFS

IFS suggests that all of us are already healthy and whole. Coping with the unavoidable pain of life can take us away from our essence. When we connect with our true nature, our highest Self, we are able to heal and reconnect all our "parts".
​
IFS (Internal Family Systems) model of psychotherapy developed by Dr Dick Schwartz in the 1980s has become increasingly utilized, and is particularly useful in working with trauma. Some principles of this model are the following: our minds are naturally multiple and we are made up of “parts”, but there is also a “S” self, akin to the “observing self” in ACT, that is always whole and has an active role in healing. The three categories of Parts are, in IFS terminology, Managers, Firefighters and Exiles and, importantly, there are no bad parts, but they can become overburdened. The goals of IFS therapy are to release Parts from extreme roles they have taken on, such as a particularly zealous self-critic, to restore trust and to re-harmonize the system so it can be once again, “Self led”.