What is Parts Work or Internal Family Systems (IFS) Informed Therapy*?

Have you ever said to yourself, “a part of me wants to do this, but another part of me really doesn’t"“? or “I know what to do, so why don’t I just do it?” or even, “I didn’t want to respond like that, but I couldn’t help myself”. Internal Family Systems (IFS) was developed to address these questions as a way of changing the way we so often are hijacked by emotions and impulses instead of engaging in life the way we want to.

Internal Family Systems informed therapy or “Parts Work” is a type of approach to psychotherapy that simplifies the complexity of our internal, emotional experiences in a collaborative and non-pathologizing way that allows deeper personal understanding of patterns, our emotions, and the barriers to growth.

As Melissa Mose, LMFT, puts it, “what IFS provides is a safe and evidence-based method for taking care of our own feelings, thoughts, impulses, and the voices in our heads that keep us dissatisfied.

What does Parts Work or IFS-informed therapy involve?

IFS-informed model is experiential or a mindfulness-based therapy as opposed to what is often referred as “talk therapies”. This means that in addition to talking about what is troubling you, IFS-informed therapy offers a way to directly work with the experiences that you are having in the present moment (thoughts, emotions, body sensations, images, memories, etc.) as you bring to mind the issue. You set the pace and make the decisions as to what to work on, and the therapist is trained to work even with the most intense or distressing emotional issues in ways that are safe and not overwhelming. There is no “right” way, and there is no pressure to talk about content you are not ready, or willing, to.

This type of therapy is based on the concept of “multiplicity of the mind”, meaning that we are not just one, coherent personality all the time. If that were so, we wouldn’t ever do anything we regret and we would always be on the same page in our own minds! At first, it may seem strange or weird to relate to these different states of mind as “sub-personalities”, but it can also bring a lot of clarity and relief to categorize these complex feelings and get to know these inner “parts”.

“Once you get to know the various parts of you and why they act the way they do, and you develop a deep understanding of them, they begin to change. Even destructive aspects of ourselves, when listened to with curiosity instead of frustration or judgement, can transform and evolve into valuable aspects of the self.” - Melissa Mose, LMFT

How long does Parts Work/IFS Informed therapy last?

IFS-informed or Parts Work therapy has no set length and varies from person to person. What is nice about this approach is that it is very flexible when it comes to frequency of sessions, length of sessions, and overall treatment length.

You and your therapist will discuss treatment goals and collaborate when a reduction of sessions, or full termination, is right for you.

More Resources for Parts Work & IFS:

IFS Institute - https://ifs-institute.com/

*Disclaimer: The IFS Institute requires that a clinician must have completed, at minimum, IFS Level 1 training of roughly 100 training hours through their institute before clinicians are able to claim they are an “IFS-trained provider”. Because of the demand, the IFS Institute has a lottery system for who can even apply for these trainings for the past 2+ years. I have not been lucky enough to win this lottery despite entering as often as offered. However, comprehensive IFS training is offered through various other sources from creator Richard Schwartz himself, such as the 6 month IFS Online Circle & Foundations of the IFS Model, as well as various accredited trainings from Richard Schwartz and other leaders in the field. I have taken these trainings(see a list here!) and consider myself IFS-informed by the IFS Institute standards. Until I am lucky enough to be drawn in the lottery, I invest in continuing education of the IFS model to keep my skills sharp and on top of changes and advancement in the field .