Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy

You are not one self. You are many — and they don't always agree. The work is not to eliminate the parts you don't like, but to know them, listen to them, and gradually relieve them of the jobs they've been doing for far too long.

Internal Family Systems (IFS), developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz over the last several decades, is one of the most widely-adopted and evidence-supported parts-based therapies in contemporary practice. It is now formally listed by SAMHSA (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) as an evidence-based practice for general functioning and a range of clinical concerns.

At Baraka, IFS is one of our most frequently-used clinical lenses, particularly for trauma, self- esteem, adult ADHD, addictive patterns, and the deeper work of integrating disowned parts of the self. Available in English and Farsi, in person at our Ambleside office and online across British Columbia.

The core idea

The central insight of IFS: the mind is naturally multiple. Within each of us are many distinct sub- personalities or "parts" — each with its own emotions, beliefs, history, and way of trying to help us survive. When we say "part of me wants to leave this job and part of me wants to stay," we are pointing to a literal psychological reality, not a metaphor.

IFS organizes these parts into a few categories:

• Exiles — the parts of us that hold the painful, vulnerable, unbearable feelings (often from childhood) that we have learned to keep out of consciousness. The wounded child. The unloved one. The terrified one.
• Managers — the parts that work hard every day to keep the exiles out of awareness and keep our lives functioning. The inner critic, the perfectionist, the over-achiever, the people- pleaser, the controller.
• Firefighters — the parts that come online when an exile gets activated despite the managers' best efforts, and that try to put out the fire by any means necessary. The drinker, the binge-eater, the rage, the dissociator, the workaholic, the compulsive scroller.
• Self — the calm, curious, compassionate centre of every person. Self is not a part — it is who you are when no part has hijacked the system. Self is who all the parts are looking for.

The work of IFS is not to get rid of any part. It is to help every part be known, heard, and updated — until they no longer need to do their old, exhausting jobs.

Why IFS is so effective

A few of the reasons IFS produces such consistent results:

• It is non-pathologizing. No part of you is wrong. Every part formed for a reason, and every part is doing what it learned to do to keep you safe.
• It works with — not against — the inner critic, the addiction, the rage. Most therapy

approaches try to argue with these parts. IFS gets curious about them. The shift is dramatic.

• It accesses material that talk therapy often can't. Parts know things the conscious mind has forgotten or refused to know.
• It produces lasting change because it works at the level of internal structure rather than surface behaviour.

When IFS is the right fit

• Trauma — IFS is one of the most respected trauma-processing modalities currently available
• Self-esteem and the inner critic — for understanding what the critic is protecting and how to soften the relationship with it
• Addictive and compulsive patterns — by working with the firefighter parts compassionately rather than fighting them
• Adult ADHD — for the shame, identity, and self-regulation work that often accompanies the practical strategies
• Complex internal conflict — when "part of me wants this and part of me wants that" has become a stuck place
• Eating concerns, body image, and self-relationship generally

What sessions look like

IFS sessions involve guided inner attention. Your therapist will help you notice which part is present, get to know it, and slowly establish trust with it. Some sessions involve significant inner experience; others are quieter, more conversational. The pacing follows the parts' readiness.

Sessions are 50 minutes (75-minute extended available). IFS works well online — many of our clients find that the inner work happens more easily from their own familiar space.

Begin

Book a free 15-minute consultation — phone or video — to ask questions.

• Book your free consult → Or call (236) 455-6306 Email contact@barakaocc.com

1571 Bellevue Avenue, Suite 210, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1A6 — or online anywhere in BC.