My T and I have done ego state therapy, which involves working with different ego states or parts that one has. Some of them are younger versions of me and they each carry some unresolved pain from events that happened to them that they couldn't handle back then. I have a couple of little girl ego states of different ages that we've worked with, as well as a teen/young adult ego state. The younger states sometimes have memories that I do not. I also have an ego state that is a young adult male and his personality is not anything like mine. He says his role is to protect me and my younger states. T and I worked with him quite a bit a couple of years ago. He knows things I don't know and he also interacts with the younger ego states, especially the teen, and I am not aware of this. I realized I am not "included" in everything that goes on with me.
My T works with these states by doing what is basically family therapy. But instead of working with the dysfunctional members of a family to try to get them to work together and live in harmony, he works with the family of my selfs or states, and uses family therapy techniques. We don't do much ego state therapy anymore, as we all seem to be getting along pretty well right now, but it was very helpful to me in the past. My T doesn't help meet the younger states' needs--he has focused on helping me learn to meet their needs. I am the one who knows them best so I can help them best.
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Originally Posted by griffinp
How do you give different parts space and a voice? What does that look like? Like, do you walk in the room and say "I want my child part to talk today?" Or does that part just emerge as you are talking?
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Mine come out when they want to. Sometimes they appear in dreams. I found a way to trigger the male so I could get him to come out when I wanted, but I hated doing this, as it upset him. A younger me ego state might come out if we are working on material from the era of that state. Or a present day feeling might remind me of something back then, and then voila, there is a different state. It helps that T gives them space to exist. He says he watches me during session for any rough spots or bumps, which may signify the flitting in of a different state. And he might follow up on that clue. I have also activated states by writing. Sometimes they write stuff on paper and it is not coming from me. I feel strange when I read it--who wrote that?!
GriffinP, have you asked your T how she likes to work with one's different parts? In her experience, what helps them put in an appearance?