dinosaurs, thank you for your suggestions on making contact. I am adding them to my "list."

fragmented, I found your comments helpful also, especially about the "state of mind."

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
when I try to access my parts I realize that sometimes I am trying to hard

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">I think there is some of that for me, and it has made me not even want to try. He was just "here" before. I didn't have to try to contact him. What if I try, and I can't? That scares me. Like what if I drove him away for good? I couldn't handle that. I am going to ask my therapist for advice on the contact question.

I like the term "inner family" too. It's so inclusive and I think does imply a common goal. I have also seen "internal family system" and respond positively to this also.