maybe some background will help moxie...
I have been doing IFS with my therapist for many many years now. the way my therapist and I began with it was to work on .........non dissociative parts .......... first.

in IFS dissociative parts are called exiles. aka parts that have been pushed away, dissociated trauma filled parts.

we first worked on learning the vocabulary important to IFS and learning what parts are and how they are formed...

.........in IFS....... parts are - our feelings, emotions, memories, thoughts, images, body sensations.

My therapist and I begin with doing a favorite meditation /body scan.

then check to see if I am just in what we call self mode... feeling only the 8 C's (compassion for myself, calm, courageous, connected to my body, caring about myself, my mind is clear not worried or distracted, creative)

After making sure I am in self mode, not reacting from a part (anger, worried, upset) my therapist asks me to "ask inside" if any parts want to talk.

then I pay attention and notice any parts aka... emotions, thoughts, images, feelings, body sensations.

Right now I feel the part (emotion) of being stressed.

while my eyes are still closed I ask that part of me (my emotion of being stressed) what they look like then I sit quietly and let the thoughts, feelings emotions, images come to me,

I dont switch into actually being that part of me. it would do no good for me to leave self mode and start reacting as "stressed out". In IFS you never switch into actually being that part. you either speak for that part. or you speak as that part, by as that part its a put yourself in the shoes of another, not an actual switch into. like when you are talking with a friend and you say if that was me I would.... in IFS you never switch into actually becoming a part reacting as a part... its a therapy where one stays grounded in self while at the same time letting the parts come to you. you say what the parts are telling you from either your point of view or using the parts wording but never switch into being that part.

I remain grounded in self mode and let "stress" talk to me by way of any thoughts, images and so forth that come up.

when listening for what the feeling of stress is telling me the image of holding a heavy ball comes to mind, now I know what the feeling of stress looks like.

I thank the stressful part of me for sharing that image. then ask the stressful part of me where in my body they are. in other words I notice where in my body I am feeling the heavy ball feeling. in my shoulders.

ok now I know what stress looks like in my body and where its located, now to find out what stress whats me to know. I ask inside "thank you for sharing with me, can you tell me what you need or want me to know"

the image of a favorite beach comes to mind.

ok I understand stress you need a vacation. some down time. right now its not possible for a nice long vacation at the beach, how about a BBQ with shish ka bobs for dinner and a few hours in the back yard pool with the family?

I feel my shoulders relax. good.

Thank you stress for talking to me today. please come talk with me again some time.

then I take a few deep breaths and open my eyes.

thats what IFS looks like with non exiles aka dissociative parts.

In IFS my treatment provider and I did not jump into working with exiles right away, we first learned the process, learned the vocabulary, learned what all the non dissociative parts are, ..........Before ..........doing any exile work.

then before we did any exile work we checked in with all the non exile parts to get permission to move forwards into working with the exiles (dissociative parts) if any part of me was not comfortable working with the exiles we did not work exiles that session.

eventually trust in the process, and knowledge of the process, and getting to know all the non dissociative parts of me, paved the way to working with the dissociative parts in other words the exiles.

doing IFS is not something you just one day do by jumping directly to the exiles aka dissociative parts. like with anything else you have to work the foundation first.

hope your journey through the IFS process brings you many happy surprising adventures into learning about all the different parts that make up who you are.

Edit to add....
theres more questions involved when working IFS. the questions involved with working exiles (dissociated parts) are the same as non dissociated parts and then others specifically related to working with exiles. but the above will give you a general idea of how to begin and how my treatment provider and I worked IFS together.