Internal Family Systems Therapy - any experiences?

My current therapist (who I really like) uses IFS based therapy which I had never heard of nor have experience with. So far we haven't been putting the IFS stuff in practice, I've been seeing her for less than 6 months and we've had the getting to know you sessions, the cancelled due to emergency sessions, and dealing with personal immediate crisis sessions. Now we are finally getting into the Why Bunni is in Therapy stuff which is where IFS comes into play.

I bought one of the books about this, but I was wondering about people's actual experiences.

My current diagnosis is...well kind of up in the air. It's either bipolar disorder, or childhood ptsd or a combo of bipolar disorder and childhood trauma (mostly related to medical issues). The one thing not up in the air is anxiety. Lots of that.

I'm also seeing a nurse practitioner for meds management, she doesn't just prescribe psych meds, but we're going to work on my nutrition and a few other chronic conditions I have as well as meds management. (the NP tries to take a holistic approach, which is also new to me).

Mainly I was wondering what people thought of IFS.

I spent many years trying to process trauma with a CBT T. IFS has been life changing for me. For me, the "parts" have always been there but my therapists acknowledgement of them has been quite therapeutic. She brought it up to me because never in a million years would I have told someone else that I have distinct parts. In fact, I have never discussed it with Pdoc.

I don't see a downside to IFS. Someone who does not compartmentalize may see it as silly. Otherwise, it can be validating and useful.

I love IFS! My current T is certified in it and we used to do it every week for over a year. She has since then taken somatic experiencing training but we still do IFS sometimes.

At first, talking about parts felt strange and awkward. However, it was so freeing to toss one part aside and talk to another part. For the first time, I realized what my child parts needed.

I don't know if all IFS Ts are the same, but my T is gentle and accepting of all my parts. I think IFS training teaches them to be that way. I found this kind of therapy worked well for me and I hope it does for you too. If you have more questions you can send me a PM.

My T uses a combination of IFS, EMDR and talk therapy. Apparently I rarely come in as "self" and is always so blended with a part that he can't do IFS with me because I get stuck in the past and start to dissociate if he even tries to talk to a part something like that.....idk what I am talking about.

Anyway I always new my parts were distinct, extreme and a personality separate from me but I could never describe that for fear people would accuse me of trying to say I have MPD. So I just called them mood swings and named each extreme mood that would come on. They all liked different things and even would prefer types of clothing store and activities. No I never ever would lose time or not know who I was.

I'm not to familiar with it, but it would probably be beneficial from what I understand about it and myself...
hope it goes well for you.

The concept really helped me to better understand my own head. I'm reading a book on IFS right now that I bought off of selfleadership.org.

Can I ask what book? Thank you.

Thanks for the information. I'd never heard of IFS but it seems like something that is going to be helpful.

And it's always good to get second or third or fourth opinions.

I started seeing an IFS therapist about 6 months ago. At first I thought the stuff was cuckoo. But after a few sessions, I understood it. The whole concept makes perfect sense. I now think it's great, and, it truly works. Now, if only I didn't have so many stinkin' parts to unburden!

I started seeing a therapist in mid-November who uses IFS. I had never heard of it. I've read a little about it but find it difficult to hold the concepts in my mind.

I see how it works in therapy, though, and it's a terrific fit for me. I was already comfortable with the idea of my personality being made up of many parts and I especially like the idea that we're not trying to get rid of any part but rather to ask what it's trying to do and if it may be out of balance.

I'm still feeling like it's a bit mysterious, but it's helping me and it feels like a really affirming therapeutic method.

This one:

Internal Family Systems Therapy (The Guilford Family Therapy Series)
By Richard Schwartz

Here it is on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FW4ELM2/...8080_TE_M1T1DP