Could anyone who does/hs done IFS tell me a bit more. My T was talking to parts as opposed to voices the other session and I'm wondering if this is part of IFS or something my T is trying out.

[TrailRunner14]

That does sound like IFS. My counselor is using parts of IFS with me. I have found it very comforting and I finally feel like I can understand why my thoughts are what they are and why I react the way I do to certain triggers. It is very freeing and opens my mind to understand, if that makes sense.

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I guess I am confused about what he considers a part and not a voice as t me the voices belong to parts. He has tried to explain but I am still confused and let him continue. He was kind of introc=ducing himself to the parts which i thought was odd.

[TrailRunner14]

My counselor does the same. He is showing that he acknowledges them and appreciates them for the purpose they served. I have also has voices/thoughts and now that we are working with it like this, it has given those "words" I hear a "home" like an identity, personality - an internal family member.

Hope that doesn't sound "out there" but it works so well for me. I can journal from their perspective and feel their thoughts/feelings. I open my mind up to that part of me and just write. There has been pieces that click together in those times.

I don't think I can explain it any other way. It's hard to come up with words to describe it.

Working with my counselor this way has finally given me a sense of freedom and courage to be braver than I have ever felt.



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[TrailRunner14]

I know that I have posted this book all over the threads that I've been on, but I cannot say enough about "The Body Keeps the Score". There is a section about IFS that talks about it and explains it so simply. Just wanted to share that with you.

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Thanks I know the book. My T attended a seminar with Van der Kolk(?sp) earlier this year.

[TrailRunner14]

Oh!! Ok. That is the best informative book, written in normal language, that I have come across. I'm thankful that my counselor suggested it to me.

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Sorry I am still trying to decide if what my T is doing is rubbish. I'll chase down a copy of the book if I have achance.

[TrailRunner14]

It hasn't been rubbish for me, but we may not be working through the same things. I hope you come to a peaceful conclusion.

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I really am trying to give this a go as I have just shut down on all the other things he has tried, emdr, exposure, etc. after a few sessions.

[kecanoe]

The way I understand Internal Family Systems is that each of us has "parts" that have different responses to our environment. As in you might say I know I should...but my heart says... IFS acknowledges that there are internal conflicts in many situations.

What IFS allows for is for different parts to identify their specific feelings and reactions so that all can be acknowledged and not just stuffed. For me, that means that I acknowledge that part of me is dependent. And I listen to her: why is she dependent? What does she need? How can I nurture her? This is very different from what I have learned in CBT/DBT. With either of those, I would identify the feelings of dependency as being illogical or not in line with what I want to accomplish. And then I would ignore them. IFS allows me to listen to them.

Each part has her own feelings and her own purpose. I have one part that is in charge of maintaining boundaries. One that is in charge of keeping people at a distance. Another that is in charge of evaluation my environment and identifying any threats. One is in charge of keeping relationships strong. Etc.

Someone posted an article by Richard Schwartz (the inventor of IFS) on the Interesting Articles thread that does a nice job of explaining how Schwartz uses the technique. You might want to check it out

[TrailRunner14]

Yes!! I did not have the words to explain as you did Kecanoe!

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[TrailRunner14]

Originally Posted by BunYip

I really am trying to give this a go as I have just shut down on all the other things he has tried, emdr, exposure, etc. after a few sessions.

It's been so great for me! My heart hopes that you give it a try!

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My T seemed surprised that I thought acknowledging these parts wasn't necessary as that was their job. They do their job, sometimes over-do their job but they don't seem to respond to things.

[rainbow8]

I bounced up the thread about IFS that itjustis posted. It's called "an interesting article." Hope that helps.

[itjustis]

Hey BunYip rainbow8 pointed me in your direction! I found this article about IFS and posted it the other day. You may find it helpful

http://healingtraumacenter.com/depat...hard-schwartz/

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[itjustis]

Originally Posted by rainbow8

I bounced up the thread about IFS that itjustis posted. It's called "an interesting article." Hope that helps.

Thanks rainbow, I just posted the link here for BunYip

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Thanks everybody. Appreciate the help i am a little discombobulated today.

[kecanoe]

Originally Posted by BunYip

My T seemed surprised that I thought acknowledging these parts wasn't necessary as that was their job. They do their job, sometimes over-do their job but they don't seem to respond to things.

Over-do their job. Exactly. IFS is designed to understand each job and each part so they can stop over doing their jobs. In fact it might be some part(s) that are very suspicious of this technique. If it were me, I think I would try letting the part that is opposed to this technique to speak out in a journal. I just let her speak whatever she chooses, and when I feel something that is contrary to what she is expressing, I let whichever other part is speaking to speak up. My parts have names, and you can name yours if you want.

For example, here's what various parts of me might have said about IFS at the beginning.

Natalie: This is stupid. Like there are really a bunch of people running around inside of me
Maddi: I need to do this to please t
Amazon: better stay away from this. You never know what you might find
Bonnie: Systems theory is interesting. I think we should give it a try

[ThisWayOut]

Thank you for this thread. And thank you for that link.