Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
Working with clients' protective parts, wounded inner children, and critical voices requires understanding how these parts have organized themselves around trauma and survival. IFS therapy can be a powerful tool for addressing everything from harsh self-criticism to anxiety to trauma responses by helping clients access self-compassion. The approach invites curiosity about what various parts are trying to protect and which burdens clients continue to carry from their pasts. These articles explore IFS applications for addiction, depression, trauma, and more. Learn from Richard Schwartz, Frank Anderson, and others about healing wounded parts and becoming compassionate witnesses to ourselves.
IFS Made Simple for Clients
Moving From "What's Wrong with Me?" To "What Do I Need?"
IFS and Addictive Processes
Bridging the Gap Between Psychotherapy and Recovery
Alicia Muñoz and Carmen Jimenez-Pride, LCSW, explore what it means to develop a healthier, friendlier relationship with our parts. Read more
Internal Family Systems (IFS) has allowed therapists to awaken the capacity for deep self-healing within even their most troubled clients. In this video clip... Read more
Often, our attitudes toward anxiety symptoms are misguided, says Richard Schwartz, the originator of Internal Family Systems. By understanding responses... Read more
According to Richard Schwartz, the originator of Internal Family Systems therapy, the natural state of the mind is to be subdivided into parts, which carry the... Read more
IFS founder Dick Schwartz believes a genuine state of self-compassion entails a journey into multiple parts of yourself that may include the good, the bad, the... Read more
The case of a young man hearing voices shows how even problems that first appear to be extreme can be resolved by empowering clients to alter subtle aspects of... Read more
In this brief video clip, Richard explains how trauma survivors can have a dialogue with the damaged inner parts—the “Exiles”—by first consulting their... Read more
Inevitably, given their history of trauma, many borderline clients will trigger their therapists from time to time. But forgoing the urge to blame these... Read more
Meditation supports clients in being more present and accepting. But if it’s transformation they want, IFS can help them take the next step. Read more
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