Internal Family Systems Therapy

To note, Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy can be a good fit for you. It can help your child, your marriage, and your family in counseling. Maybe, non traditional therapy is something you are considering. Or, you just know you want something a little unique. Here, we explain exactly what IFS entails and go over some of the benefits of this form of therapy.

To begin, book your free consultation with a trained IFS therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling.

What is Internal Family Systems Therapy or IFS?

To start, Internal Family Systems Therapy is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that believes each person is made up of multiple important parts. And, these are sub-personalities, known as the internal family. Also, one of which is the Core Self, which integrates all of the parts. The Core Self in Internal Family Systems Therapy has the capacity to heal you as a whole.

In IFS, the goal is for each of these parts to come together in a healthy, nonjudgmental, and accepting way.

Oftentimes, these sub-personalities consist of wounded parts that can be in conflict with one another. These inner parts of you want to protect themselves from past trauma and painful experiences. Ever hear “inner conflict?” Some parts develop after painful experiences in life. However, these protective parts can create blocks to connection. You may end up living in full protection mode or fear mode. And, other parts within you also create barriers can prevent healing. So, Internal Family Systems Therapy helps with parts integration and harmony between all of the parts. This way, you can live a calm, confident, and compassionate life.

To start your healing journey, call or click for your free consultation for Internal Family Systems Therapy.

Benefits of Internal Family Systems Therapy or IFS

There are numerous benefits to using Internal Family Systems Therapy in counseling. After successful IFS treatment, you may feel empowered to lead your own lives. Also, you can gain a better understanding of yourself. Then, you get with new tools and skills. Unbending parts helps you be successful in life and be open to new opportunities. Now, some of these IFS tools are the Eight C’s and the Five P’s.

The Eight C’s in Internal Family Systems Therapy

In reaching the goals of IFS, your therapist will help to instill or bring out eight important qualities in you. The Eight C’s: confidence, calmness, creativity, clarity, curiosity, courage, compassion, and connectedness.

The Five P’s in Internal Family Systems Therapy

In trying to reach the goals of IFS, we encourage you to use the Five P’s. The Five P’s are patience, presence, persistence, perspective, and playfulness. Often, your mind is stuck in fear, worry, or anxiety. So, the team at Wisdom Within Counseling help you shift into playfulness and present moment thinking.

Ready to learn some new positive coping skills? Your therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling will help you come up with a detailed plan and concrete ways that you can embody these qualities and learn these new skills.

To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for Internal Family Systems Therapy in Connecticut.

How does IFS work?

Internal Family Systems Therapy effectively treats children, adults, couples, and families. Maybe, you and your family struggle with anger, anxiety, ADHD, or loss. IFS therapy helps many conditions, symptoms, and family difficulties. Also, IFS is culturally and LGBTQIA+ inclusive here at Wisdom Within Counseling. Also, we take age, race, religion, gender, sexuality, social class, ability, language and other important parts of the self into account. Your inner self develops from a young ago, and so do different parts of you. Some times, protective parts develop after trauma or losses in life. So, Internal Family Systems Therapy helps your calm, confident self lead rather than fear or protection.

When you meet with an IFS Therapist, you can expect to talk about and identify each of your unique sub-personalities. Now, these make up your internal family system. Each metaphorical mental family member is important, valid, and deserves recognition in this process. There may be different suppressed emotions that come out as you learn how to identify these parts. Also, your Internal Family Systems Therapist will encourage you to share your feelings towards your inner parts. Now, the ultimate goal is to find more positive ways to deal with these internal conflicts.

Internal Family Systems Therapy talks about unbending parts and maintaining cohesion.

To begin, click the button below to book your free phone consult for IFS therapy.

Parts of the Self

As you explore the different sub-personalities and parts of yourself, you may notice some patterns and start to be able to categorize them. When you experience wounding, you develop an exile part. Essentially, in childhood, if a parent was hurtful to you, this part is an exiles. Protective parts, managers, maintain and suppress exiles and wounded parts. Other protective parts, firefighters, keep exiles at bay. As well, firefighters can be numbing parts. Maybe, there was a time in your life where you felt abandoned. This becomes an exile in your inner family of parts. Firefighters keep any feelings of neglect, rejection, or hurt away. And, for firefighters, their role is to distract from the pain of exiled parts.

Goals of IFS

At the end of Internal Family Systems Therapy, you can walk away attaining these three goals which are the main goals of IFS:

Free the parts from their extreme and isolating roles
Restore trust in the Core Self
Integrate the Core Self and all of the individual parts utilizing the Eight C’s and Five P’s

Now, this may also look like an ongoing process but being armed with these skills will help you maintain a strong Core Self and be better able to address ongoing or additional stressors in your life. At Wisdom Within Counseling, we are here for you every step of the way. Internal Family Systems Therapy is very effective if traditional counseling models have now worked in the past.

Internal Family Systems Therapy and IFS at Wisdom Within Counseling

At Wisdom Within Counseling, we understand there is no cookie cutter approach. We treat each client as an individual based on their preferences, past experiences, and so much more. Also, we take the whole person into account when considering treatment options and encourage you to be collaborators in your own therapy. That means you get a say in what happens and how we go about treatment. That could mean you agree with your therapist that Internal Family Systems Therapy is a perfect fit for you all on its own. That could also mean you both think an integrative approach would be more appropriate for your unique situation. So, that is another reason why IFS is so wonderful.

Internal Family Systems Therapy supports confidence and clarity

Internal Family Systems Therapy goes well with other top evidence-based treatment approaches such as Narrative Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution Focused Therapy, Trauma Focused Therapy, Person Centered Therapy, and Existential Therapy to name a few. If talk therapy alone does not work for you, here at Wisdom Within Counseling, we also commonly pair talk therapy with yoga/ movement, creative arts, and painting. Essentially, you can do walk and talk therapy, and even drama or music therapy in our sessions.

If you or your loved ones want to learn more about Internal Family Systems Therapy and how it might help, click below to schedule your free consultation

The IFS trained therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling would love to support you.