How Internal Family Systems (IFS) Can Heal Trauma

Internal Family Systems Theory of IFS, also called Parts Work, is an Evidence Based Practice developed by Richard C Schwartz. It is shown to improve anxiety, depression trauma and other mental health concerns.

In IFS we have four main “parts” within ourselves. These parts are different selves living within ourself that we learned to utilize during difficult times in our life that created negative or positive coping patterns.

The Core Self

The core self is who we are born with, this is who we truly are and these are the characteristics that cope with life events in a positive manner. The core self in IFS contains the 8 C’s

• Creative

• Compassionate

• Courageous

• Calm

• Clarity

• Confidence

• Courage

• Connectedness

As life events continue and our self becomes wounded, different parts of our core self are fragmented off in order to protect ourselves.

Fire Fighters

Fire Fighters are our first line of defense when our brain detects a threat. This defense may look like distraction, numbing or reactionary. Some examples of our Fire Fighters are

• Binging Television

• Social Media Scrolling (doom scrolling)

• Binge Eating

• Becoming angry

• Over Spending

• Addictions (video games, drugs, alcohol etc)

The Fire Fighters think they are protecting us by utilizing distraction and reactions in order to keep others away with hostile responses and numbing negative feelings with addictions and so on.

Managers

Managers are socially acceptable to the world as they give the image that the person is holding it all together, is fiercely independent and self sufficient. This might look like:

• Anxiety

• People Pleasing

• Perfectionist

• Over achieving

• Care Taking

Managers have a hard time saying no despite not having the emotional energy to continue to give time and resources to others. Managers try extremely hard to not feel shame and or risk being abandoned by others, they work toward this by being agreeable and non-confrontational for fear of being hurt.

Exiles

This is who the Fire Fighters and Managers are trying so hard to protect. Exiles were fragmented off during deveolpmental stages in our lives its where we first learned to feel:

• Abandoned

• Shame

• Not Good Enough

• Fearful

• Dependent

The Fire Fighters and Managers fight to protect the Exiles as they fear they will destabilize the emotional system of the self. They feel as though the exiles emotions are too vulnerable and will do everything from numbing to people pleasing to avoid these feelings coming to the surface.

Who is Supposed to Lead?

When we work to identify who are our fire fighters, who are our managers? What feelings are they trying to protect? How do my protectors harm me? We can accept that the managers and fire fighters are trying to protect us but ask them to move aside so the core self can take over.

When we feel truly safe we are able to approach life’s difficulties with a calm, confident, curious and centered self. Work with an IFS therapist to identify your protector parts and why they were formed to begin to accept and love all your parts and start to navigate the world with your core self leading.