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What is IFS therapy?
IFS views the mind as a system made up of various sub-personalities, called "parts." These parts can be managers (critical or controlling parts), firefighters (parts that react impulsively), or exiles (parts that hold past pain). Each part has a role to play, often stemming from past experiences, and works hard to fulfill what that role believes is best for you.
What is Internal Family Systems therapy?
While Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a therapy modality has gained increased recognition recently, the concepts underpinning it have long been used by therapists to support clients in exploring internal conflicts they have with themselves. For instance, one moment a client may be extremely motivated to address a problem; and the next, they’re depressed or experiencing intense procrastination. This internal tug-of-war can be confusing, but IFS therapy offers a framework to understand these conflicts.
IFS views the mind as a system made up of various sub-personalities, called "parts." These parts can be managers (critical or controlling parts), firefighters (parts that react impulsively), or exiles (parts that hold past pain). Each part has a role to play, often stemming from past experiences, and works hard to fulfill what that role believes is best for you.
The goal of IFS therapy isn't to get rid of these parts, but to create harmony within the system. Therapy works to help you identify your “self”--the calm, compassionate center of your being, from which you can understand your various parts with curiosity and without judgment.
IFS therapy may help you to:
Increase self-awareness: By identifying your parts and their roles, you can understand why you react in certain ways.
Reduce emotional reactivity: When you see your parts as fulfilling certain learned roles, it becomes easier to manage overwhelming emotions.
Build self-compassion: IFS teaches you to see your parts as trying to help, even if their methods are misguided.
Embrace your wholeness: By integrating your parts, you move towards feeling more whole and fulfilled.
IFS therapy can be helpful for clients dealing with issues of anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship issues, and past trauma.
Understanding Relational Therapy
Therapists may use all types of terms to describe the type of therapy they practice. At the West Therapy Group, you may hear us use terms like “relational” and “psychodynamic” therapy, and while you don’t have to know what they mean to benefit from them, it can be useful to have a general sense of how your therapist might want to work with you.
Building on Relationships
Relational therapy, also known as relational-cultural therapy, emphasizes the importance of our connections with others. It's based on the idea that a lot our traumas and pain occur in relation to other people, and that strong, healthy relationships are essential places for our healing and emotional well-being. Therapists using this approach explore how your past and present relationships shape your current thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in relationships, especially if you find that you are attracting the same type of partner, or encountering the same conflicts in relationships. Relational therapy also considers how your cultural background and social environment influence your interactions with others.
Similar Goals, Different Focus
While both relational therapy and behavioral therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), aim to improve your overall well-being, they may take different approaches at time.
Behavioral therapies tend to be more individually-focused, and might involve identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and developing new coping mechanisms to address them. Relational therapy, on the other hand, might delve deeper into the dynamics between you and others. It explores how your communication styles, attachment patterns, and past experiences all play a role in your relationships.
The role of the therapist
One unique aspect of relational therapy is the therapist relationship itself. In relational therapy, the therapeutic relationship becomes a model for healthy connection. By working together to understand your needs and build trust, the goal is that a client can experience what a secure and supportive relationship can feel like within therapy, which can then translate into your interactions outside of therapy.
Is Relational Therapy Right for You?
If you're struggling with relationship issues, family conflict, or feelings of loneliness, depression, or anxiety relational therapy could be a great fit, as these issues can often be rooted in relational challenges. In these cases, relational therapy could be a powerful tool for positive change.