Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a type of therapeutic framework therapists can use with clients to assist in the healing process. To experience healing and reconnect with our authentic selves, we must approach healing through an integrative lens. IFS aims to do this by helping us gain awareness of our inner parts and integrate them into our present-day experience.
The Goal of Internal Family Systems
IFS has the overarching focus of providing a framework to help us build an awareness of the inner pieces that make up our wholeness. It allows the integration of these parts with the goal of healing and reconnecting with our true selves. It is important that in this process we welcome all parts with acceptance and curiosity.
No Bad Parts
IFS refers to the process of rekindling a relationship with lost parts of ourselves and discovering that nobody has any bad parts to themselves. So often the source of emotional suffering stems from exiling parts of ourselves in shame with the belief that we are bad for being who we are. This is a story that typically begins in childhood based on our experiences in the world.
Aligning with those ideas, IFS is about learning how to accept and offer compassion to all of the parts that make up ourselves, as they are all important and valid.
What to Expect
While exploring IFS through working with a therapist, we can expect to engage in conversations around the parts of us that make up our internal, emotional world. Building awareness with curiosity about these parts can give us insight into how they function in our lives, the emotions associated with them, and how to integrate them into our world without them taking over. Through this process, we are better able to make decisions in alignment with our core and authentic selves rather than the younger and more vulnerable parts of ourselves.
Healing is multi-dimensional, and IFS is only one modality among many that can create space for healing to happen. By reconnecting with lost parts of ourselves and beginning to relate to them with curiosity and acceptance, we can gain our power and feel more at peace with ourselves and life.
IFS is one of many frameworks to use to experience healing, change, and growth. Healing is not a one-size-fits-all process, and different approaches work better for some people than others, depending on what resonates with them. At Avalon Malibu, our therapists are trained in a variety of modalities to integrate into treatment in a way that makes sense for you based on what you need and what works. If you are ready to begin your healing journey and rekindle a connection with yourself, call Avalon Malibu today at (844) 857-5992.
