Parts Work (Internal Family Systems)

A major framework I use in therapy is parts work, which is a type of therapy in which we identify the different ‘parts’ our mind to gain a better understanding of ourselves. My version of parts work is informed by Self-Therapy, developed by Jay Earley, and Internal Family Systems, developed by Richard Schwartz.

At the core of our mind there is oftentimes a wounded inner child, that holds on to pain from years ago. In response to the pain, the mind develops different parts that ‘protect’ us from fully feeling the pain of the inner child, like an inner critic that constantly drives us to self-improve so that we don’t feel worthless, or the anger that flares up to protect us from feeling lonely or abandoned. There is the perfectionist, people-pleasing part that works overtime to avoid feeling rejected, or the hopeless part that tells us it’s no use to even try so that we can avoid feeling the sting of failure.

In therapy, we learn to recognize that our parts are working relentlessly to protect ourselves from pain, but sometimes their methods are outdated or cause unwanted side effects. Instead of treating our tendencies as problematic, we practice addressing the core pain, so that each part can relax and play a more adaptive role in our lives.