Internal Family Systems
Internal Family Systems, also known as IFS, was created by Dick Schwartz in the early 1980s as a way to better understand who we are and why we stay stuck in ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
The human mind is naturally multiple, with countless Parts who interact internally with each other and externally with other people. The internal dialogue we hear inside our minds are most often Parts commenting about what’s going on and their opinions about it.
2022 Julia Sullivan and Indigenous IFS
Video by Teresa Lewis of Lewis Psychology
Internal Family Systems is an approach grounded in the belief that each individual possesses a multitude of inner parts or sub-personalities, each with its own qualities, emotions, and perspectives. Imagine a scenario in which you are receiving praise for your work. Instead of fully embracing that compliment you may have an inner critic part of you that says, “You could have done better, they didn’t see how you messed up.” This part may be attempting to help you, to push you to excel, but its approach can lead to lowered self-worth and perpetrate the belief of not being good enough.
“Megan has been a guide within, letting me show up in any way that felt true to who I was at that moment. She has changed my life by equipping me with tools to identify what these dark parts of me are trying to communicate.”
- ML
“Working with her allowed me to better understand myself and my tendencies, ways my thoughts help and hold me back, and how I can better love and support every part of me – even the ones I feel hold me back.”
- MM