Steps from the Green Line
Internal Family Systems Therapy in Boston
One of the biggest successes you can make in therapy is accepting all parts of yourself and learning how to work in harmony towards your goals rather than fighting against yourself. Fighting yourself leads to issues like anger or shame, which can make it harder to make progress towards a fulfilling life.
So, how do you reconcile these different internal family systems within your mental system? You use internal family systems (IFS) therapy. IFS therapy doesn’t involve bringing your family together in a room. Instead, it works to help your sub-personalities heal and align with your core self. The goal of IFS therapy is to restore balance and harmony so that you can feel unified against your problems and make strides toward improving your life.
Personal growth is the ultimate goal of internal family systems (IFS) therapy, but you don’t need to go through this journey alone without support. If you find yourself struggling between warring urges like, you know you need to study to do well on your exam or have a big work presentation coming up, but that’s stressful and makes you feel dumb or worthless, so instead you want to turn to alcohol or self-medication (opioids) to stop those feelings.
With the IFS or internal family systems model, we help you understand those warring “sub-personalities” so that you can gain mental health cohesion. We can work with you to develop the life skills you need, especially when dealing with stressors or triggers. We can help you develop the tools you need to move forward with your life, so make your first step by contacting our practice in Boston, Massachusetts. We are here to help.
What is Internal Family Systems Therapy?
Internal Family Systems, or IFS therapy, was developed by psychologist Richard Schwartz.
Richard Schwartz created the concept of the internal family systems (IFS) to help clients who saw themselves as made up of “parts.” There could be the part of you that wants to be good at studies or work and another part of you that wants to give up and accept that you are a failure.
He classified these different parts as sub-personalities. Each of those parts makes up your family. IFS therapy helps those inner parts of you work cohesively together.
Sub-Families and True Self in IFS
The first step of internal family systems therapy is to identify your sub-families and their relationships with each other. Your therapist will use tools like journaling, using charts, or taking part in relaxation training to help.
There are typically three sub-family roles, which include:
Managers
Managers are the protective parts of your person. They work to help you navigate the world around you, complete tasks, and regulate your emotions. For example, this is the part of yourself that wants to be excellent at what you do, who manages your time between studies, extracurriculars, work projects, and family so that you always excel.
Exiles
These are the twisted-up parts of you – the parts that are fearful, shamed, or hurt. In our example, these are those who don’t believe you can do it, talk down to you every time you fail, or freeze up in fear of failure, resulting in you failing work assignments or exams.
Firefighters
Firefighters are the parts of you that rise after the exiles take their spot in the limelight. For example, say you were the victim of sexual assault. You can carry that trauma with you always, but triggers (someone similarly touching you, listening to the same song that played during the traumatic event, etc) can put you in a terrifying spiral.
Firefighters are the parts of you that try to stop those negative emotions. Unfortunately, often, the easiest and fastest way to stop those negative emotions is where disordered behavior comes into play. For example, you may develop an addiction to drugs because the drugs make you feel better instantly. You may develop an eating disorder and binge eat when your anxiety flares up, when you have a trauma flashback, or when you experience acute grief.
At our practice, all our clients have access to a therapist with certification from the IFS institute who can help with IFS training and also those who can help you with your other disorders and mental health concerns.
Identify Your Core Self
In the internal family systems model, you have your core. This core should be in charge of those other parts of yourself, allowing you to smooth over the harsher elements while working to help you feel more productive – no matter what that means.
Richard Schwartz outlined eight Cs and five Ps of yourself. Understanding these core traits and working to bring them to the forefront can help you throughout your life and with healing for those with trauma, anxiety, and depression.
The 8 Cs of IFS
- Calmness
- Confidence
- Creativity
- Clarity
- Curiosity
- Courage
- Connection
- Compassion
The 5 Cs of IFS
- Patience
- Presence
- Perspective
- Persistence
- Playfulness
What are the Six Steps to the Internal Family Systems Model?
There are six steps to the IFS model. Each of our IFS therapists has specific training to help you guide you through these steps during your sessions:
Identify Your Selves
- Our therapists help clients identify their parts and True Self during this stage.
Focus
You will focus on one part at a time. Our IFS professionals will help you identify which parts need the most attention and will then work on helping you develop mindfulness techniques to improve your inner harmony.
Clearly Outline Each Part
- Our IFS professionals will help you clearly outline these family systems and your relationships with each part.
Explore
You’ll explore your feelings regarding these parts of the self. This exploration is where healing with IFS truly begins.
Befriend and Forgive
- During this IFS stage, we’ll have you use those mindfulness techniques and guide you through sessions so that you can accept, forgive, and befriend each part of your internal family. Forgiving your body for causing you pain (for example, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome from endless study notes or are trying to study with a disability). It can also be used to make space for your grief and trauma, forgiving yourself so that you can become a self-compassionate person who puts healing at the forefront of what you do.
Identify Fears
Each of the internal family parts of yourself fears something. Part of our IFS training is to help support you as you identify those fears and how those fears would change if you changed.
How Successful is Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy?
IFS therapy is a hugely successful treatment – so much so that it was entered into the National Registry for Evidence-based Programs and Practices in 2015. Its effectiveness has been studied and verified for those with issues like depression.
IFS therapy can help you build the ability to self-compassion. After all, it can be hard to succeed if you constantly down-talk yourself. Self-compassion can help you heal, mind and body, and begin a transformation that puts your well-being at the forefront of all you do.
Common symptoms of mood disorders can include:
- Brief and intense elevated mood periods
- Severe mood swings
- Depressive symptoms
- Anger and irritability
- Sense of helplessness or hopelessness
- Low self-esteem
- Excessive feelings of guild
- Withdrawing (socially, from hobbies, etc)
- Relationship difficulties
- Insomnia
- Physical symptoms (headaches, stomach pains, fatigue)
- Suicidal ideation
While you should treat depression and mood disorders straight away regardless, if you are having thoughts about suicide, wish to die, or are planning your end, please seek out help immediately. There is hope. You do not need to go through this alone. Contact our experts (or anyone), and we will work hard to help connect you to a personalized treatment plan that works for you.
The Main Goals of Internal Family Systems
There are three main goals that IFS training offers those dealing with trauma, anxiety, pain, or depression.
- Identify and Free Yourself: The first is that it works to help you identify and then free those internal family parts of you from their extreme “roles.”
- Learn to Trust Your True Self: The second goal is restoring trust in your true self. Particularly valid for trauma victims, who have had their confidence and inner trust ruined due to abuse or a near-death accident.
Harmonize Your Mental Health: Our professionals work with you to harmonize all these family systems. The transformation we aim to help you make is to reconfigure those parts of yourself so your True Self is in charge and the rest of your family systems work in harmony.
Do You Qualify for Our MA Internal Family Systems Treatment?
IFS is not a good fit for everyone, but that’s okay. We start each of our clients with a full evaluation. We also offer more than just IFS. When you start sessions with our team of professionals at our practice in Boston, you’ll have access to the following:
- Psychotherapy
- Psychiatry
- Medication management
- Group therapy
- Holistic Health
Our psychotherapy experts create personalized treatment plans for all of our clients. Some treatment plans will include IFS, others won’t. We may begin IFS training later on if other methods don’t work.
Generally, the internal family systems (IFS) model is used for those with:
- Anxiety
- PTSD
- OCD
- Depressive disorders
- Grief
We can help students who feel like they’re being pulled apart, professionals dealing with serious cases of burnout or imposter syndrome, and anyone who doesn’t feel like their internal self is unified, cohesive, or working together positively.
Why Choose Us for IFS Therapy in Massachusetts
be paired with a dedicated therapist or therapists (depending on what treatment plan we create for you).
As an intensive outpatient facility, you’ll have access to some of the best-trained professionals. Our resources include psychiatrists, psychologists, and holistic health counselors.
Not only will you have access to these essential resources, but you will also get help on your schedule. Every session is scheduled around your routine and needs. If you have classes to work around, we can help. We’re there for you if you need evening sessions since you have work during the day.
We are always accepting new clients and are here to help you discover your family systems and make peace with your internal family in a safe space. With us, you’ll have access to trained IFS therapists, a luxury safe space, and the training and support you need from your therapist on your schedule.
All that’s left is to contact us. We’ll book you for your first session and start helping you build the skills that make a difference ASAP.