Internal Family Systems (IFS)

How Does the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model Work?

IFS therapy attempts to find solutions to mental health issues by analyzing the various parts of the self, considering how they interact, and helping the client to understand these concepts.

For instance, if you were left by a parent when you were seven years old, this could create a wounded part, which holds the trauma of abandonment. This can also end up creating a protector part that attempts to protect that abandonment wound through some sort of behaviour, such as anger.

This protector part will shield the wounded part of you from further suffering by using anger, which may be used to keep people away, control your environment, or as a misguided attempt to show people how much you have been hurt.

Sometimes, our protective parts can become overwhelmed, so an extreme protective part called a firefighter will take over, and this part of you will try to distract you from the pain. Firefighters look like extreme behaviours like suicidality, substance abuse, binge eating, restrictive eating, etc.

Using IFS therapy, our IFS-trained counsellors can help you discover the origins of your issues by analyzing and helping you to understand the various parts of yourself so you can start living a self-led life instead of a parts-driven life.

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