Can You Do IFS Therapy by Yourself? A Guide to Self-Led Parts Work
You've been reading about Internal Family Systems therapy. You understand the basics (that your mind is naturally divided into parts, each with its own perspective and protective role). You're intrigued by the idea of befriending these parts instead of fighting them. But you're wondering: Can I just do this on my own?
It's one of the most common questions I hear as an IFS therapist, and the answer isn't a simple yes or no. The truth is more nuanced and more empowering than you might think.
“Parts Work” Isn’t New. It is Ancient.
IFS didn't invent parts work. It gave us an elegant, accessible map for terrain that philosophers, psychologists, and healers have been exploring for thousands of years. Understanding this lineage changes everything about how you might approach IFS therapy and your own inner world.
Mapping Your Parts in IFS: How To Get Started
We all have inner parts: critics, protectors, dreamers, and younger selves. Mapping your parts through Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy helps you see how they interact, reduce inner conflict, and bring more compassion to your daily life.
How IFS Helps Heal Trauma
IFS therapy helps you heal trauma not by forcing it to surface, but by building trust with the parts of you that carry pain, and the ones that protect it.
How IFS Therapy Can Help You Stop Self-Sabotaging
Self-sabotage isn't about weakness. It's often a protective part trying to shield you from pain. IFS therapy helps you meet that part with compassion.